Last September I had valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, and upper intake gasket, and cooling fans done together. At total of 1100.00. A very expensive trip to the repair shop. They are the best in our city. No dealer repairs. Although there are some parts that are only stocked by GM. Most of the plastic parts seem cheap but will last 100k or better. It is a way for mfrs. to cut corners and save a little cash.

 

I feel your pain and was of the same opinion following a similar experience with a GM 3.4. Then I bought my first Ford... Almost everything driveline related has failed at one point or another. The engine itself has been great, though.

 

I have an 04 Dale Jr sig series and I am getting antifreeze seeping out of my LIM gaskets. I have always done a DYI and if you go to this Replace Lower Intake Manifold Gasket Yourself link you will find it easy to follow, I am currently roundin up the parts and will be tackling this project. DYI projects like this are actually easy for me, I have always done DYIs and have always been successful, don't be intimidated, it actually looks rather easy, just take your time and think things out. Heck the guy who did this link already made all the mistakes for us and warns you ahead of time on any issues.
I might take photos as I go and post here when I am done

 

I realize this is an old thread... However, I switched out my Series II upper intake with a series III aluminum intake. It is well worth the effort. The upper plastic plenum on the series II is very poor and will fake a blown head gasket. I bought mine through GMperformanceparts. I got it for somewhere around 180. I am now looking at getting a aluminum valve cover for the left (Front) side. Plastic (or "composite" if you wanna church it up) parts on this engine are the weak links. I replaced my upper intake manifold (plenum) twice before I learned my lesson. Just an FYI. I hope this helps someone down the road.

 

Well Jay.....I replaced my upper intake manifold with a new design...not the one sold by chevy dealers...if it lasts me another year or so without issues..then it will be good until i sell my car...Seems to be working ok for me since i had the big job done back in January...just wish my warranty didn't expire before the issue began....ran me $850 out of pocket for this job at my local mechanic...I priced it out at several places and this was the best....Other shops didnt even want to touch the monte...said there were way too many issues with the upper and lower manifolds as well as the plastic coolant tubes that GM uses on these engines....Last Gm car for me!

 

I am actually in debate on doing the switch to the L26 UIM for my turbo build. Just to have the aluminum safety net.

You should write-up a how-to for the L26 UIM and put it in the Sixth Generation Section, and I will approve it and allow it to go there

 

I can do that...

I came across this thread looking for ideas where my oil was spraying from since I felt I covered everything. However, keep an eye on the oil dipstick o-ring. Oil will crawl up and spray all over that exhaust manifold. I am now oil leak free. For now.

 

I had to replace the intake gaskets on my 02 gran prix gt.....fortunately i have a gm tech guy that does work for me on the side.....the cost was 500.00 parts and fluids included but well under the cost of a dealership price price considering he would have done it there anyway. On the other hand a few weeks ago my monte was parked on a hill at my friends driveway..when i was leaving low coolant came up for a few minutes...reservoir was down so i added 2 liters of dexcool ...started wondering soooo i got the oil changed the next day....no milkiness in the oil and no gunk around the radiator cap and the reservoir tank stays the same and no signs of leakage

 

I have an 04 Monte SS, and a close friend which doesn't charge labor and breaks the price to exactly what everything costs. I have a small oil leak under the car presumably from my gasket, so we ordered a new gasket which cost me about $75, and is made of plastic and seems very fragile. Turns out you would think this "minor" repair shouldn't cost much, but when it comes to the SS model, the gasket is deep in the motor, and to replace/repair that part of your car requires you to support the engine and unbolt a lot of crap under the car, essentially a 6-8 hour job. This is definitely not a DIY project for those without tools to support the engine and at the bare minimum be able to prop the car on a lift. I'm getting it done for about $200 (we agreed on $125 to do the job), but the same job at the local shop costs close to $1200, which is all labor, and a 200% markup on the part. Is is ridiculous, yes... very.

At the moment, I'm only leaking a quart per week, but as we all know, procrastinating only makes things worse... Good luck fixing your car, my friend's working on the car for me tomorrow, so I'll let the forum know if it fixed the problem, and about how long it "actually" takes a licensed mechanic to complete.

 

12 years later of the OP, I just did my upper and lower for something like 75 dollars max from rockauto. It was easy peasy just need to remember the two hidden bolts inside the lower manifold and make sure the plastic tube inside the plenum/upper manifold is aligned correctly (facing upwards). Lock the two hidden bolts, tighten the rest to torque; lower manifold simply torque to spec and include a dump of rtv in the corners of the bridges where the bridge gaskets go. And drain your coolant before hand. Also, change oil and of course add coolant. If you go this far you might as well change out the back plugs and the valve cover gaskets. If you got plastic elbows, toss em in the trash and grab 2 aluminum Dorman elbow fittings, make sure you put rtv sealant on both sides of the elbows before putting it all back together or you might just suffer leakage. Have fun.