How to replace GM 3800 V6 Valve Cover Gaskets 

Pro trick : watch movies on Flixzone. Been using it for watching loads of movies recently.

@Coleman Augustine yup, have been using Flixzone for months myself =)

@Coleman Augustine yea, have been watching on Flixzone for years myself :D

Wondering if you accidentally dropped a nut or bolt down in the intake since you don’t cover those ports up.

@@burnerloco4138 I’ve been wrenching for 20 years and never have dropped something down the intake that I didn’t know about.

Don't wait till it smokes, you could light your car on fire.

E Frank’ , I think there is a recall on these for under hood fire. Dealer would fix n/c they go by the vin number

Thank you. The 3.5 is a little different. But similar. Good luck.

Thank you! Orange gaskets FTL! (For the leak)

@@PetesGarageandperformance What brand do you suggest? Also, What brand for the whole head gasket set?

I would either get AC Delco stuff or maybe a Felpro kit. Make sure you use gray silicone from either GM or permatex. It’s the same stuff. I’m pretty sure Permatex makes the GM silicone.

That’s great to hear! Thanks for watching.

David Toler No problem. Good luck with the repairs.

Yeah leaning over a car for a few hours can be rough on the back if you’re not used to it.

andrew bryan Thank You. I appreciate the kind words. Good luck with the reseal.

andrew bryan I am going to do the same thing on my 2001 Pont GP GT. Gotta have it finished before for my daughter turns 18.

Lower intake,valve covers, and oil pan are the typical culprits. Good luck.

Malactha thank you! Get that thing resealed and you won’t have to deal with the burning oil smell anymore!

No problem. Thanks for watching

No problem

Even up to today 2023?

@@ballzzinyourmouth8 yes sir

@@jonathanp.5802 You got your recall done recently? You know what other recalls are still available?

@@ballzzinyourmouth8 Look up a vin recall search, then type in your vin. I got my work (2 recalls) done in November.

they replaced my valve cover but kept the leaky gasket that was there for 26 years, no trust to GM dealership

Thank you

No problem. Thanks for subscribing!

Yeah these cars are getting some age on them. The back one is the fun one. Good luck.

I always say this is one of the best engines GM ever made. They had a long service life to prove it.

Especially the later year fbodies

No you don’t need to drain the oil. Just make sure you don’t get any debris into the area under the cover.

@@PetesGarageandperformance Hey I did it! The front only because that's where the obvious problem was (I'll have my mechanic do the rear one.) And I did it with one hand - I had a stroke when I was a kid so I only have the use of my left arm. Patience is a virtue! For some reason I didn't have a full size spark plug socket last night so I haven't finished.

Doing gods work🙏🙏

No. You should be able to do it without removing the supercharger. That bracket might be tough though.

@@PetesGarageandperformance Thanks for replying with your video I will see how far I get. 😃👍👍

@@BLAKizLurKin How did it go?

Coolant leaks won’t sludge up because it’s half water. Oil leaks sludge. So I would say its probably oil. Also remember that oil won’t leak up. It’ll always leak down and back due to gravity and blowing back from driving forward. If there’s smoke it’s probably the oil dripping onto the exhaust which usually is the valve covers.

Yeah I just use a dab of silicone rtv to hold them in place.

Sergio J. Garza I assume you are talking about the supercharged engine. It’s similar but slightly different. Mainly you’ll have to work around the supercharger.

Sami Jenedi The 2007 is a little different than the series 2 but very similar. I also have a video of the intake gaskets so check that out and you can do it!

Wesley Brabant look for 3/8 drive torque wrenches. They go a lot lower. I just brake cleaner to clean everything. I would use it to clean my bathrooms at the house if my wife would let me! I like CRC or 3m brake cleaner. O’reillys brake cleaner has fouled out spark plugs on me before so I stay away from it on intake jobs. Check out my intake gasket videos if you haven’t already done so.

Yes the valve covers are pretty easy. As for the misfire, check the coil packs for corroded terminals. If that’s ok then I would do a compression test to make sure everything is ok before sinking too much money in parts at it.

@@PetesGarageandperformance sweet. Thanks man.

Kris Keeney no it is not. There is a bracket to remove and then the cover. Easy as pie!

@@PetesGarageandperformance that's excellent news brother thanks allot, great video, very helpful, definitely subscribing. Thanks again.

@@PetesGarageandperformance p s. Gotta pick up my 3rd dipstick, last one was brand new from Rock Auto, lasted about 6 months. Lol

There is no gasket for the water jackets. Just the two plastic elbows that have o-rings on them. I always replace both elbows since they are cheap and prone to failure.

The GM elbows are indeed prone to failure. Dorman makes metal ones that are not and cost about the same.

No you do not need to remove the intake.

Derrick Stewart usually with this issue you only have leaks. If it gets too bad It could mix the coolant and oil. Usually there are no drivability symptoms. Have the codes scanned and that should point you in the right direction.

Interesting. I actually drove this vehicle to a local garage and he sprayed something near the valve covers and the engine idle changed. He stated that this proved the gaskets needed to be replaced and that the rough idle was indeed a symptom. I do need to clarify that the rough idle, for the most part, tends to dissipate after running for a bit. Just thought I'd throw all this out there. Nonetheless, I'll replace the front tomorrow.

Derrick Stewart I would bet that the technician was checking for a vacuum leak. It was very common for the vacuum line connections at the front of the intake to crack. The front valve cover gasket would not cause a vacuum leak drivability issue. Check out my other video on intake gasket replacement. I have to remove these vacuum lines and I’m pretty sure I make a mention of being careful to not damage them.

So a cracked vacuum line would/could case the aforementioned driving symptoms?

Derrick Stewart if they sprayed something around that area and it caused it to stumble, it is probably a vacuum leak. I can’t say for sure because I don’t have your vehicle in front of me though.

Francisco Sanchez they are coolant elbows. Or maybe they could be called heater elbows. Parts stores should know what you’re after. You can use a screwdriver or pick to pick out the broken pieces.

Hey Francisco Sanchez, when I rebuilt the top end of my motor with my buddy, I went to the parts store, they had plastic or metal replacement elbows. I'd definitely suggest going with the metal ones, they're kind of delicate too, but still better than the plastic ones...

You can check it, but I have never seen a 3.8 PCV valve actually go bad. The valve cover gaskets go bad all the time though.

I was using a Matco 3/8” impact. You can get electric ones too.

Are you talking about the alternator/tensioner bracket? If so then the coolant will come out of the plastic elbows even if you drain the radiator.

Pete?

Isn’t there a stud that you have to remove after the nut that holds those grounds on?

Pretty similar. Maybe a couple of differences with the alternator and bracket.

Kind of similar. But a little different since they’re entirely different engine families.

Pete's Garage ok thanks trying to find out if i can get away without taking alternator and belt off to do the back valve cover haha

No. I was doing the intake gaskets also on this vehicle. It made it easier to film and also do the job when the intake was off.

@@PetesGarageandperformance Thanks man. My son's car needs this done and we want to save money doing it ourselves. And what better skill to learn than fixing. A REQUIREMENT of any true male.

Enough with the PC I couldn’t agree with you more. You can save yourself so much money by being able to fix things for yourself.

Since you throw away the cover the only purpose I think is to secure the oxygen sensor connector.

I knew someone had to ask that question... I’m gonna throw mine away.

You should be able to tighten the bolts but that won’t fix anything unless they were loose.

If the gas is leaking from the fuel line fitting at the fuel rail you can buy the ends from Dorman. You don’t have to replace the whole line.

@@PetesGarageandperformance i see it coming from the front. Its the same exact year and make as the buick on ur video

@@PetesGarageandperformance ok that seems better

Even the replacement gm gaskets are better (they’re gray). Orange=leaks!

Felpro

On valve cover gaskets you don’t use rtv. Sometimes you’ll need to put a dab of rtv to hold the gasket to the valve cover so it doesn’t fall off when you flip it upside down to install it.

Pete's Garage Got it. So no silicon at all?

Fellow Traveler not between the gasket and head. Usually I don’t put any on the gasket to hold it into the valve cover, but sometimes it wants to keep falling out when you go to install it and a couple of dabs will hold it into the valve cover.

Pete's Garage Just got the valve cover off, gasket was blue so it’s been done already. But should I re torque head studs I have a 99 3.8/T5 I drive the shit out of it.

No. It would be too tight.

No. Neither the lower nor the upper intake needs to be removed.

@@PetesGarageandperformance just loosen front mounting bolts for motor, hook a ratchet strap to hoist brackets on top of motor and wrap it around bumper, rachet slowely and the engine will rock forward and give lots more clearance for rear valve cover..

just loosen front mounting bolts for motor, hook a ratchet strap to hoist brackets on top of motor and wrap it around bumper, rachet slowely and the engine will rock forward and give lots more clearance for rear valve cover..

Yes if you have a 3.8.

Ruby Palacios valve cover gaskets will absolutely not cause overheating and most likely not a misfire.

Probably coil pack

I’m 99% sure they have iron heads

No sealant needed. Sometimes a tech will put a little bit in the groove to hold the gasket into the valve cover. But none between the head and the gasket.

I work in a shop and this is true. It helps keep the gasket where it's supposed to be. A little sealant won't hurt it for that purpose.

Pretty much the same for the valve cover gaskets. Don’t take the blower off!

@@PetesGarageandperformance awesome thank you, wasn't looking forward to that 😁👍

You don’t have to take the intake manifold off. I was replacing those gaskets too.

@@PetesGarageandperformance Too bad you aren't near me. I'd pay you to do my rear valve cover and my manifold/and gasket. With no shop and 100 degree temps I have no desire to do such a big job. In your opinion do you think this car my 2002 pontiac grand prix gt is worth investing the money to repair? Mine still needs a fuel pump also. I am debating about selling it after I do my crank shaft position sensor yet ANOTHER part that has failed on my car. It only has 138,000 miles. fyi mine has the same engine as depicted here. Thanks!

No you don’t have to. I was just resealing the intake too when I made the video.

The AC Delco gaskets. I have a link to them in the description.

Do you mean “drained”? If you don’t drain the coolant out of the engine, it’ll just drain out when you pull the tensioner bracket off. So be ready to catch it.

@@PetesGarageandperformance yeah, I thought that’s what I put until I read it back haha. Thanks!

I would do the coolant elbows while you have that tensioner off!

If it ran fine before the work then I would retrace the steps to take off the valve cover. I would bet there is either a vacuum leak somewhere caused by leaving something unplugged or maybe the spark plug wires got crossed. Check those two things first.

Well it started to act up before I got the valve cover fixed maybe a month before it started to stall and then I got the leak fixed but it still stalls sometimes

It could be anything then. Hard to tell without having the car in front of me. Is the check engine light on? These things did have issues sometimes with the mass air flow sensor or the crankshaft position sensor.

No the only things that comes on is the check gauges light and that comes on as soon as the car starts to stall .

I think it's actually the camshaft position sensor because I while back I got a code for that but just ignored it are they pretty easy to replace?

I think the 93 is the series 1 version of this engine. Things will be very similar to this but some things may be a little different.

Darnell Avery this is the series II but the series III is very similar.

The 3.5 is part of what GM calls “High Value V6”. It is similar to the 3.1, 3.4, and the 3.9. As you’re finding out, the coolant crossover/alternator mount is in the way. Those crossover gaskets tend to leak coolant so it’s probably a good thing to replace while you’re in there.

@@PetesGarageandperformance finally finished and it was hellish but i did change the crossover gaskets. The front was torn so I guess it was a good thing I had to take it off. Funny thing is the front one still has a rubber strip connecting the main hole to the bolt hole (yes that's where the tear was) but they reengineered the back one and isolated the bolt hole. There was a serious lack of any consideration for repair, terrible car to work on. That said, I changed the valve cover and oil filter mount gaskets (not fun either) and it's still leaking oil while it's off. Of course you can't see where the oil is coming from. The only thing left I think is the oil pan gasket, might tackle it at the next oil change.

Yeah I’ve had to do a few oil pan gaskets on those engines. I think you’re going to have to remove the oil filter adapter again to get the oil pan out if I’m not mistaken. Also the rear bolts of the pan are a royal pain to get to.

Probably about $100 or so for the front one and $200-$250 for the back one.

Well the vehicles that these engines come in are close to 30 years old now. They are really getting up there in mileage. If it’s a low mileage one, it must’ve sat for a long time. Which is also not good for seals and gaskets.

@@PetesGarageandperformance well you were right the gaskets were the orange ones, but after doing the valve gaskets I can't help but think the intake gaskets need replaced as well.

@@mitchspurlock3626 at this age they all probably need replaced.

Yeah you have to remove all of the bolts. I’m not a fan of JB weld on engine parts.

What about them?

@@PetesGarageandperformance might buy one what do you think ?

Sorry about that. My newer videos are better.

Right here. Missouri

Pete, thanks for the vids! I was curious where your shop is located also, and what you would charge for labor to do a new plenum and the valve cover gaskets on a 02 lesabre if you are interested. Thanks either way

I was replacing the intake gaskets too.

Your dickstick. Dipstick. Doh!

@@PetesGarageandperformance I'd just say "Sorry guys, I was just with the wife before this video and I told both of you to be careful of two different stick and since the two." yeah.