What is the intake manifold gasket on a van and where is it located?

[Blue_Roses]

I was told mine is leaking on our van. Where the hell is this thing? I was told it be over $700.00 to get it fixed. :argh:

[Oeditpus Rex]

1. Between the intake manifold and the head(s)

What kind of van?

[Blue_Roses]

2. where is that?

It's a '98 Pontiac transsport. I have looked all over the web tonight to see if I can find a picture of it so I can know what the hell their talking about but I can't find a picture of where it is anywhere. I can find the parts--which BTW are not over $60. The labor is what is costing me :eyes: geeze...just when you get the damn thing paid off...

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. See the light-metal-colored thing at top center?

That's the intake manifold. The gaskets go between it and the heads on either side. (You can see only one head here. It's where the three finger-lookin' things go.)

Yeah, it's the labor that'll kill ya. The gaskets themselves are... I dunno for that specific engine; maybe $10 or $12 each. But the manifold's gotta come off, and a lotta other stuff with it.

This diagram isn't for your engine, but it's the most descriptive I could find:

[Blue_Roses]

5. damn, makes me want to take a car repair class

My dad used to work on cars and even tried to get me and sisters interested...well, needless to say, we could have cared less. He's dead now and I know he's looking down shaking his head.

thanks for showing me this:)

[Wapsie B]

4. It's on top of the engine to put it in general terms.

The engine head is over the cylinders, where the pistons are. Some engines are bad about blowing head gaskets. Ford 3.8L were bad about that for example. With this job labor is a huge part of the bill because of the time involved just getting to the heads and getting everything put back into place.