Intake Gasket

[93GrnMnstr]

Just replaced my water pump and timing belt two weeks ago. Topped off with coolant.

After driving, I would notice that there was a faint smell of coolant when I got out of the car, and the fan would stay on for a couple of minutes. I didn't think much of it, because I thought we had fixed the damn thing.

Got off the highway this morning, sitting at a stoplight and noticed some smoke (steam?) coming from under the car. Looked at the temp gauge, and it was ALL THE WAY UP. Pulled over, shut it off, waited a little bit and checked the fluid- nothing in the radiator. Waited another few minutes and put a half gallon of water in, made it the rest of the way to work on normal temp.

Mechanic shop next door checked the thermostat and did pressure check. Says I blew the intake gasket- probably when it overheated.

Anyone have any experience with this? Quoted me a 4 hour job, plus $22 for the gasket.

I don't know much about the intake gasket, how long of a job should it be. Just want to make sure everything sounds right.

[blazedealh91]

4 hours seems a little long and i would spend the extra money on a bisimoto intake gasket and do it ur self

[awolanin21]

Fairly easy job to do yourself takes about 40 mins to do.

[F22HB]

I had a cheap gasket on my intake one time and it blew out the same place. Buy an OEM honda gasket (has a fancy rubber/metal oring deal that generic gaskets don't) and replace it yourself. It should take maybe 2 or 3 hours start to finish even without much experience. If you've done a waterpump and tbelt yourself you can easily do this.

[burt]

I wouldn't have the shop do it. They will charge you a ton of money just to change a $22 gasket. Get the gasket yourself, either OEM or the Bisimoto one, and change it yourself. It's definitely not hard to do. Like F22 said, if you can change your t-belt and water pump, this should be a walk in the park for ya.

[DJ metadelic]

Intake mani gasket? easy.

12mm or 14mm nuts, can't remember it's been a while since I've done one. It might look more complicated than it actually is. Don't forget to bleed cooling system after adding some and the job is done.

Plus as someone mentioned earlier, it's worth to spend the extra like 25 bucks over a cheaper OEM replacement and just get the bisi shielding gasket. Supposed to yield a small hp gain, looks pretty cool squished between the head and mani, and most importantly contains heat generated by the engine to keep air charges cooler.

[DariuszZ]

kinda but how does this solve his problem? How intake mani gasket is related to overheating problem?

[burt]

kinda but how does this solve his problem? How intake mani gasket is related to overheating problem?

found this with a quick google search:

"*Overheated incoming air -- On older vehicles with a carburetor or throttle body injection, check the operation of the heated air intake system on the air cleaner. If the temperature control valve is stuck so only heated air from around the exhaust manifold is drawn into the air cleaner, it may contribute to detonation and/or engine overheating. Also check the heat riser valve for manifold heat on older V6 and V8 engines. If stuck shut, it may be overheating the intake manifold."


If hot air from the engine compartment is seeping into the intake via a leaky or faulty intake manifold gasket then it will overheat the intake manifold causing the head to get hot and eventually working its way to the cylinders.

[tru2037]

On the intake issue - do it yourself, theres only 2 tough bolts to reach (easy if you can reach from below) and I'd go OEM on the gasket.

On the empty radiator - we don't know why you had to change the water pump/timing belt - so either you have a problem w/ the repair OR the motor overheated prior the repair and blew the intake mani gasket.

[93GrnMnstr]

Thanks for the replies. Ended up getting it done in the shop.

I don't have a jack, or time to do it myself right now.

Final explanation of problem: Thermostat stuck, caused to overheat and blew the intake gasket. Didn't notice it the first night (don't ask how, I was probably jammin' on the highway). Coolant leaked into driveway overnight. On the way to work, noticed steam at a stoplight, temp gauge was in the red- pulled over, waited, put some water in and made it to the shop.

First day, bolts were stuck, so they soaked the bolts.
Next day, was busy, couldn't get to it.
Third day, finally got to it, took a little longer than expected. With parts, labor, plus I needed my sway bar bushings replaced- total came to $495- didn't charge me taxes or anything. Just labor plus parts. Oh, and got a new thermostat. Der.

BTW, why is labor so expensive in Virginia Beach? In NC, it's $50-60/hr. Here, it's between $90 and $120 depending where you go.

[burt]

Man that's a little pricey. But good thing you got it all sorted out