How to tell if the rest of the motor is still good after intake gasket failure?

[westman995]

Not sure if this is the right place to post it, but don't want to go sign up on another forum for another car. its a 98 park avenue so im sure most guys here are familiar with it. And if you know anything about the 3.8's im sure you know they are famous for the ****** intake gaskets.

Well my buddy has a 98 park ave, intake gaskets went out. He was at the bank drive through, said it started acting funny so he turned it off. They tried to start it after that like a thousand times before we finally figured out the problem. So im not sure if that did any damage to it or not.

But my main question is, is it possible the rest of the motor is still good (bearings, pistons, etc) after this happened? Could it have been turned off in time??

And if so, is there a decent way to clean most of the stuff out of the motor without ripping the heads and everything off of it?

Hes trying to get the car back on the road asap and does not have a bunch of money to blow. But if I can find out if the motor is good before throwing new parts and gaskets on it, that would be best.

So if anyone has any input on it asap that would be greatly appreciated. Sooner the better. Thanks in advance. I jus don't want him to throw parts on a motor that is going to only run for a few miles only to go out due to damage from the instake gaskets leaking.

 

[Sasquatch]

My brother is a member on a grand prix forum and knows all about the 3.8 engines. I asked him about your problem and he asked if the engine was supercharged or not.

Also, When you say he tried to start it a thousand times was it cranking but not starting or doing nothing at all? If the engine wasn`t cranking it could be hydro locked.

Based on your answer he`ll give me a link to help with the repair.

 

[westman995]

Its the non super charged one.

Umm, I don't recall 100% but I know it cranked over almost all the time. I think at one point it wouldn't turn over cuz there was too much coolant in the cylinders, but all the plugs have been taken out and we turned it over to get some of it out

 

[livingez_123]

pull the plugs and shoot a bunch of WD-40 in the cylinders and let it soak for a bit. If he wasn't driving down the road and it stopped because of the water he should be fine. Pull the intake and get the improved gasket. It might not hurt to get a new lower intake either. They are inexpensive. More than likely it was just the one cylinder that gets the water in it. It has happened to me on a Buick LeSabre. No harm done just time and money spent fixing it.