I have a 96 LeSabre with the 3.8 and 118k that is absolutely beautiful. I bought it from an 89 year old woman. She had the coolant elbow replaced with the aluminum. She also had the upper intake gasket replaced but not the lower. This year has the rear elbow incorporated in the tensioner. I have replaced all 4 struts, new brakes and rotors, rear wheel cylinders, water pump, hoses, thermostat, coolant flush, valve cover gaskets with new grommets, power steering pump and subframe bushings. Everything was pretty easy but just time consuming. The hardest thing I’ve done to this car was the subframe bushings…OMG what a job!!!

This video is why I ordered all new gaskets. When the weather warms up a bit and I can spend 2 days outside I'm doing the timing, water pump, valve covers and lower intake plus the new aluminum elbows all at once. It's my work beater I just bought and it's leaking oil around both sides of the lower intake. As well as the transmission fluid change and gasket because that has trans fluid almost all the way around the pan

I'm doing this job right now on a 03 impala LS with 56 thousand miles i just bought. The plastic coolant elbow was leaking but oil was also getting pushed up out the lower intake bolts. Its a fun job. On a side note, the inside of the engine looks brand new.

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Ya these engines are pretty bullet proof, even with minimum maintenance

this was incredibly helpful! managed to replace the gaskets despite having zero experience with car repairs, unfortunately the head gaskets are also shot so i will be needing a new engine :/

MAn i bought an 04 grand prix last year and boy i wish i saw your video before i started mine cause i was not prepared for what all it entailed... it was my 1st head gasket change...whould you consider doing voice over for this video... great camera skills and positioning keep it up guy

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! It’s a hefty job, but not terrible !

@appalachianfishing8548

2 жыл бұрын

Just putting this out there. The head gasket itself almost never goes out. GM designed them with a weaker than usual intake gasket. It blows way before the head gasket 99 % of the time. I worked as a mechanic for yrs and I done probably 200 of these to be honest and I only seen 2 head gaskets blown. The sad part is other garages told most of them they had a blew head gasket

@cooljeremyg

Жыл бұрын

@@appalachianfishing8548 Hey my 2000 Grand Prix GTP has white smoke coming out of the exhaust. I am assuming that it is too late at this point and that the head gasket has already gone out. It has 260k miles on it so I am not expecting much more from the car. Do you agree?

@shuperman7063

Жыл бұрын

I just bought a Grand Prix gtp and tore into it thinking it was head gaskets. Turns out it was the lower intake manifold. I believe it’s an 04

@secretchipmunk7

6 ай бұрын

@@appalachianfishing8548 I was just going to say this! Lol. Definitely beware of shops saying head gasket because it's rarely that. I swear people don't know how to diagnose properly at most shops

Me seeing the radiator i know for sure what i have to do lol. No coolant in oil but oil in coolant. Make alot of sense.

Good video thanks. I have a 2007 Lucerne. Keeps getting Misfire on Cyl 3, changed plugs and wires, moved coils around and same issue. Wish I had a borescope to view inside engine to see if #3 cylinder was steam cleaned.

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Wish I could help. Harbor freight has a decent tool for $60 that would get inside the head. I never ran into a misfire issue, but is it random or misfire every time?

@atxjax1

3 жыл бұрын

@@coledoesthings4618 Misfire is constant on #3. I have a scanner that does data logging and can watch the misfire count increase. Whats the best way to check for a leaky lower intake manifold gasket?

@davesomeone4059

2 жыл бұрын

@@atxjax1 leak down test

@michaelm1785

2 жыл бұрын

@@atxjax1 On the 3800 forums on FB, I saw that if while the engine is at idle and warm, if you remove the oil filler cap and it stumbles and wants to stall, that is a dead giveaway that the LIM is shot. Haven't tried it myself...but guess why I'm at this page? LOL and I also have an '07 Lucerne CXL.

To get the air out of the system, do you leave the car on without refrigerant? I’m going to change the gasket in my Pontiac

Also have you ever worked on 04-13 Nissan Murano? major problems with those are timing and cv joint failures..

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

I haven’t, but have definitely read some of the horror stories when looking for an suv a few years ago.

What lower intake gaskets did you use ?

Actually not too bad of a job. I still would rather not do it... but somebody is gonna have to do it 🙄 Thanks for the info

1400 bucks to replace the intake gasket wow that is insane that is what a full blown head gasket job cost including getting the heads machined they tried to rip you off

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, they also tried to just get me to swap the motor out for a used one. That would have been $1,800, so they really pushed that as the better alternative.

@A_Dilophosaurus

2 ай бұрын

that's what my shop quoted too so here I am trying to put back on an engine mount 😀

Hey Cole, thanks for the video. My 2000 Grand Prix GTP has white smoke coming out of the exhaust. I am assuming that it is too late at this point and that the head gasket has already gone out. It has 260k miles on it so I am not expecting much more from the car. Do you agree?

@secretchipmunk7

6 ай бұрын

Do a leak down test. Check combustible gas in radiator.

Nice video. How many hrs do you think it took you? I have a 2005 Buick with the same engine and 125K miles. I just started losing a little coolant but haven't found the leak yet. I have a bad back so I'll be paying someone. Thanks

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

It took me a couple hours here and there over the course of 3 days. I would bet it could be done in 4 hours by professionals.

@19211926

3 жыл бұрын

@@coledoesthings4618 Thanks

What torque specs did you use in the upper manifold?

@oso_westside47

3 жыл бұрын

idk where you live but if it helps try a local library they have manuals you can rent out and look and get the specs from there like the Haynes manuals

Did you replace the upper gasket?

Can the LIM be mistaken for head gasket replacement? My mechanic told me the heads aren't blown, but that the thermostat has to stay out of the car until winter or it will get hot again. He also believes the problem is still the head gasket even though it is not blown, does this make sense? 2008 Buick Lacrosse 82k miles.

@secretchipmunk7

6 ай бұрын

How is the head gasket and issue if it's not blown ? Genuine question that I might learn from. My experience is mechanics are too quick to say head gasket and it winds up being intakes. Just do the leak down test and you'll know

@secretchipmunk7

6 ай бұрын

Why is it running hot? I mean, head gasket going to keep it hot whether it's summer or winter. Is it just the engine running hot under the hood? My engine was giving off too much heat under hood and it's fixed now with intakes. Of course my temperature gauge on dash was normal, not overheating

Did you have to use sealant or teflon on the bolt treads for the lower intake manifold??

@Brian-fo8sh

Жыл бұрын

Use thread sealer on all bolts for the lower intake. Do not use Teflon tape.

When you did the engine mount did you have a jack under there?

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Great question. I actually don’t remember. This was a while ago, and I did the timing cover gasket at the same time so I had the entire front of the car apart. My guess is that I did have the Jack/tire under there just for support in case a stand failed. The engine didn’t move at all when I took that mount off, so that leads me to believe I had something under there supporting it.

@oso_westside47

3 жыл бұрын

you dont need a jack for this car it has 2 sets of mounts upper and lower carriage but a jack helps when you are trying to get the back heads off

So,, what is the difference between the series 2 and the series 3?

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Honestly, not too sure. I think just the aluminum intake and some internals. Not much.

@MrBigblockbuick

3 жыл бұрын

Electronic throttle body, forged connecting rods, heads, larger valves, aluminum intake, aluminum oil pan (05-08) and a few other things I can't remember

@tylerlogsdon8623

Жыл бұрын

@@MrBigblockbuick my 2000 series 2 and 99 series 2(both from firebirds) both have electronic throttle

Are the gaskets the same as a series II engine?

@coledoesthings4618

2 жыл бұрын

I think so. As far as I’m aware, the main difference between series II/III is the upper intake manifold. It’s plastic on series III.

i thought the series 3 came with aluminum gaskets ?

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, the lower intake gaskets are aluminum. They fail where they butt up to the gasket on the block, which is just rubber. You can see I put 3 coats of RTV in each of those corners to prevent that from leaking this time.

@sandmhoder

3 жыл бұрын

@@coledoesthings4618 oh ok thanks for reply good vid

How is it holding up?

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

As far as I know, pretty good! Ended up giving the car to a family that needed a second car and I’ve not heard any bad news yet.

1400? Damn. My parts are about 200$. Got a personal mechanic doing it for 250 labor... For $640 I got upper and lower intake gaskets, plenum, thermostat, washer pump, EGR and the elbow, and fluids. Parts and labor. I see some intakes are a little more expensive but 1400 is a ripoff imo.

Can you tell me realistically how many hours does it take

@A_Dilophosaurus

2 ай бұрын

30 or so I think? not too bad tbh (i don't know how to put it back together)

What was used when cleaning?

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Bob DeCastro I cleaned the entire intake with carb/choke cleaner and a rag. Same with the heads for the mounting surface, but I would recommend a razor blade at a very slight angle to get the old gasket pieces off. It was a very helpful trick on the timing cover gasket.

do you like this car?

@coledoesthings4618

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the question! I do, actually. I’ve had it for a few years, and outside of routine maintenance and a couple issues that are common at this mileage (250,000 miles), it’s been really reliable. They are cheap to purchase, and cheap to maintain. There is also a ton of information available online to help with maintenance.

@Simmygameplay

Жыл бұрын

​@coledoesthings4618 you still driving the car. I have mine for 3 yrs and loved it i had 2 other ones in the past i love them.

if someone was selling a 2005 grand prix with this issue and no power steering with 200k miles but still drives for $800

@seantaylor6784

Жыл бұрын

is that a good deal

@Simmygameplay

Жыл бұрын

For $800 i would jump on it.

What's the point of making the video if you don't actually show what your doing