Coolant leak... help! Help!

[lilrebel68]

I have a 1996 Corsica with a 3.1L motor and it is leaking coolant.. Well, I thought it was coming from the thermostat so I replaced it... But, I found that the leak is coming from under the throttle body somewhere... It kinda looks like it is coming from somewhere between the intake and the heads... Am I missing something?? what could it be?? Any ideas before I take it apart??
Any help would be appreciated..
Thanks
Shawn

[bszopi]

Between the intake and heads would be the lower intake manifold gasket. I would suggest you look at your oil soon to make sure it isn't leaking in there as well.

[lilrebel68]

I did check that... it didnt look like it had water in it... wouldnt it be milky, or oddly colored??

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Yes,if it was leaking into the engine. As stated, it's your LIM Gaskets. Replace them ASAP! It's a common problem on the Corsica and Beretta's.

[lilrebel68]

should i change just the manifold gaskets?? or should I dare to do the head gaskets too?? and i appreciate the heads up on this being a common problem, that way should it happen again, I wont be surprised. ok, when i realized it was leaking, I quit putting coolant in it, and just was putting water in it... would that keep it from looking milky? thus not making it obvious to the naked eye??

[SuzukiGhostRider]

Possibly. I would change the head gaskets since I was that deep into the engine anyhow. Plus when you pull the heads you'll be able to see if there's any coolant/water in the cylinders. That's just me though. Make sure you use NEW head bolts and torque them in the proper order and to proper fl lbs. GL.

[bszopi]

Changing the head gaskets is usually overkill for this problem, unless it has gone on for a long time, and there are signs that the coolant has leaked into the oil. But even then, you would only be fixing part of the issue, as the coolant would have alread worked its way around the crank bearings.

Do a search for LIM gasket leak and you will find TONS of threads that cover the topic. Also, do a search for metal LIM gasket, and you will find the preffered Fel-Pro or Dorman replacement gaskets for this job.

[lilrebel68]

ok guys.. thanks a bunch for the words of wisdom.. I am new to the V6 motor and some of this seems a little odd, but I am learning.. I dont know how long it had been happening before I bought it, but I have only had it a month.. I thought about trying to get the guy I bought it from to fix it. But, in a way, I would rather do it myself so that I would know that it was done right.. and having worked in a motor shop building race engines for local dirt track drivers, I am a stickler for following the correct procedures to the very last detail.. gonna get me a fresh roll of masking tape for marking things as I remove them.. and I will definitely be using new bolts torqued to proper specs... It's the way I have always done stuff..

[IanSzgatti]

when you do the LIM itself, you really only take off the alternator and move the power steering unit out of the way... some guys remove the tensioner and alternator bracket because that gets in the way of that one lower valve cover bolts... other guys have certain tools to reach and save time (hint).
if your going to do head gaskets, all thats left is the AC and exhaust cross-over pipe... you may not have to disconnect the manifolds, just the down-pipe and cross-over.
I dont know what kind of engines you worked on, but you'll see these things are pretty much a treat to work on... nice simple design...