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I’m going to replace the intake manifold gasket on our 02 Chevy Venture 3.4L. I read something about running transmission fluid through the oil to clean out any garbage that may fall in with the valves since I have to remove pushrods, does this sound legit? I watched a video of someone doing the same job on another GM vehicle and I see that some gasket material will probably fall on top of the valves. Or should I just change her oil after a couple hundred miles?
And a question to make the wife happy, how long should it take to do this for someone who’s not delved into a real engine before? I’ve rebuilt a v-twin lawnmower engine and I changed the engine in my old car. I’m not equipped with all the “right” tools like you are but enough to get the engine apart. And I’m in maintenance (a year anyway) in an manufacturing plant so mechanical things aren’t new to me.
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I would not run tranny fluid through engine oil because I dont think it would help. ATF does not have detergents like engine oil. The detergents in oil cause the dirt particles to float and get sucked into the oil filter. If contamination is suspected, get as many pieces out as possible and then run a lighter weight oil or an engine oil flush through, change the oil after 50 miles or so. I will tell you however, it is not difficult to do an intake manifold gasket on a pushrod engine without dropping crap into the lifter valley.
Flushing the oil depends on weather the coolant has been leaking inside the engine or outside but if it’s been leaking into the oil I would be worried about what damage it’s caused. I wouldn’t use trans fluid anyway.
The job for someone experienced is not too difficult but for a novice I guess it depends on yourself. You will be working almost blind on the components at the rear of the engine and if you don’t know were and what components need to be removed and where the fasteners are it could be hard for you to do.
If you do tackle the job you will need an inch lb. torque wrench. The pushrods are a different length on the intake and exhaust valves so keep everything in order when removing them. I use pieces of paper towel stuffed into the intake ports and rags placed around the lifters to catch any debris from clean up. DON’T FORGET to remove them before assembly. (I have seen it happen)
Everyone has their opinion on when to change the oil but I change the oil and filter after the engine has been running and heated up fully. This will wash down any debris from the repair into the oil where it will drain out.
[quote=”americantractors123″ post=76489]I would not run tranny fluid through engine oil because I dont think it would help. ATF does not have detergents like engine oil. The detergents in oil cause the dirt particles to float and get sucked into the oil filter. If contamination is suspected, get as many pieces out as possible and then run a lighter weight oil or an engine oil flush through, change the oil after 50 miles or so. I will tell you however, it is not difficult to do an intake manifold gasket on a pushrod engine without dropping crap into the lifter valley.[/quote]
No offense but that’s not true. Automatic transmission fluid has much better detergents than engine oil. However, in this case I don’t think it matters. I also don’t think a little bit of gook on the back of the valves will make any difference. If the engine was maintained there shouldn’t be much buildup. But you can run a quart of transmission fluid in your engine oil to help keep things clean. I wouldn’t make a habit of it though. All you really need to do is change your oil regularly and you should be fine.
As for how long it will take, that depends on your motivation, tools, and experience. Sounds like you have the tools and some experience. I suppose the rest is up to your motivation. BTW, I don’t recommend giving time estimates on repairs, ever. The main reason is that they’re like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re getting yourself into.
I’ve maintained this van very well, I’m just trying to do the little things that will add to its longevity.
Yea I know that time estimates are no good, especially if you’ve never done the job. I used to give estimates when I was a welder but not in maintenance. I just wanted to forewarn my parents how long I’d be in their garage as I don’t have one. And to warn the wife how long to leave me alone. But I feel very confident, more so after watching your videos. Thanks.
When I was working in the Army as a 67U (helicopter technician) the only solvent we were allowed to use in the rebuilding of the aft and fore rotor transmissions was ATF. The only issue I could see with using ATF to free up badly gummed up engines was it might work too well and free up to much at once. But, if you have been changing the oil on a regular basis and doing your maintenance a gummed up engine is likely not what you will find.
If you are only worried about gasket pieces and other stuff, do like I do, I use an old shopvac to suck up stuff as I break it free, but a ’02 engine likely has modern rubber gaskets that won’t be an issue when you tear it down. When you get the lower intake out, put duct tape across the open holes to ensure you wont drop things in on the valves.
Im about to do the same thing to my 96 Taurus(just replacing the gasket), i was wondering though, is their any torque specs. for the Intake manifold, or can i just tighten it back on?
[quote=”lachiek803″ post=81800]Im about to do the same thing to my 96 Taurus(just replacing the gasket), i was wondering though, is their any torque specs. for the Intake manifold, or can i just tighten it back on?[/quote]
Ok so we finally got this done this year. Got the intake done back in like April and then it turned into headgasket in September. My van is now worth $-700, as the repairs cost more than the van is worth. But then again it does what we need and gets decent mileage for the amount of crap the wife carries around. But thanks for your advice about not giving time estimates, it made me not get into it in the first place. Where I would have ended up blaming myself, but instead let my independent mechanic do the job correctly.
Later addition: everything with this problem that could go bad, did. When the head gasket went, it went hard and fast. In a 10 mile drive, I got almost 5 gallons of water from the cooling system into the crankcase and she was still running when I parked it. The dash said it was hot but didn’t behave like she was hot. Besides that, I have a problem with the dash showing MIL messages even still; low brake fluid, change oil, low fuel, etc, so that’s why I didn’t believe it saying hot engine.
Well bless your soul elkhart007, I still owe this same vehicle. I’ve done all you’ve described more than once. So I know personally how much fun you’ve had… Approaching 250k with original engine and transmission… Still running like a sewing machine and my wife runs the wheels off of it. This forum is a great place for advice and yes, even moral support 🙂
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