Yeah they have new metal gaskets to do the replacement.

 

OK.
My Monte has a Disappearing Coolant issue.
No visible leak. Went at it with a Mag-lite and a Mirror. I can't see an external leak.
Oil is OK
No sludge or nasty crap on dipstick.
No sludge or nasty crap on Oil Fill Cap.
Overflow tank shows diminishing level.

PO's 15-Hundred Dollar Extended Warranty in effect until 01-08-10!

What Gasket is it that goes bad?
If Coolant was getting into the Combustion Chamber, .... wouldn't it throw a Code?
I'm going to pull the Plugs and see whatt they look like.

 

sorry, haven't been on in a few, but yes, just as mamonte had said, just be prepared for it though cause i sure wasn't and it was a nasty shock for me, but yeah, i'd also just talk to your mechanic and find out exaclty what he says too, never a bad idea

 

So Rick, your under warranty still? Why don't you just take it in and get it fixed?

On the 3.4L Both Headgaskets, and Intake gaskets can leak. Typically no code are thrown when the intake is leaking. And come to think of it my ex g/f's Grand Am 3.4L was leaking from the head gasket, no codes ever got thrown until she was so low on coolant the low coolant light came on...

I would be surprised if its something other than and intake or head gasket...I'm pretty sure that is your problem, its just so common on these engines.

 

The lower intake manifold gasket is the one that goes bad and causes the disappearing coolant issue (happened on my '01LS).
I'd have it checked out immediately. If the coolant is leaking into the oil, then it could lead to issues down the road as well.

Since you have the warranty in place until January, no reason not to take advantage of it.

-Riggs.

PS.
The only way that water would be getting into the combustion chambers is if the head gasket was leaking in such a way. As far as i know this isn't a common problem on the 3400's (at least not nearly as common as the LIM issue).
Idk if it will throw a code, but water in the combustion chamber is usually very noticeable as you'll be blowing immense white clouds of smoke from your tailpipe in this case.

 

I had a nice talk with the Service Manager at the Dealership, nearby. He's going to look-over my Extended Warranty and begin the Claim process for me. He told me it takes two days to do the Gaskets.
My plan is to get the Gasket replaced.
Have a 180 Stat put-on.
There's 85,000 on it. Should I do a Water Pump and Serp-belt?

I want to have the Transmission flushed and Filter cleaned / replaced.
What's a good Shift Kit to have done while the Tranny's getting serviced?

 

I don't know who long they expect the timing belts on the 3400 or 3800 engines to last from the factory? But with 85,000 miles I think I'd give some consideration to just going ahead and replacing it if they're going to be in there anyways.

I did this on my '94 Dodge Shadow ES when the Mopar dealer replaced the water pump for me. The timing belt on the 3.0 V6 has to come off to even get to the water pump so I thought what the heck. Might as well replace all the belts while the old ones are off. Cheap insurance in my book.

Looks like I may have the same issue with the '03 Pace car cause the coolant seems to be disappearing. I know one saturay night last winter we took the car out. I always pull the hood to let the engine cool down when I get back home. This particular time when I pulled the hood I smelled coolant. To me it seemed the smell was stronger at the pass front side of the engine versus anywhere else. I was hoping for a pin hole in the lower radiator.

But the local Chevy dealer wants $50 to check for leaks. I guess it's not a bad price to find out what the problem may be?

Better then scrapping the engine from no coolant.

 

The 3.4L (3400), 3.5L (3500), 3.8L (3800), 3.9L (3900), and 5.3L all have timing chains which do not require to be changed like a belt.

Personally, I would not change the water pump unless it needed to be changed.

Changing the serp-belt would not hurt, but I also don't see it as neccesary at 85K. If you take care of your serp-belt (belt dressing once in a while) you should be able to get well over 100K out of it. But again, it never hurts to change it as cheap insurance.

 

Your serp-belt is easy to tell if it needs to be changed just by looking at it. If it has certain marks / cracks that are large, then it should be changed ASAP.

I don't look at the mileage or anything, I look at the belt. Or else I would be up the creek. I changed my belt last year, when I went to do my rockers and such, I noticed a HUGE crack across my belt that looks like it would have snapped easily. I didn't hear any signs that it should be bad, I was just lucky that when I popped the hood that crack was facing me.

 

Thats exactly right...in reality all that matters is the health of your belt. Cracks (large ones)= replace. No cracks (the little fine ones are normal)= no need to replace.

In my experience, belt dressing does keep your belt healthy longer. The Bonneville has 140K on the original serp-belt, and it still looks healthy.