I have a 2002 Monte Carlo SS with the 3.8 liter engine, 65000 well taken care of miles. I have recently noticed a burnt oil type smell in the passenger compartment and also light smoke coming from under the hood sometimes when i stop. I have found oil pooling on the bottom intake manifold wells just under the throttle body and I think its also over flowing onto the rear exhaust manifold and smoking when its hot. I have read that a lot of Monte Carlo owners with the 3.8 engine have problems with either oil or anitfreeze leaks coming from the plastic intake manifold on top of the engine due to defective gaskets used by GM on these engines. Has anyone here had this issue with their Monte? Can anyone give me an idea of the repair cost to replace these upper and lower intake manifold gaskets to maybe Fel-Pro? I really can't tell if its oil or anifreeze leaking but it does smell like burning oil. I cannot get to the wells on the intake manifold to check if its oil or antifreeze. I was thinking that maybe it was the rear valve cover but it doesnt make sense for the oil to pool on top of the engine instead of running down from the rear valve cover....gravity would make the oil run down and not up? Any help on this issue would be much appreciated! I have heard that Monte owners are trying to get GM to recall and fix this issue due to cheap gaskets (plastic) but nothing is being done about it so far.

 

Hi BigAl, Im having the same problem and Every morning I see a cd sized puddle of coolant under my car. When I remove the engine cover I can see the build up of oil and im guessing the manifold gasket has a leak. I took my car to the dealer and they said they are aware of the problem but it has no open recall so I will have to come out of pocket to pay for repairs. If anyone has gone that route, how much was it? Also last month I got an oil change and today I opened the engine oil cap and smelled gasoline, im not a mechanic or anything but I know that cant be right. Anyways the coolant seems to be coming from directly under the alternator and dripping to the ground. The message center always says "Low Coolant Level" and when i open the radiator cap coolant rushes oil and it filled to the max and the resevoir is filled to the hot line. I just bought this car on Dec 23rd as a recreation car but it turned into a project car. If you guys have any prices on any fixes please post them because I dont want to go to a side shop or the DIY route, I would rather get it done by the dealer. The car runs perfect except every 1 in 10 crank the car jerks for like 5-7 seconds and goes away and I have no idea whats causing that. Please help us Oh and I also have a 2002 Monte Carlo ss 3.8l

 

you would save a lot of money just doing it yourself, the gaskets can be bought for like $100-150 but the dealer charges like an extra grand on top of that from what i've seen.

 

Wow, seemz like it would be a DIY job then. I saw a how to i believe on this forum I could refer to. I just dont want to make my problem worse. Monte Carlo is my favorite car after the dodge challenger and after all these problems im thinking otherwise but im going to stick through it until I feel like the repair costs are more than the car is worth. I would probably start next weekend and ill make a thread with the process and probably pics. I know this is gonna be a dirty job so I guess ill bring out the old pressure washer for the garage floor lol

 

If mechanical problems sway your opinion about what cars you like, then you must have never owned a dodge, lol. Just messing. Sounds like the common intake gasket leak to me but sounds like you already figured out that one. Good luck with the repair. There are alot of people here who can walk you through the process if you have any troubles.

 

Ok thanks, BTW is it the lower gasket or upper gasket that I need to replace or both?

 

Can anyone here on this forum give me an idea of the cost to repair this issue? If i need to replace the top gasket of the intake...i might as well do the bottom gasket too. I dont have the time nor the facilities to repair this issue so a DIY is out of the question. I would just like to get an idea of the cost of repair at the chevy dealer before i call them or maybe shop around for a local garage. I just dont want to get ripped off on the repair. Thanks for any help.

 

I'd highly recommend a private shop, and still shop around. It's probably $1000 or more at a dealer.

 

Thank you KJRich.....I know the dealer is expensive but at least they warrant their work for a year on the Mr Goodwrench warranty...most local shops just give you 30 or 60 days on their work. I would think that dealer mechanics are certified and have GM repair experience?

 

I had mine done last summer for $200 at a local shop for the Monte but I did go and buy my own parts $130.00. I got a better intake out of the deal and it came Will all the parts for the change out here is the link for my 2001 .It saved me a ton of cash doing it this way after seeing it done I could have done it my self but like you I wanted the warranty
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...215_27246_7559_