Hahaha. I would valiantly defend my vehicle until the issue is brought up that I haven't exactly paid it off yet. Dad bought it for $2500, I think I still owe $1500. Rather than pay off the vehicle fully, I decided to put a blower on it. Which, in retrospect, was a FAR BETTER MOVE. :) Although they don't think so.

If its anything like the old astro vans you could pull the floor up.

Brad its gonna cost more than $100 for gaskets, its like $70 for the intake gaskets.

put sawdust in your radiator

um...?

ok, well, i still don't know if you are looking for a cheap car but look on AutoTrader.com -- there's a ton of malibu's and such in dearborn for sale. and, if that's out of the question, you could at least try to make your car looks as inconspicuous as possible by putting stock stuff back on the exterior so people would think its the average alero with nothing fancy on it. i mean, with the engine being covered, how will they know that u have any mods? tell your mom to park by security cameras or in a well lit area that isn't hidden from view.

there's also craigslist, ebay or swapalease.com :p

yaeh i dunno, it looks like my mom will be driven by my dad until the parents snag some cash to pay a fellow mechanic family member to work on it, so i can keep my 'ho to whine around campus

lol so my dad says he's tempted to tear into the engine himself, as a Fel-Pro gasket is $23. says he was searching around online and says its not hard at all to replace the headgasket. says you can get at it form the rear of the engine (or the right of it as you look at it with the hood open)

how one can replace the 1, 3, 5 cylinder head by coming at it from the side is beyond me. thought you had to dissasemble the upper/lower intake manifolds and all that PITA

Yes, in order to change a head gasket you will have to disassemble just about the entire top end. I don't think there is any way possible to get a head off without removing the intake plenum.

Also, don't just replace one head gasket. Not good to have the added compression of a new head gasket on just one side if the engine has any significant number of miles on it. You'll just blow the other side sooner. Even if the other side is not blown, replace it at the same time.

A full gasket and seal replacement set for a 5.9L V8 is about $140. Surely a V6 Felpro set will be at least a little cheaper than that.

Why don't you help your dad rebuild the engine? Surely you can give him a hand if he financed the 'ho for ya...

-Brad

its $144 for a total gasket set, or $23 per head gasket

ya... im sure that'd be a fun job, pulling the engine without a crane, tearing into it together. we don't do projects well together :p i think they're going to pay someone to do it, because doing anything on this engine is a real pain in the ass as far as i know. i'll take my LD9 and elbow room anyday.

Don't pull the engine...

Unless you need to do anything below the block, it can sit in place for the entire rebuild.

...unless it's one of those setups where the engine basically sits under a little hump in the passenger compartment. Then you might need to pull it to have room to work. :)

-Brad

Yeah I would say if you're going to fix the van, swap the engine

Ends up he had the dealer do it, though I always say NEVER take anything to the dealer.

Replaced both headgaskets, all spark plugs, and four ignition coils... $2300

wow..... a normal mechanic might have charged a grand for all that.

I know.. we had a family member mech who wanted to do it for $800.. but he kept pushing it off for weeks and wouldn't call back or come to pick it up even though he said he would.

Not sure why he didn't shop around. Then again I don't know of any mechanics around here besides Livernois Motorsports, who would have probably doubled the cost just because they enjoy overcharging a bit.

You go to dealers under warranty, the rest is pure robbery.

holy crap, is the van even worth $2300? i am assuming its a late 90's Montana, correct?

i always search autotrader/craigslist/ebay for deals on cars, and there are always some on there for cheap. though, you are still getting what you pay for (usually under $3k its gonna be a piece of crap)...

2000 Montana.. I agree the price was ridiculous. I thought he was going to use the person from his work who would do it in his shop for $1200.. Not my money though.. I tend to find the best deals before I go for something. I'm getting the RSM 62mm throttle body for only $100 (retail ~$300), got Eagle rods for $110 (retail ~$350).. hehe :)

You know, it only has 3 coils.

And you don't know anyone who works for GM and could get a good deal on it? I thought everyone in MI could LOL!

I don't know much about the 3400, neither does my dad, the dealer said it had one per cylinder.

Yeah my dad used to work for GM, my aunt does, but my dad didn't want to get the best deal I guess..