I have 3.4L and I am about to change out both Upper and Lower Intake Manifold Gaskets myself. I bought Fel-Pro gaskets. I am hoping this gasket replacement will help with the leaks and coolant reservoir sludge. A friend of mine noticed a heavy leak around the Lower Intake Manifold bolt that is right next to thermostat housing. He said that the bolt could be coming loose due to normal engine vibration and/or incorrect torqueing on the bolt. I plan to use Medium-Strength Lock-Tite (about 80-100 ft./lbs. of torque to break them loose, don't want to use anything stronger cuz you might break the bolt when you might later have to change the gasket again...I HOPE NOT.).
I will let everyone know how difficult, how much time, and result of the fix after this weekend. I also plan to change out the thermostat. I ordered 180 degree thermostat to replace the stock 195 degree thermostat. This could help the new gaskets to last longer, 3.4L get REALLY hot ya know. I can't work on my car until at least 3 hours after it's been shut off. I've burned my hand a plenty of times.
I also plan to flush out the cooling system and clean the reservoir tank, it's messy in there.
Well, wish me luck and if anyone has any sort of hints or what you think about what I'm doing, please let me know. Always enjoy people's responses on aleromod.com
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