3.4 V6 intake leak Links

[Black02Silverado]

Here is a link that has more links concerning the leaking intake gasket problems with the 3.4 V6. My venture is leaking. Good thing I did an oil analysis on it. Hopefully I cought it in time and no major damage has been done to the engine plus it is still under warranty.

 

Intake leak link

[melbertbloosfan]

Here is a link that has more links concerning the leaking intake gasket problems with the 3.4 V6.  My venture is leaking. Good thing I did an oil analysis on it. Hopefully I cought it in time and no major damage has been done to the engine plus it is still under warranty.

 

Intake leak link

Hey, Black02, I also have a venture van so this interests me. What symptoms did you have that led you to beleive that the gasket was leaking? Or did you just have the oil analysis done out of hand? Being an amsoil dealer I will assume the latter. I know my venture (2001) is NOISY as heck when I first start it but have noticed no excessive oil consumption. I have been changing at around 6K per the oil life thingee and running 10W30 Syntec or Mobil 1.

Just looking for more info as the van is at 34500 miles now and thus is approaching end of warranty. Thanks!

[Black02Silverado]

Well it all started when I wanted to see how well the Amsoil was holding up in the Venture. I also found out about the intake gasket problem. Got online and found a ton more and so I figure that the analysis would help find it before it killed the engine.

 

I also noticed that my coolant over flow tank is not the nice clear whiteish plastic like on my 02 silverado. Instead it is all dark and stained inside with sludge on the bottom of the tank and the Dexcool isn't it's normal nice orange color.

 

This last analysis confirmed it. The oil I had in this last go round is toast and doesn't have much mileage on it. Several others on the Bobistheoilguy.com forum have read my results and they said the same thing that the oil is toast but not the oil's fault. I had Dyson Analysis read my oil sample and he confirmed that coolant in the oil caused it to trash so fast causing high wear metals in the sample. So since it only has a little under 27k on it, off to the dealer to have it fixed.

 

Doesn't matter what oil you run, if it gets contaminated with coolant then it will not last and can cause big problems.

 

The analysis are not cheap but paid for themself's if you ask me.

 

I would keep an eye on your coolant tank. Look for signs of useage and not right color of coolant. Most online complained of their low coolant light coming on. I'm glad I'm anal about my vehicles and keep an eye on them. I couldn't wait for some idiot light to come on. By then it is to late.

 

We also have had a few problems with it not starting. No problems when it starts and isn't noisy at all.

 

We love the thing, doesn't use oil at all and runs great and gets good mileage. The DVD player is a life saver for the kids on trips.

 

If you think it is leaking at all take it in and complain. At least you will have it in the records and so later on down the road if it does happen you have proof of prior problems.

 

I noticed that some dealers are paying half the cost for those out of warranty. That just proves that GM knows it is a problem.

 

I hope you don't have any problems and are one of the few that has a good Venture. If you are not sure and want a sample taken you can go to BlackStone's web site and have them send a sample kit. That is who I used. It cost $30 and that was to get the TBN read which is the life indicator of your oils additive package. The coolant ate up all of my additive package. They are good at getting results back via E-mail. I sent mine in on Friday last week and got the results back last night.

 

Good luck.

[melbertbloosfan]

I hate to badger you, but, I think you really know your oils, so I'll just ask.. I only have about 1000 miles on the oil now, do you think it would be worth it to have it sampled now or wait?

Reading the site, I could not see where they would come out and say "you've got anti-freeze in your oil". It appears to be more deductive than that and I wonder with so few miles on the oil, if one would be able to deduce that it was indeed anti-freeze. Hmmmm....

All I know is that it makes hella noise starting up - lotsa tapping and clicking - just sounds real "thrashy". Not like the silvy which roars pretty good (but it's a "clean" roar!). The van is also verrrry hard to start when warm. Long time cranking before it finally catches. Kinda like my old bronco when i would advance the timing too far. The van cranks well but sometimes it takes 7-8 seconds for it to start. Is your van hard to start (when warm only) too?

Sorry to burden, but my wife loves the van but I am not so sure about its long-term reliability.

Good to find a kindred soul.

[Black02Silverado]

Easy on making me sound like an oil King. I'm learning day by day and hope to have an above average understanding of lubrication. But it does sound cool.

 

Not a problem on the badgering. If I can help in any way then it benefits everyone.

 

Our van has only given us a few times in the hard to start problem and it only happens when warm just like yours. It usually will turn over and die then repeat and repeat and on the fourth try will start fine.

 

No noisy starts. A little louder than the Siverado but nothing out of the normal I feel.

 

If there is any evidence at all of a problem with your engine and coolant in the oil at all it will show up on your oil sample. My test with Dyson analysis cost me $35. The basic Blackstone analysis is $20, then $10 on top of that if you want to know the TBN, (Duhhh that is why I want it read in the first place.) Then it cost an extra $5 for the Dyson analysis. Terry is the man and really explains it plan and simple and has been doing it for years. He is an engineer with class. So those are the numbers. Sad that they charge so much but that is the price for something in the supply and demand society.

 

How is your coolant overflow resevoir tank? What does it look like? Does it look like the tank in your truck? Like I said before ours is dark and has brown sediment stuck to the sides like oil has mixed in it. Which is an idication of an oil mix. If your tank is clean and white and has not lost any fluid then it should be fine. As for the hard starting, I would take it in and complain, complain, complain till it was fixt while you still have a warranty. I know it really bits the big one to waste our time taking things to the dealer but it is all we have and better to loose time then pay cash after the warranty is out.

 

Terry is able to tell by the way the additive package is being depleated and how other metals are showing up as to there being coolant in the oil. If there is a large amount then it will just plain say coolant in oil and give a percentage.

 

I know what you mean about long term reliabiliy. Not comforting to know that it might have problems the longer you own it, well at least more problems then the average vehicle.

 

Hope that helped. Keep us posted on what happens.

 

Cheers.

[Black02Silverado]

Well the dealer is working on my Venture right now. I'm riding in an 03 Trailblazer, (nice ride) while they fix the Venture. The first trip they blew me off sorta. Said that the coolant was contaminated and I had to pay to get it flushed that warranty didn't cover it.

 

So I called GM and complained that I felt they didn't do a good enough job diagnosing my problem. Not to mention I gave GM the TSB number that came out in March on the intake leak fix.

 

Needless to say the dealer really worked with me this time and appologised for the first mess up. Now the car is in and they said that they found my head gaskets leaking. I went today to get some things out of the van and found out that they wanted to make sure the heads were good so they sent them off to the machine shop to have them inspected. Once they get them back they will put it all back together. At leas they are doing it right and not just slapping on a new set of head and intake gaskets and pressing on. I might be out of my car a little longer but this Trailblazer is nice.

 

So for those of you that have the 3.1/3.4 engine in any of the GM vehicles I would keep an eye on the coolant. Mine was nasty looking and with a little persistance I'm getting warranty work. Not thrilled with them touching the car but it is free and I can't complain about that.