Hello. I drove my car today a little faster than usual. At only 65 mph little bit of smoke came out under hood. Temp gauge was no where near red mark when all this happened. It got Just a little worse after 1st noticing this so I parked it after driving 10 minutes more. I Opened hood car near intake manifold smelled like pancake syrup hissed and spewed out coolant. Those of you who know my background I went to battle with a nagging coolant leak problem that was repaired by my trusty auto body shop tech. It was near the timing chain cover & labor intensive cost me $1100 in June of last year. My Car is a v6 at 138k miles. When I dropped it off the same trusty tech said you will be lucky if just a $50 hose. But that sweet smell is never good. Could be a blown head gasket. It was too hot for him to tell. He needed my car to cool down. Anyone know what the average repair shop cost were looking at here? For example, anywhere from $50 to $1200 ? Judging by the temp gauge being only little more than half and not a lot of smoke it could be not too pricey a fix right? By the way it had enough coolant & motor oil before this problem happened. Thanks for your help

 

You know there is not way to answer this. Intake gaskets are common but they should not repeat if they are done right. The design issue was with the gaskets and that error was never duplicated in the aftermarket or by GM service parts only the original gaskets.

 

You mean he probably didn't seal the leak up right the 1st time?

(I'm talking about the leak near the timing chain cover)

Then It might be covered under some type of repair shop warranty or auto repair shop owner standard of ethics?

 

googlin intake gaskets thanks Gorn....you must be busy idk what u wrote means but im leaning towards a coolant leak repair near the timing chain cover wasn't done right the 1st time

or.... intake gaskets are inherently defective in a 4th Gen... but not in the aftermarket ones

sort of like the problem i had with the 4th gen driveshaft, the repair shop rep told me it was an inherent defect but the part they ordered would never have this problem again

 

oh, thanks Gorn...here's the product of my research just now... just a hose problem it seems...

intake gasket: is.... =
{start) It is attached to the top of the engine by an intake manifold gasket (or gaskets) that is made of plastic and rubber. The intake manifold directs the air-fuel mixture in the engine to the corresponding cylinder where it is burned to produce power. (end)

u have lots of confidence in me, G... I know u do free lance work in PA and are a crackerjack gifted mechanic.

looks like a 50 dollar job at any auto repair shop

Thanks, again, God bless

 

whoa....still a chunk of change (see below) I thought it'd be only a $50 fix for a new hose.
but here's a copy and paste from "my mechanic.com"

basically at least $500 to replace an intake gasket manifold......
(start)
Your total price
$508.60
Apply promo Code
Shop price$528
Dealer price$575
You save12%
View price breakdown (end)

 

2 things: I edited the above typo to read after 1st noticing, not 2st.

2nd: A sputtering accompanying a hissing and pancake syrup sweet smoke spewing coolant under hood is a sign of a blown head gasket or dying head gasket...

I did not hear this scary "sputtering" or vibrating of the engine

Usually, and I have encountered this, please confirm if you can members:

a blown head gasket has symptoms of sputtering and low engine power

I had a friend who had a 94 Camaro AUTOMATIC and did a burn out and either blew his head gasket or blew his transmission.

he did so by pushing on the gas and pedal...

So...who here can confirm or ratify, please, I'm sort of freaking out LoL that my problem isn't or doesn't sound like a blown head gasket, just a torn intake manifold gasket(s)

probably will cost me $500

you may want to note that the radiator was super duper hot like the coolant hose had coolant in it and so did the motor have enough motor in it....

the mechanic couldn't even diagnose the problem since the radiator was so hot...i don't know if that there sentence is relative or not

thanks in advance members for any more help

 

i left the 4th Gen. Big Cat over at the shop, so when it cooled down they could check with a pressure tester where the coolant was leaking.... from... thanks... feel free to contribute other members. I will follow up with my mechanic tomorrow in the a.m.

The Cam Big Cat
does not prey on "Eleanor," instead respects her. GISX, 1974 version