Intake Manifold Leak

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I was recently told I have an intake manifold leak on my 2002 Pontiac Grand Am. Is this something that I can do myself? Does it take special tools? I am comfortable changing my brakes, oil, and other average repairs but this sounds out of my league. Plus there’s the issue of doing more harm in the end. I was quoted $725 to reseal the lower intake.

2

The mechanuicals are not that complex, but there are a number of sensors and you could easily damage them and be out a whole lot more. I would take the car to a good independent mechanic and make sure he uses the NEW IMPROVED gasket. I’m assuming this is a GM car.

I had it replaced on my V8 Caprice and it cost only $256 in 1998. The car ran great afterwards.

3

Find a service manual (book store or online) and read through the procedure. Then decide whether or not you want to do it.

4

It’s NOT really complicated…just that there are a lot of parts.

There is a aftermarket gasket kit from felpro that fixes this problem.

If you never done a intake manifold before get a manual. There is a sequence order for tightening the bolts. This is important.

5

It depends on the engine. There is a 2.2L 4 cylinder and a 3.4L V6. If you are talking about the V6, there are a good number of parts to remove and metal coolant lines are a pain to remove. You might have to tilt the engine forward to gain better access to the side closest to the firewall. There is a special tool to hold the tilted engine safely in place. It might not be absolutely necessary to tilt the engine but if you don’t, the job might take a bit longer.

Besides the intake manifold gasket kit you might also have to get an o-ring to reseal a metal coolant tube (at the flange) and perhaps a seal set for the fuel injectors among other things. It’s a good project that you don’t want to rush through. Set aside plenty of time and label everything.

I couldn’t agree more with mcparadise’s advice to get a manual to read through the procedure first before deciding to tackle the job. Even if you decide not to do this job, the manual will useful for future jobs.