I am reparing the infamous intake gasket on a 95 Lumina with a 3400 (i
think) V-6. The coolant was leaking on the driver's side of the engine. I
got the intake off earlier today and the area around the coolant ports is
not smooth, it's almost pitted or scored. Hard to explain. I do have a
picture of it that I'll send if anyone needs to see it, or I'll post it to
my webspace when I get the chance. I'm wondering if I need to remove the
heads to have the area repaired or if RTV will seal it. It it worse on the
driver's side of the heads than the passenger side and it's not too bad on
the intake manifold. This car is going to be used primarily by my 18 year
old son to drive to school and back.

Thanks for your consideration.

Chip

Here's the link to the pciture:
http://home.neo.rr.com/rocketitis/luminahead.jpg

It doesn't exactly show the surface real well but, I think you can get the
idea. Is this a potential problem? I do not want to replace the intake
gaskets again.

Thanks,

Chip

"Chip" <cjenkins1 (AT) nospam (DOT) neo.rr.com> wrote

Chip:

I looked at the picture you posted and from what it looks like to me in that
picture, you just need to clean down the mating surface better. There looks
to me to be gasket residue remaining on the surface. I can't see any
scoring or pitting as described, although it can be hard to see exactly what
you are concerned about in a picture. I'm not dismissing your thoughts,
it's just that I can't see anything of concern. From what I do see, I would
not be concerned. Clean the surface completely and install the new gasket
set per the directions. You will need a bead of RTV in the valley between
the two heads, both front and rear of the engine.

Thanks for posting the picture. Even when pictures don't give the perfect
description all by themselves, they still offer a lot more to work from than
not.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE (AT) alltel (DOT) net

I could not get a good picture of the one with the worst pitting. The one
that you're looking at is from the passenger side of the engine and the one
that is in the worst condition is on the driver's side. The picture was
taken after it was cleaned with brake cleaner. The dark ring around the
port is due to the residue that I could not scrape off with a razor blade,
this is because it is slightly below the machined surface. I'll take
another picture and post it later tonite. I appreciate any thoughts from
someone who does this more than I.


"Mike Marlow" <mmarlow (AT) alltel (DOT) net> wrote

"Chip" <cjenkins1 (AT) nospam (DOT) neo.rr.com> wrote in
news:45d50982$0$5268$4c368faf (AT) roadrunner (DOT) com:

after looking at jpg....doesnt look much different than most ive replaced
at 100k or more miles.............oddly enuff, i replaced the intake
gaskets in the 99 lumina i put my 18 year old son in 2 months ago.
hopefully your boy was more appreciative than mine was. "looks like a
taxi dad"...............he is a pisser but i still keep the heat on in
his room. so far..................kjun

Wow, he's complaining about a '99 Lumina! :-) My first car was a 1972
Ford Pinto with a manual tranny. This was in 1989, so not only was it a
Ford Pinto but it was a 17 year old Pinto! The car was as old as me (both
born in 1972). We bought it at a junkyard owned by my dad's friend for
$100. We rebuilt the carburettor and tuned it up, and it ran like a top.
My dad's a mechanic. We sold the Pinto for $400. My next car was a 1979
Plymouth Champ (Mitsubishi/Colt), reclaimed from the junkyard for $150 that
just needed a good cleaning and a tuneup and I believe a new engine
computer. The Champ with its power mirrors and AC almost seemed stately
compared to the Pinto!

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

You "put" your son in? You bought the car? Both my kids had to buy their
own and pay all the expenses for them. At the time, they thought I was mean
and cheap, but today, they realize they were being taught to be responsible
and appreciate the fact. Not a total jerk, I gave my son a good deal on the
'71 Ford LTD station wagon for $100. He hated driving that around the
girls.

Like all good young drivers, he took the car out when his mother advised him
not to and slid on the ice into the guardrail, effectively totaling the car.

"Edwin Pawlowski" <esp (AT) snet (DOT) net> wrote


Of three children, I gave two of them cars when they were old enough to
drive,
but they had to pay their expenses. We used those cars to work together and
let them learn something about repairing and maintaining their own vehicles.

The third child reached legal age to drive but not the maturity to do so.
Some
may have considered me harsh too, Ed, but it took some years before this
child learned to view the world extra-analy

"Grappletech" <noone (AT) yodoor (DOT) biz> wrote

Thats the way it WAS Mine was a $15 1953 Ford from the Junyard and was in
5 colors. burnt 1 qt of oil per day, but Oh what fun I had!

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:36:26 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <esp (AT) snet (DOT) net> wrote:


Except for gas mileage, he loved it for dates.
But then, he kept a few sleeping bags in the back.... ;o)



<rj>