LIMG going

[Ryan from Ohio]

Mines going out, about 95K miles. Imagine that.

Buying the gaskets this weekend. Doing it next weekend in my Uncles garage.

Leaking oil along the drivers side front head. Im missing a quart and a half from last week. Drive 100 miles a day, 5 days a week (sometimes 6).

Will be using the metal Fel Pros. Hell with that plastic junk!

[alerored04]

good luck. Be careful with the o ring on the supply side of the fuel rail, they like to come off in the rail. Also when putting the feed line back into the rail it helps to lift up on the opposite side of the rail with a flat head so you can get a better angle on threads in there. Take your time and double check everything and you will do fine, its not as intimidating as you think. And if you dont know make sure to keep the pushrods in the correct order. And 95k isnt bad for one gasket. I have 110k and just installed the cars 3rd set of limg's.

[SweetNLow]

ummm i dont think the you leaking oil is due to the LIM gasket.......... when that gasket goes the coolant leaks into the oil. i could be wrong but i think you have a different issue.

[comanche]

I've had the coolant leak outside of the head and down... I actually saw it leaking. -at 42k miles :(

[alerored04]

coolant leaked out my lim valley as well, but not oil, sweet has a point. Im not sure if a lim leak will cause you to lose oil. Depends which fluid is under higher pressure.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Dunno. Im assuming its oil, I didnt stick my finger in it.

I can see the seepage/leaking area, so I know its the culprit.

This will be the second LIMG Ive had to do. Did one while doing a heads up rebuild on a 3100. Nothing hard, just time consuming and frustrating sometimes.

I suspect it will take about 4-5 hours to do tops.

Im not unhooking anything I dont have to. If I can push the fuel lines/intake off to the side, thats what Im doing :)

[SweetNLow]

Im not unhooking anything I dont have to. If I can push the fuel lines/intake off to the side, thats what Im doing :)

indeed you can

[alerored04]

you can push them aside, be careful not to pinch them, the fuel lines off the rail are metal and can pinch. Also the stuff running down your heads is most likely coolant, you know what it smells like, get some on your finger and take a whiff, if its sweet smelling its coolant. There is a good high speed minimal removal walkthrough on 60degreev6.com, grandamgt.com also has a pretty good walkthrough.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Got the gaskets tonight. $85 @ Advance Auto.

The guy tried to sell me just the $58 ones, but I wasnt having it.

I see dorman also makes this gasket set. I bet its set in the plastic, but it can be had for $35 making it a deal at first ;)

[Ryan from Ohio]

Ok Im down in it right now, taking a supper break.

3 1/2 hours into it, not all complete straight work either.

Gotta get it back in and get the plugs into her.

Its a bit different than the 3100 I wrenched out, very similar though.

[Ryan from Ohio]

This took waaaayyyy longer than I expected.

I got a new heater hose, plugs and wires outta the situation aslo.

Ended up loosing some threads on the one corner bolt closest to the thermostat.

Actually, I think it was already pretty much pulled out/stripped. I couldnt even torque it... So Im thinking the threads let loose at some point and thats the cause of my issues.

At any rate, the new high dollar super duper Fel Pro permadry plus gaskets are installed!

Runs excellent at this point. Took her about 2 miles and back home. I know that RTV isnt fully dry yet...

[Ryan from Ohio]

After some driving I just wanted to update this for all.

My oil loss/consumption issue is NO MORE.

Ive drove about 4K on the oil, its all there. Absolutely 0 loss!

[blueolds01]

i just noticed my LIMG went tonight....does anyone think a 16 year old can do it with the help of his dad?? im pretty sure im going to just go buy a portes and polished UIM and LIM along with a good set of gaskets in the next few weeks the car is parked now,and im not going to drive it for a while.

[alerored04]

as long as you take your time and label your connections and put the seperate bolts into labelled cups its really not that bad. Its intimidating at first but very rewarding when you are finished.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Labels and bags? blah!

Its just a big puzzle. Have at it.

I advise highly you drain your oil and coolant now. Just in case it got into the pistons/crank case.

[alerored04]

yes labels and bags, its very helpful if its your first time doing something like this. It helps you start to recognize what goes where.

[blueolds01]

my dad doesnt want to do it, hes afraid ill screw it up. does anyone know of a website that lists step by step instructions on how to do it. i dont think my parents understand whats involved, i know i can do it, and i know it will cost me twice as much if i have it done. im going to the local career center next fall for this stuff....might as well start now.

[Ryan from Ohio]

http://autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/14/7b/90/0900823d80147b90/repairInfoPages.htm

Its not for the Alero, its not even the 3400, but the 3100. Same deal though.

[alerored04]

Grand am gt has a great walkthrough, here you go. http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60868&highlight=power+steering

[blueolds01]

thanks guys