Hello everyone. I'll keep it short. Intake manifold gasket went on my 96 LS w/ the 3.1. How do I know this? My friend had a 94 Cutlass Supreme w/ the same engine, same problem, same symptoms. My father is calling my car a complete loss. I cannot repair the engine myself. Is it too costly to have a mechanic repair it? Should I buy a used engine and drop it in? Help and advice please? Thank you.

 

Fairly common, it's not that difficult to do, just very time consuming, that's why the bill is so large from a mechanic.

Parts arent' that expensive, but it's like $700-$1000 labor

 

I had a 97 monte that had the intake gasket go out and I got lucky that it was an outer leak. It wasn't getting into the oil it was just leaving a puddle on the ground. I knew a guy and he charged me $400 so I was extremely lucky. I do know that the aftermarket gasket was a huge improvement over the stock one and I would probably never have the same problem again. The mechanic that fixed mine told me that if it had been an internal leak that the engine probably wouldn't last long no matter what I did.

 

It's not a hard job, just takes a lot of time. It's not that hard, just take off fuel rail/injectors, sensors, upper intake manifold, then the lower intake is right there. Take that off, remove the valve covers, remove the rockers and pushrods, then take the gasket off. Clean the surface, install new gaskets, then put it back together.

 

Well found the problem yesterday. It wasn't a blown intake manifold gasket. The block is cracked. My question is what possible motors can mount into my monte, the 3.4? 3.8? I'm going to keep my trans.

 

Check out 60degreev6.com. The site is good for alot of info on the 660 engine. 3100, 3400, 3.4 DOHC, 3500, 3900. Your easiest route would be to install a new 3100. They are a dime a dozen. You could also go with a 3400 for more power. It shouldnt be alot more work to get it to work in your car.

 

Would the 3.4 need new wiring harnesses and all that good stuff?

 

The 3.4 DOHC motor may require a wiring harness from a '96-'97 Z34, however a 3400 out of a Grand Am for example, you can use your wiring harness for your 3100 I do believe.

 

Yes, you can use your stock wiring harness with a 3400. I swore I read somewhere that the 3400 will actually run on the 3100 PCM as well, but I may be mistaken. I wouldnt recommend doing that tho if you actually can.

 

x2 on the PCM. It can most likely be done, but a new PCM, even a tuned PCM is only ~$100.