No help from Olds with this problem whatsoever, so went to private mechanic and had the job done. Forced to use same plastic gasket, since no improved parts existed. Mechanic said torque for the manifold was 70 inch pounds, so the bolts would loosen. He used Loctite in an effort to keep problem from happening again. Fortunately the coolant leaked out onto the ground and not into the engine. It is now 2/8/10 and the car has 158000 miles on it and we had a catastrophic failure. Coolant in and out of engine. Found another mechanic who will make sure engine isn't toast before he replaces the plastic gasket with an improved version for $450-500. This happened a week after I got the car back from the GM dealer where they wanted $350 to replace the circuit board for the windshield wipers, $600 to get the rear wiper working, and charged me $180 to get the heat selector working again. FYI--when the intake manifold gasket went the first time I also had two other GM vans with the 3.4L V6 engine that failed in the same year! I will never own another GM car.

IN 2008 WE HAD TO HAVE THE INTAKE GASKET REPLACED. SINCE THEN WE HAVE SPRUNG ANOTHER LEAK. AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE IT IS THE SAME THING, SURPRISE, SURPRISE. WELL WE LET THE VEHICLE SIT ALL SUMMER, AND CHECKED THE FLUIDS BEFORE DRIVING AGAIN. NOW THE RODS IN THE ENGINE ARE TAPPING AND THE MECHANIC SAYS THAT WE NEED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE, AND THE INTAKE. WE ALSO NEED TO HAVE THE SYSTEMS FLUSHED IN CASE OF CROSS CONTAMINATION. WE ARE A SINGLE INCOME FAMILY WITH AN 8 YEAR OLD THAT HAS SEVERE HEALTH ISSUES. NOW THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED WE ARE DOWN TO ONE VEHICLE AND GUESS WHO GETS TO SUFFER, YOU GOT IT MY LITTLE GIRL. NOW DO YOU THINK THAT THIS IS REALLY FAIR? I DON'T THINK SO EITHER. I THINK THAT GM SHOULD HAVE TO MAKE IT A MANDATORY RECALL ON THESE VEHICLES AND PAY FOR ALL COSTS AND RENTAL VEHICLES DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. THERE ARE 4 OTHER PEOPLE IN MY TOWN THAT HAVE THE SAME VEHICLE, OR SHOULD I SAY DID. PEOPLE DEPEND ON THERE VEHICLES TO GET THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO BE, WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO FOOT THE BILL WHEN I AM SURE THAT GM KNOWS THAT THERE IS A SEVERE PROBLEM THAT HAS CAUSED THESE ISSUES. TO ALL OF US COMMON WORKING FOLK WHO CAN NOT AFFORD THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN REPAIRS. IT IS BETTER TO TRY TO GET A DECENT USED VEHICLE, AND WE ALL KNOW THOSE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. IF THERE IS A FIX TO THIS PROBLEM FROM GM PLEASE SOMEONE LET ME KNOW. I SURE WISH THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ABOUT THIS, BUT AS WE ALL KNOW THAT WON'T HAPPEN. AND WHY, BECAUSE NOW THE GOVERNMENT OWNS GM NOW.

The first thing that happened to my vehicle was, that I was on my way going to work and the car was trying to shut down ( turn off) that is when I noticed the car running HOT. Soon as I pulled over to a parking lot the car shut off. So i tried to start it and it would not start. So my Uncle told me to let it sit overnight and we'll try to start it in the morning. So the next day we put Coolant back in it, because it had over-heated and ran out. The next day it over-heated again, so we did the same thing, by putting Coolant back in it. Two days later there was white smoke coming out. So I had it towed to a auto shop and the mechanic told me I need a head gasket. So I had that put on for $1100.00. They told me I'll have to bring it back in for 3 oil changes because the water got mixed in with the oil and that it need to be flushed about 3 times. So I took it back in, a week later. Then he told me I'll have to get the transmission flushed just in case water got into the trans., to be on the safe side (which is what I did a week after the oil change). Then I took it back in a week after the transmission flush, for an oil change. Then after a week I took it for another oil change. I did everything that the mechanic advised me of.