Manifold water jacket locations

Tiny
OTED877
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA
  • 95,000 MILES
I have a 2004 chevy imapala 3.8, took the upper and lower manifolds off and there are 4 coolant holes around the 6 cylinders, 2 on each side the one on passenger side in the rear was plugged with what reminded me of particle board, I removed it easily, now on the manifold there is just 2 holes both on drivers side one in front and one in back, on the passenger side front there is no hole at all it looks to be aluminum. On the passenger side rear of the manifold, looks like a hole should be there but is filled with very hard junk like I dug out of the engine but it is not coming out so easily and it doesn't look like there is a water channel there anyway. Are all these holes suppose to be open or is this junk suppose to be in there clogging holes? And how many open holes are in the manifold?
Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 12:40 AM

14 Replies

Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
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Do you have the new gaskets? Match them up and see if there are holes for coolant passages in the gasket.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 1:03 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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Yes there is holes in gaskets for water flow but on one side there is only one hole the other you can tell where the old gasket laid but it's aluminum no hole. The other side of the manifold one hole but the other hole looks like it is filled in with something very solid. I would be happy to donate if the answers helped. Thanks
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 1:38 AM
Tiny
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Sometimes manufacturers will use the same manifolds on different blocks, meaning different water flow channels. I'm guessing the blocked ports you're looking at look like someone did a very poor job of welding or soldering them in. If it doesn't come out easily, and isn't rust colored, then it most likely belongs there.

Was the engine overheating, or getting hotter than normal, precipitating the manifold removal? Water color was the coolant when you drained the system?
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 3:14 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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Well it wasn't overheating but running warmer than normal, would go go to mid mark then drop then up again and I thought it unusual because I could watch it do that. And I never remembered it getting that warm before. The stuff that was in the port of the engine crumbled out like old particle board, but the port that matches up to that on the manifold is very solid but there is a divit out of it, don't know if this belongs or not. The cylinder holes on the manifold show signs of wear on the inside edges, wondering should I replace the manifold, I see them on ebay but worry now about getting one that is welded or not? Thanks appreciate the replies.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 3:38 AM
Tiny
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Can you get a couple of quality images and upload them for us to look over?

Describe the operating conditions when the temp would go up and down. AC on or off? Heater/defroster/vent on (and on hot) or off? Getting warmer while sitting at lights or in traffic and dropping after starting to move? Etc, etc.

Is your temp gauge calibrated, or marked C. Normal.H? Anywhere within the Normal range is fine. Slightly higher can mean the cooling system might need flushing or the thermostat may not always be opening fully. And then the temp drops when it does open fully.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 4:11 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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Ac off. Didn't seem to matter about the heater, but it's been on most of the time lately cuz it's cold. Generally while stopped but I have seen it go up while driving. I replaced the thermostat with oem, new water pump, new pvc elbows that come out of the block to heater core. Guage shows 140 to 260 middle someone said was 210 or 220, but never used to run that high, fans seem to be coming on. New temp sensor. Here are some pix of manifold. Thanks
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 4:52 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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Another pix
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 4:53 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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On more pix, and I did use a tube of blue stuff over radiator to see if it changed color for head gasket leak and it stayed blue.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 4:55 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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Sorry that spot is the one that was over the port that had the particle board type stuff in it and it just crumbled away. The side that looks like there should be a hole but is aluminum the port associated with that it had water residue that was kind of milky. Oil looks good, had a mechanic change the oil about 1 month ago and looked at it about a week ago and said it was fine no water in it. Thats about it thanks
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 4:58 AM
Tiny
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Ok. The sections on the manifolds look right. On the top image, you see nothing behind it. On the second image, you see a path behind the opening on the left, while nothing behind the one above the word search puzzle (I love those). Same with the bottom image.

200 to 210 is normal operating range. The OE thermostat opens at 195 degrees. So, a max temp of 220 would be considered normal. 240 is where you start worrying.

The milkiness when you pulled it apart could be from seepage. It doesn't sound like anything to worry about.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 6:18 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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Ok so you think the manifold is ok, understand no path for coolant. Any idea about the stuff I took out of the port on the engine side? And when I pulled the upper intake off there was pools of oil on top of lower manifold. Normal? I thank you for all your thoughts and will donate to web page. Thanks
i never thought it was overheating but I thought it was acting weird and someone told me about the manifold problems so I thought I would change the gaskets to make sure, there was a glob of oil coming out of a corner so maybe it will be worth it. But I am worried about the port I cleared. That stuff wasn't weld, it crumbled out like crackers and it was full.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 6:43 AM
Tiny
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What you took out could be corrosion buildup. I'd have to see it up close to know for sure. But if the engine wasn't acting up, I wouldn't worry about it.

The pooled oil could be a leak(valve cover maybe?) Or it could be someone spilling. Keep an eye on the gauge or the level. When yo put it back together, get some oil leak check dye and borrow/rent a black light from the parts store. Pour the dye in with the oil, runt he engine at idle or just a little over for a few minutes, and slowly run the black light over the engine. Any leaks will show up as bright fluorescent green or yellow.

If there's a machine shop near you, and it's affordable, have them magnaflux the manifolds. That will tell if you there are any hairline cracks.
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Saturday, December 10th, 2011 AT 7:29 AM
Tiny
OTED877
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I replaced the lower intake manifold gaskets and the upper intake plenum. Now I am getting vacuum pressure sucking in when I open the oil fill cap. I torqed the bolts down to 132 in lbs. Not an expensive wrench but said it is calibrated. I tried to donate but it says your page doesn't exist, what? Can the lower gaskets cause vacuum to the oil filler cap? I know the gaskets went on fine, do I need to tighten the bolts again, afraid I will break them. Thanks
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Sunday, December 11th, 2011 AT 5:02 PM
Tiny
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Closed
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Thursday, December 29th, 2011 AT 7:59 PM

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