willl a blown Intake manifold gasket on my 1998 chevrolet malibu cause me to burn antifreeze?

Question

it has a 3.1 engine and I heard they had problems with their gaskets

Answer 1

The intake gaskets are a cast plastic frame with silicone port liners, they allow the manifold and heads to expand and contract as the engine heats and cools, as a result the plastic frame, fatigues and cracks, allowing the silicone to kind of pop out causing either an internal leak or an external leak, recommend replacement rather than "stop Leak" for a permanent repair. Also, use the recommended GM cooling system seal tabs when refilling the cooling system following repair.

I have repaired about thirty of these in the last eight years.
ASE Master Technician 45 years experience

Answer 2

Lets face it, if you think the problem is the intake gasket, then take it apart that far at least. It seems to me from looking at the answers that a lot of those answering this question have never had an engine apart. When you get to where you can see the valley I am sure you will know if you need to go any further. Look at the gaskets as you take them off, hopefully you are right. But at that point you are only about two gaskets more away from having the heads off. So if you have the tools and skills why not just go ahead and get the whole thing done at once. I don't think the work you will have to do will depreciate the value of the car (new gaskets can be bought that are exact duplicates of the original ones if you feel that it is required). By the way a lot of owners of these cars had the heads rebuilt every 40K miles anyway. (although I never would own one, I knew some owners that were serious about how to keep a small block in top running shape) It improves performance and also you might just want to up-grade the valves and seats to handle the no lead gas at the pumps now days. Good luck.

Answer 3

A blown intake gasket on the 3.1 engine can leak coolant on the inside of the engine or the outside.You should take you malibu to your local chevrolet dealer to have the gasket checked.If bad they will give the best repair with no problems later.And a good warrainty for the repair.

Answer 4

It is a very common problem with the 3.1 engine to loose the seal at the corner of the intake, head junction.
Many aftermarket gaskets are redesigned to correct this area.
It makes you wounder how much testing was done by G.M. before the engine was released to the general public.
But of course it is cheaper to pay the warranty difference, than the cost of R&D.

Answer 5

check your oil if it looks brown instead of blake of clear you have a problem. but i believe your car has a plastic intake which means antifreeze doesnt flow through it. if your gasket is blown you will be sucking dirt into your engine which will do a lot of damage.

Answer 6

Yes it will I had a Buick with the same problem,I put stop leak in it and it ran for years that way,altho in the winter for me to get heat I had to put something in front of the radiator so it would warm up because the thernostat got stuck ope from the stop leak.

Answer 7

Yes, it can. A blown head gasket or cracked head could do the same thing.

Answer 8

as previously posted yes it would but also you should have it checked for head gasket just to be on safe side either one can cause that.

Answer 9

Yes , right into your oil. Better get it fixed before you drive it again....unless you want to replace the engine.

Answer 10

yes it will b/c the seal is no longer there. The coolant passages and the oil passages are no longer seperated so the two fluids will combine and enter the combustion chamber.