Intrigue98Owner
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- Mar 18, 2014
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Hello,
First, some basic information about the car.
1998 MY (Model Year)
146k miles
3.8L L36 OHV V6 engine
What's been replaced recently?
Fuel cap
Vacuum throttle body to fuel regulator hose
2 front wheel hubs with ABS
Recent history
9 months ago, a mechanic told me it needs a new upper intake manifold gasket. The engine light was on. I didn't have the funds to replace it. Throughout my driving since present, there have been maybe two handful of times where the light turned off while driving. or the car started with no light. Of course, engine check light eventually came back.
I can say that the oil is not leaking into the coolant, and vice-versa. There's no white smoke coming out the tail pipe. The engine oil looks clean. There's no oil or coolant leak on the ground. So, I'm comfortable declaring there is no head gasket failure. However, there is a little oil leaking internally but, according to the mechanic, nothing that would prevent it from, say, passing inspection. There may be a very small coolant leak, but I think it's so small that it burns up and evaporates while driving, which is why I don't see any coolant on the ground or under the hood.
Present day:
The check engine light has been on. I went to Autozone to check the engine light and I got a P0171 error off the OBD tool. The car NEEDS an inspection. It's a 1998 MY (aka Model Year) with 146k miles. I went to a new mechanic who checked out the car. I knew it needed a new front passenger wheel hub assembly because it was broken. He replaced both front wheel hubs. He also replaced the fuel cap and something called a vacuum throttle body to fuel regulator hose. He also gave me an oil change. I thought I could trust the guy, but I feel like I got ripped off on the price, to be honest. $465 with tax and I bought my own wheel hubs and fuel cap.
He reset the engine codes and told me to drive it around for 60-80 miles to see if the light comes back on. Well, it did. Again, I think I got ripped off and I don't think I should go back to him.
Anyway, I'm thinking the light is on because of the aforementioned intake manifold gasket leak.
I understand that the 3.8L V6 engine in this particular model is prone to intake manifold gasket failures because the gasket is made of plastic. I have the funds to replace the upper intake manifold gasket, but I don't know about the lower intake manifold gasket.
1) Should I go ahead and replace the upper intake manifold gasket or is it more likely there is something else causing the P0171 error code?
2) While I'm replacing the upper intake manifold gasket, is there anything else I should replace while I have the chance?
3) What I should expect to pay for labor on the upper intake manifold gasket (without tax)? I will be getting my own part from Fel-Pro.
Thank you for your help and for reading.
First, some basic information about the car.
1998 MY (Model Year)
146k miles
3.8L L36 OHV V6 engine
What's been replaced recently?
Fuel cap
Vacuum throttle body to fuel regulator hose
2 front wheel hubs with ABS
Recent history
9 months ago, a mechanic told me it needs a new upper intake manifold gasket. The engine light was on. I didn't have the funds to replace it. Throughout my driving since present, there have been maybe two handful of times where the light turned off while driving. or the car started with no light. Of course, engine check light eventually came back.
I can say that the oil is not leaking into the coolant, and vice-versa. There's no white smoke coming out the tail pipe. The engine oil looks clean. There's no oil or coolant leak on the ground. So, I'm comfortable declaring there is no head gasket failure. However, there is a little oil leaking internally but, according to the mechanic, nothing that would prevent it from, say, passing inspection. There may be a very small coolant leak, but I think it's so small that it burns up and evaporates while driving, which is why I don't see any coolant on the ground or under the hood.
Present day:
The check engine light has been on. I went to Autozone to check the engine light and I got a P0171 error off the OBD tool. The car NEEDS an inspection. It's a 1998 MY (aka Model Year) with 146k miles. I went to a new mechanic who checked out the car. I knew it needed a new front passenger wheel hub assembly because it was broken. He replaced both front wheel hubs. He also replaced the fuel cap and something called a vacuum throttle body to fuel regulator hose. He also gave me an oil change. I thought I could trust the guy, but I feel like I got ripped off on the price, to be honest. $465 with tax and I bought my own wheel hubs and fuel cap.
He reset the engine codes and told me to drive it around for 60-80 miles to see if the light comes back on. Well, it did. Again, I think I got ripped off and I don't think I should go back to him.
Anyway, I'm thinking the light is on because of the aforementioned intake manifold gasket leak.
I understand that the 3.8L V6 engine in this particular model is prone to intake manifold gasket failures because the gasket is made of plastic. I have the funds to replace the upper intake manifold gasket, but I don't know about the lower intake manifold gasket.
1) Should I go ahead and replace the upper intake manifold gasket or is it more likely there is something else causing the P0171 error code?
2) While I'm replacing the upper intake manifold gasket, is there anything else I should replace while I have the chance?
3) What I should expect to pay for labor on the upper intake manifold gasket (without tax)? I will be getting my own part from Fel-Pro.
Thank you for your help and for reading.
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