About almost 3 years ago the family bought a very nice Pontiac GrandPrix SE 4-door for my Daughter who was back then, college bound. It was purchase with 56,583 miles and new tires and the only repairs was minor work to the Automatic Transmission that amounted to $750.

The car drive great and the 3.1 Liter V-6 Gasoline Engine gets 30 Miles per Gallon assuming you keep a light foot on the Gas pedal.

A major maintainance period came back in November 2008 when I had to get a new Electric Power Window assembly for the right rear door so, I negotiated with a reputable shop and decided to go ahead and perform the following as well.

1A. Right Rear Window Electric Power Assembly Remove and Replace.
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1. Flush the Radiator and Engine Block with fresh and approved coolant.
2. Oil and Oil filter replacement.
3. Rotate, Re-balance Tires and Alignment.
4. Replace the serpentine belt.

A cool $400.00 out the door was paid and the out odometer was 66,800.

Now for the kicker and mystery.

My duaghter came to visit us during her spring break and made it home after driving 128 miles and now the car has 69,532.

Therefore, the car has driven only 2,632 miles since the last major repairs and service.

That night after she arrived I went ahead and got in the car and started it up to place the car inside the garage and as soon as I did I started hearing a rather loud Engine noise coming from the Lifters and rocker arms and a family member started yelling at me that something was terribly wrong and was waving and pointing underneath the car. I quickly shut down the Engine and got out and looked underneath and watched in horror all the Oil was running down my driveway!

Well, I quickly thought that I just could not leave the car on the driveway as my garage floor is sealed with oil resistive paint and I started the car up again and brought it inside. Took me about an hour to wash off and wipe off all the Motor Oil off the driveway and from inside the garage floor.

Once inside the garage, I jacked up the car and to my horror, I found the Oil Filter loose and took off the Oil Filler cap and placed my finger inside the Right Valve Cover and fished an unsightly Yellow looking goop that was silmy and oiled based. I now could understand why the Engine noise.

I was concerned about the Engine having this inside the combustion chamber and I took out all Spark Plugs and they looked great without any evidence that Coolant was entering the Combustion chambers.

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Actions taken to solve the above:

Since there was no Oil left in the Engine because the Oil Filter gave way under pressure and all the Oil ran down my Driveway.

1. Replaced Oil filter with a new one (ACDelco PF-47)
2. Inserted the cheapest Oil I could find at WalMart.
3. Place a Quart of Engine Flush (GUNK 5-minute)
4. After 4 Minutes I shut down the Engine and Drained all Oil.
5. I disposed of the Oil Filter.
6. Replaced with the Best Oil I could get my hands on.
7. Installed a new ACDelco Oil Filter.
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I started up the Engine and started to hear a loud tapping noise. This time coming from just one rocker arm and since it was on the Right side of the Engine, I would say it was from #2 as the even ones are facing forward.

I then went to the Auto Parts and picked up one Quart of GUNK Valve Cleaner / Restorer and dumped the entire bottle inside the Oil filler opening and started up the Engine again and waited for about 3 minutes and the Engine maintained the tapping noise but, got lower ....lower and lower until right at 3 minutes it disappeared!!!!!

Now for my Question:

Why would I find yellowish Gunk inside the Top end of the Engine with just 2,632 miles driven since the last Oil change?

Could it be that since the Car is getting closer to 80,000 miles the well talked about "GM Intake Manifold Leak" is true in my case?

You can view a good write up of the "GM Intake Manifold Leak" issue at:
http://autotechrepair.suite101.com/article.cfm/050106

Edit: Uploaded two pictures showing good Spark Plugs from out of the Engine!

 

Well, I got my daughter to agree to take another family car back to school as she had to return for work at campus plus working on school projects and this gave me some additional time to do things right, I hope such as providing for a Major Tune-UP as this 3.1 Liter V-6 really needed it!

You can see from the first couple of pictures that the Spark Plug Wires are toast and brittle and they were a Bear to get off from the Spark Plugs so, I went ahead and purchased a neat little tool to make things better, plus I removed the Electronic Module assembly to access the Right side of the Engine ( Rear Side ).

 

Okay, now lets see what I got for Spark Plugs and Spark Plug Wires!

Yeap, nothing but the best for my daughter at College and that's BOSCH Platinum +2 Spark Plugs and BOSCH Premium Spark Plug Wires!

 

Now, for the final installation of these new Spark Plugs and Spark Plug wires!

 

One final picture of the new Spark Plug Wires and a few pictures of the ACDelco new Oil Filter!

I just do not know why the old Oil Filter got lose but, I am glad it finally got lose up on my Driveway as I could not dare think what might have happened to my Daughter should all the Engine Oil gushed out during her travels.

The only thing that I can speculate was that because the Engine did not have good Oil Pressure going to the Valves, Lifters and Rocker arms then all of the Pressure had to go inwards towards the Oil Filter!

 

Good day everyone!

I forgot to note that if you are not a registered member you all will not be able to see the pictures I uploaded in the discussion thread, therefore, I have created a "PUBLIC" ALBUM Folder for all to see my work on this Pontiac GrandPrix.

Here's the ALBUM:
https://www.pontiactalk.com/forum/album.php?albumid=2

I did find someone at work who is very familiar with these Engines and told me that there is a big possibility that the trouble with my Daughter's Engine is the Emissions such as a clogged up EGR line or broken line that is sucking up cold air and later producing water inside the Engine after a long period of time and instead of a leaking Intake Manifold Seal!

I am hoping for the best! Will monitor the Engine in the next day or two.

Thanks all for your replies!!!!

 

Please read this article: (assuming this is accurate?)
http://www.sueeasy.com/class_action_...hp?case_id=215

My daughter's 2001 Pontiac runs great after the Engine Flush on the 3.1 Liter V-6 and with fresh Oil and Oil Filter "and" new Spark Plug Wires and Spark Plugs were installed, however, there is evidence that the Engine is taking in Antifreeze as if you take the Oil Filler Cap off you see droplets of Coolant and you can smell it!

I left work today to visit Ron Norris Buick, GMC and Honda in Titusville, Florida and they took a look at the 2001 Pontiac GrandPrix with the 3.1 Liter and said it was indeed taking in coolant and they acknowledged the Ruling by the California court on the Class Action but, that it was a reimbursment for the customer, meaning you pay and then, you need to jump through the hoops that GM will ask and maybe you may get some $$$ back. However, the last day that you could do this was May 30th, 2008.

Also, while there at Ron Norris, the Service Manager showed me an old Intake Manifold gasket and it was the most flimsy piece of gasket I have ever seen. The leak ocurrs at the opposite ends. (See Attached!) They gave me an written estimate of $850 for the repairs Parts and Labor which is pretty good and they also told me that GM had changed the design of the gasket by using special Metal (Aluminum) tab ends so, the leak will not re-occur.

Presently, the plan is to take the car to the auction.

 

yea those 3.1L arent very good. I have a 3.8L in my gp and I've had to replace my lower intake gasket and the car only had 146k km on it. The gaskets arent that hard to change and you could probably change it yourself. Don't forget a dealership is there to make money so if they think its something it is without question til they change it and then say oh it didnt fix it to bad. I hate dealerships

 

Looks like the only issue is the spark plug wire to keep the car running, I had this problem too I thought it was the manifold but my friend told me there was no leak.