Tried bleeding the air from your 3400 GM engine and it still overheats? Bad news. May be the head gasket or lower intake manifold gasket. Here are a few chec…
How To Change A Bad / Blown Head Gasket 3400 GM Overheats Thermostat Intake Manifold No Heat 3.4
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Thank you for the great videos on this engine. Do you put the gasket on dry
and tighten things down, or do you put silicone or something else in
certain places?
Do not just install the heads back on after cleaning the gasket surface.Get
a straight edge and a .002 feeler gauge out and check the headgasket
surface for warpage.If the the feeler gauge goes through easily,take the
cylinder heads to a machine shop to get resurfaced.
Another way to check for a bad headgasket on these is a compression check.A
miss is another way too.You need a torque angle gauge too,you turn the head
bolts a certain degree after torqueing the headbolts down.
Sounds like you got a good deal on the parts. I went with all Fel Pro parts
so it was a little more. VT247
Got the full head gasket set for 62.00 at AM auto parts online, super tec
oil, ac delco oil filter for 15.00 , and coolant for 12.00 at wal mart. So
I did this job for under $100
The LA1 3400 (“E-code”) was a bored-out version of the 3100. It retained
the OHV layout of the previous engine, and was first utilized on the 1996 U
platform minivans Applications: 1996 Chevrolet Lumina APV 1997-2005
Chevrolet Venture 1996-2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette 1996-1998 Pontiac Trans
Sport 1999-2005 Pontiac Montana 1999-2005 Oldsmobile Alero 1999-2005
Pontiac Grand Am 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala 2000-2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2001-2005 Pontiac Aztek 2002-2005 Buick Rendezvous
do you know were in the block i can check the codename of the engine?
yes but this ones are diferent there are two holes in the block that the
head and the head gasket does not have both make the gasket and the head
get rotten because the car was using water instead of antifreeze
The different holes for the head and block are like that from the factory.
Thought it was kind of strange also, but I’ve done this fix a few times.
All are like that from the factory. Keep everything the same, you should
only need to change out the gaskets. VT247
of the holes dont match so i started to make my homework and search in the
net and i foun that the engineblock is actually a 3.4 liter but is a
special edition for the chevrolet equinox and pontiac torrent the engine is
the LNJ V6 3.4L my question is if i put the heads that this engine really
need to have does everything else fit ok or i need to change the intake
manifold too if you have fixed one of those engines because the heads are
starting to be destroyed because of those holes
hello again vt247 guess what i do the work i take off the heads but i got a
problem im asking you a favor the think is that my car is a grand am 2002
and i got it just for two months since i bought it so to make it short when
i take out the heads i realize that the head dont match the engine block so
it was really weird to me because i see that the patterns of the holes
wheres passes the water to cool down the head are in roun shape and the
ones in the engine block are triangle ones and two
Glad these videos helped! It’s not to hard to do but it is time consuming.
VT247
Between your two videos (this one and the LIM gasket replacement) plus
another awesome tutorial on the GrandAmGT forums – I was able to overcome
my hesitation (- nay, overwhelming fear) and successfully do my head gasket
replacement. Thanks man – your vids are invaluable!
once theres water in the motor how do you fix the problem the mainfold
gaskets where so mess up
I did get new head bolts when I did the head gaskets. It’s recommended that
the intake bolts get changed too but I didn’t get those new. Good luck on
the fix and hope this helps. VT247
when you change de headgasket do you change the bolts too? i was looking
for prices and see that they recomend to change the bolts, and thanks for
the tutorial VT247 its really helping me in what im going to do
Don’t feel bad. I spent hundreds of dollars trying to fix a transmission
issue on a Durango once. Come to find out it was a simple wire. Wasn’t
getting 12 volts to the transmission, making it only work in limp mode
second and 3rd gear. A free wire fixed it. This after replacing the
computer, solenoids, pigtail, etc. Sometimes it’s the one thing that’s
overlooked. : / VT247
yea I have a 03 s10 zr2 mechanic says I have coolant in oil that’s leaking
is that a system off the intake gasket and people keep saying upper and
lower gasket so the intake has two or what the hell ive done a 96 jimmy
head gasket it was our last option it was the 4.3 vortec kept over heating
did heater core stat water pump all that shit and the head gasket and do u
believe it over heated again now im worried with all the previous over
heats ,damb the head must be warped its like shit all the
pt2 work and money well really did not spend a lot of money but it was time
and effort trying to trouble shoot this cooling issue so I sold it traded
it just to find out later from the person who bought it they found the prob
the only cooling system component I did not replace ,it was the damb fan
clutch can u believe that shit guy had it replaced no more cooling issues
thank God I did all the work my self it wood have been 3 4 thousand dolars
in labor costs sob.thanks great vid
DEFINITELY do the head gaskets if you’re doing the intake manifold. It’s
not that much more work and the head gaskets will eventually fail anyhow.
You don’t mess with the timing chain while doing the head gasket. Hope your
fix goes well. Be sure not to torque the intake manifold down to hard, I
cracked mine once. Had to replace it. Use a criss cross pattern for the
head and intake torque down sequence. VT247
when you change the head gasket you dont get involve with the timing chain
in this engines ? im going to change the intake gasket but im thinking in
changing the headgaskets so it dont give problems in some months
This is a great video especially since I am currently doing this job. I
also have a question for you, how exactly did you manage to remove the
lower intake manifold?
so what is the total hours on this project? Also, how much is the total
kit? first time tackling a project this size (2000 grand am gt 3400)
Thank you for creating a informative video. Been using it as a guide for my
buick rendezvous. I ve got everything almost put together but I lost track
of where a certain wire goes. Its the wire that sets on the right side of
the engine located around the exhaust cross over. Its lime green colored.
Can you tell me where that plugs into? Thank you!
I got the severe duty Fel-Pro gaskets from Rockauto dot com. Figured I’d
better go ahead and go overboard with this fix as it’s not one I want to do
again any time soon. : ) VT247
Wish this video was up before I spent 1,500 getting mine fixed. Nice of you
to help people out! This is no cheap job
You did NOT show how u removed/unbolted the rear mani.! Its a pain ita!
Thanks a million!! The heads are off and going to the shop tomorrow : )
You have to remove the A/C pump. The bracket is still behind there. There
are 3 bolts holding it on. No need to drain the A/C, it slides down and out
of place. On top of the bracket there is a hole. Once the A/C is off, it
twists back and forth after soaking it with lubricant (WD-40, oil, trans
fluid). Kind of a pain but keep workin’ it and it’ll come out. VT247
Awesome video man.in the process of doing head gaskets on my van .(chevy
venture).heads at machine shop to get resurfaced.what steps did u take to
clean off thhe block for the new head gasket. Cool video
Did you have heads machined? looking at doing lower intake gasket and was
going to do heads also. Its not running hot, just using coolant.
Thanks for reply. 2003 Malibu 3100 just purchased was pressure washed
before and it looks like it had or has LIM gasket failure. Front cover is
caked with oil and wet looking down sides. Will do front cover, water pump
and timing first to see if that’s my source of coolant loss. No temperature
issues, just needed coolant one day, heater is so so, slight white smoke
and clear water from tail at warm up which does have slight smell. May need
to bleed after hose replacement. Thanks for videos.
It’s the head gasket. If you’ve bled all the air out of the system and it
still goes hot, the head gaskets are either going bad or already bad. I
just replaced my head gasket on this Aztek and didn’t bother to resurface
the heads. Drove it 100 miles and the problem has been solved and runs
better than ever. VT247
This is a good news, bad news kind of thing. I bought a 2003 Alero and
after two months a rocker arm stud let loose. After some digging I
discovered there have been two other studs that have gone bad on this
engine. I’m pulling the heads and having all the studs replaced. The good
news is that I have been able to remove all the exhaust manifold bolts…
but one. The lower rear at cylinder #5. I can’t get the heat shield out of
the way to get a socket on the bolt. Any ideas?
Thx but do I really need to take the wires off?
Hi Sir, How you remove the passenger side engine mount? I am stuck right
there… Seems like I have unbolted all 3 bolts but it is still sitting
very tight. I have 2001 Chevy Venture Thanks,
the altenator/ bracket belt wiring radiator transmission lines air system 1
vacuum line that runs to the pvc valve and throttle body back to the o2
sensor then the braces and motor mounts along with the bleeding of the
antifreeze lines in front of the front valve cover and on the themostat
housing plus the power steering pump them its a hopefully run and start for
me still seems alot but like you say it looks like alot but really its not
i agree. my brothers 2004 grand am 3400v6 he just bought started every now
and then it would get a lil too warm to where he would have to pull over.
done that a couple times then we said well maybe its the thermostat, then
were thinking well these engines are bad about intake gasket problems. then
were like well were not going to do the intake gaskets and not do the head
gaskets. good thing we did. the front head was junk, had very deep
corrosion and im sure it was leaking. runs great now.
I’ve got a video up on how to do both the head gaskets and the intake
manifold gaskets. I advise everyone that asks me a question on the intake
gaskets to go ahead and do the head gaskets. 99% of the time if someone is
having an overheating issue with the 3400 or 3100 if the intake is good and
there is antifreeze, it’s the head gasket. The water pumps and thermostats
don’t go out that often. VT247
Thanks for the video. It helped me a lot! Best regards from Germany!
yea i agree i had to do a head gasket kit on a 1999 pontiac grand am and
then a 1999 pontiac montana head job so i am getting used to working on
these 3.4l’s the first kit for the grand am cost $158 then i looked on ebay
and found on for 2 times less for $51 so saving a little over $100 so now i
do the shopping on ebay alot of money and time can be saved by getting the
set than getting 1 piece at a time and spending more money for labor or
parts but in all in all i have the motor almost done but
Put on a socket that is one size smaller and break off the bolt holding on
the heat shield. The rest of the bolts will hold it on. I had to mix match
the sockets on mine to get the shield off. They were all pretty rusty. Hope
this helps. VT247
It’s kind of a pain to do. I used a combination of a 3/8 & 1/4 drive
ratchet and 10mm long socket and swivel / wobble extension piece. That and
a 10mm wrench. Had to inch it off slowly with the open end and the boxed
end. Takes some time to do, but it can be done. I just had to do this job
on my other red Aztek after doing it on my black one. Obviously a common
problem with the 3400 engines. Be patient and set the car/van/suv on
stands, you’ll be bent over the engine bay for a while. VT247
I did not machine the heads. I just cleaned them up, inspected closely for
pitting and cracks but found none. The heads are aluminum and disperse heat
much better than iron. Done this job twice and none of the heads shown any
wear. You should be fine just cleaning them and re-installing. VT247
You can also use a water hose in the radiator to force air out of the
system mine would not bleed without doing this.. Then evreything was fine
and has been evrey since