Leaking Antifreeze

[StealthAlero99]

so i got out work today and found a nice big puddle of antifreeze chillin under my car. I took it to my dad's friends house, and he said that one of the intake gaskets is bad, and that is where it is leaking from. Has anyone else had this problem? if so, how much did you spend on getting it fixed?
-Chris

[misslindseysue]

A lot. $600-$900. Most of us (with the 3.4) have had this problem, and the rest will, it seems.

[Naich]

moved to general Q's and TS.

[southernalero]

I noticed today that my low coolant light came on and I popped the hood to check the level in the reservoir bottle and it was very low. I could see a little bit at the bottom but no where near the full mark for "cold". I added some Dex-Cool to top it off and plan on taking it to dealer Monday morn. I did notice my cap was not tight and wonder if that could have been why the level was low cuz it could have flowed out from the cap not being tight? At any rate...I figure it is the intake gasket problem like everyone else has had. If it is...I hope this is the final fix for it!! :pissed:

[Naich]

Just about every 3400 is going to eventually have the intake manifold gasket leak. Happened to me @ 42,000 miles.

[southernalero]

Is it the upper or lower intake gasket that is the problem? Also...have you had anymore problems after it has been replaced? ie: will this new gasket hold longer than the crappy stock one?

[David]

southernalero, that is a good question. Something I'm wondering as well.

Another question. Why does this job cost $600-$900 to fix? Is the part that expensive or is fixing it a time intensive process?

[southernalero]

I believe it is labor intensive is why it so expensive. I'm just hoping if that if the gasket is my problem , that they replace BOTH . Are you having a problem too? I am taking mine in first thing in the morning and hopefully can get it back in time before the weeknd cuz I am going out of town.

[Johnnyangel]

VERY common problem- see my post http://invision.aleromod.com/index.php?showtopic=690&hl=
If you look down the sides of your intake and see either oil or coolant where the heads meet the block, that's your intake leaking. If it's leaking oil, it's also leaking coolant. Problem is, it's usually not visible like yours on the ground, most of the time it leaks your coolant into the oil instead. That's why it's always important to pay attention to that low coolant light, it's never just 'low'!

[Johnnyangel]

BTW, if you call and make an appointment at your dealership, it shouldn't be more than 1 day- it really only takes between 2-5 hours, depending on how experienced the tech is. Book time pays 6 hours (according to GM) If you think it's a pain to do on the alero, try it on a Silhouette- half the engine is inaccessible! :rolleyes:

[StealthAlero99]

My dad's friend looked at it, and said he could fix it, but didn't give a price range. he said the problem is due to dex-cool, because it is very corrosive, and it just eats away at the gaskets....... o well i am taking it over there monday, and he said it would be done in a day so i hope alll goes well and i don't have to pay too much....

[southernalero]

Now I have another friggin problem!! :pissed: I went to check the intake gaskets to see if it leaking from there and it is. I went to start the car to move it into garage and no joy. Got a jump to get it started and it finally started and i drove it a few blocks to charge battery back up and it just died on me and everything went black! The dash lights would blink off and on at random when i would turn the key on. I think I have a short somewhere now. Go figure....26,000 miles and it falling apart!!! Im gonna have to have it towed in tomorrow not only for coolant leak..now an electrical problem! :angry: This by chance couldnt be related to just a battery gone bad could it? <<< wishful thinking

[Johnnyangel]

ACDelco batteries have a tendency to fail when it gets cold out, usually at the beginning of winter (NOW) Sometimes the positive terminal will leak acid, occasionally to the extreme that the whole terminal assembly will come out. It always seems to be the positive terminal, never the negative... wiggle the positive cable, if it's loose you need a battery.

[southernalero]

The positive cable is tight. No acid leaking or anything. It is really clean around the terminal areas. I'm just frustrated big time. I have a trip planned this weekend and I really need my car. I really hope it is just the battery. But why would it just die? Isnt the alternator supposed to be running the electrical system once the car has started?

[Johnnyangel]

The alternator provides the current, but it still passes through the battery- if the battery has a bad cell, like yours probably does, it bleeds off power, and if the revs drop to idle, there's less power from the alternator and the car stalls. The battery keeps a constant rate of flow going to the car, the alternator varies from 12-14 volts, which is more than some accessories can take. I have a feeling you're going to need a battery, but at least it's a quick fix. If I'm wrong, I'll buy ya a pizza next time you're in town ;)

[misslindseysue]

southern, that really sucks. The good news is it all sounds like warranty issues. And, if you get the leak again, there's a much better chance you won't have to pay for it if it's out of warranty. I hope it works out alright for you though. Just stick up for yourself, make sure they fix everything that's wrong. It helps to write a list before you call, and leave it with them.

[Aleromaster]

Originally posted by Johnnyangel@Dec 14 2003, 08:33 PM
ACDelco batteries have a tendency to fail when it gets cold out, usually at the beginning of winter (NOW) Sometimes the positive terminal will leak acid, occasionally to the extreme that the whole terminal assembly will come out. It always seems to be the positive terminal, never the negative... wiggle the positive cable, if it's loose you need a battery.
Yeah I have to use a bosster pack every morning onmy battery. To cheap tobuy a new one though. I don't care to much right now as it doen't get driven much anymore, thats what the lncoln is for.

[Aleromaster]

Oh yeah since everyones gaskets seem to go i hope mine go before 100K so it will only cost me $50

[Johnnyangel]

Hypothetically, you COULD splash a little dirty oil down there next time you do an oil change and siphon a little coolant out- just enough to make the light go on. BUT, you didn't hear that from me. This is only if your warranty is coming due soon, no reason to put your car under the knife, er, wrench, if it's nowhere near expired yet.

[southernalero]

Thanks for all the help yall. I'm going to have to get them to tow it in tomorrow. Make them come get it...hehe. I will write a list for them and talk to the service manager too. He has been really good to me on the OEM tire issue...got 4 new ones recently!! YAHOO! I also hope they use the NEW gasket that is available to remedy the intake leak. Man.....i want my car probs to be over.... :(

[AleroRyda]

On that electrical issue, I experienced the same problem (around about 87,000 miles though). It was some wiring near the catalytic converter that melted and kept grounding out on the cat. They replaced and rerouted my wiring.

[southernalero]

Got back from the dealer today and they found 3 probs:

Dead battery
O-Ring seal leak
water pump bad

Got all three probs fixed and hopefully that will take care of it. They did a pressure test on the cooling system and found that the intake gaskets were fine. My water pump was dripping. They did a dye test and found the o-ring leak. At least all this is what my ticket says on what they did. I went back there while they were working on it and the mechanic was really nice and showed me what he was replacing. Anyway....just wanted to report back on what was found. So far , so good! :thumbsup: BTW, all was under warranty and makes it nice to NOT have to pay to have anything fixed! :smokin:

[Swat]

I just had my gasket replaced maybe 3 months ago...and my engine coolant light just came on again today....ARGH!