I own a 1997 chevrolet venture van. Recently discovered engine coolant was leaking internally and externally at the intake manifold because of a failed gasket and dexcool engine coolant. Water pump was leaking also. When I discovered this problem I began to search for the root of the problem on the internet and found a petition located at http://www.petitiononline.com/gmcnsmrs/ that contained almost 5000 gm owners who have experienced the same problem. On other sites I found that some people were put in harms way by the failure of this gasket and the subsequent damage caused to their automobile engines at inopportune times. The gasket has been redesigned but at some point last year (2003) it was on back order for weeks at a time. After repairs and approximately 100 miles of travel my "service engine soon" light has now come on. I am requesting an investigation into the failure of these gaskets, the damage caused by use of dexcool coolant, and subsequent mechanical failure of gmc engines.
1997 Chevrolet Venture engine complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 85, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a manifold gasket failure that makes it necessary to replace the engine. This vehicle only has 50,000 miles. At this point we were told no help from gm. From looking at complaints I see this is not the only problem. Gm should be made to fix this problem on all affected vehicles. It is obviously a manufacturing problem.
The intake gaskets on my wife's 1997 chevrolet venture failed, leaving her and my two daughters stranded on the interstate.
Our 1997 chevy venture van with 65,000 miles on it just lost its second engine in less than two years. My wife and I are the original owners, and it began at 50 something thousand miles when the dealer stated the head gasket leaked and the engine had damage from the coolant. Now, on nov 18th, 2003 the engine died and the mechanics say that it is the cam shaft undoubtedly from the original coolant damage. Information from the internet would indicate that this is a well known problem. Two engines in less than two years and I still owe on the loan.
My chevrolet 1997 venture suddenly overheated on my way home from work and the van died. When I did get home I let it set and noticed the coolant was low, which it was never before. Check if often as per the manual. Had it towed to our dealership and now the gaskets are ruined and the heads are worped due to the engine getting so hot!!! There is oil in the coolant!! $1,200.00 in repairs which we don't have!! Gm will do nothing. Have only had the van for 1 year. No warning lights came on it just happened suddenly!!
While driving at any speed and without warning engine would stall, causing the consumer to pull over. Dealer stated that intake manifold cracked, and coolant went inside the engine.
While driving at 30 MPH and without warning engine would stall, causing the consumer to pull over. Also, brakes were not working properly.
The vehicle leaked coolant which caused the vehicle to overheat. *ak also the fuel injectors failed and the sliding door did not shut properly. *jb
The intake manifold failed and needs to be replace, along with the water pump. In addition, there is a problem with the rear braking system causing the ABS and traction contol system not to work. Last month the transmission needed to be replaced.
Description : I bought a used 1997 chevrolet venture from the norwood group in warwick, ri back in sept 2002. Approximately 5 weeks ago I began experiencing overheating problems. I took the vehicle to pep boys in warick, ri for a diagnostic thinking that it was the thermostat. They ran the test and came back with an engine problem, and advised me to take the vehicle back to the dealership. I did this and the service dept at norwood informed me that there was a problem with the intake manifold gasket. After having my vehicle for two weeks they repaired that and when taking it for a test drive before returning it to me, they decided that I now had a throttle body problem. Fixed that and two weeks later the vehicle started to smell strongly of gas. Again I took it to pep boys where another diagnostic was run and it was determined that the fuel injector, intake manifold and the fuel injector kit had to be replaced. Back to norwood I go....norwood assumed a portion of this repair but it still cost me a lot more money than it should have considering they had just done this work.less than 48 hours after getting my vehicle back, while on the road and 120 miles away from home the vehicle caught fire from underneath. Oil is sprayed all over the vehicle's exterior,the engine and undercarriage. I had to pay to have the vehicle towed back to norwood. The engine appears to be seized up and will not turn over. I am extremely disappointed over the performance of this vehicle, the dealership and the cash outlay I am having forced upon me. I want to know what can be done in the way of recourse.
1997 venture 3.4l v6 engine (37,000 mi), engine abruptly stopped while vehicle is running (one lane each way with middle turn lane). Complete loss of engine power, power steering, and power brakes. Problem traced to a well known problem withthese engines (3.1l and 3.4l v6) having internal coolant leakage that causes camshaft to break. Luckily, no other vehicle was following and I was able to pull off the road safely. Just worry that others may not be as fortunate.
Consumer states while vehicle vehicle was being serviced technician noticed leakage coming from manifold. Manifold gasket needed to be replaced.
Coolant leak caused by failure of the intake manifold gasket.
Consumer states intake manifold has failed. Dealer notified.
The coolant solidified in radiator. The dealer was notified but refused to assist with repairs. The consumer was later informed that the damage may be as a result of the dexcool coolant. *nlm
I own a 1997 chevrolet venture with 71000 miles. That has been maintained in accordance with the owners manual. Van started to over heat, took it to the dealer and was told there was engine damage due to coolant in the cylinder and engine oil. A leaky manifold gasket is the suspected cause. This appears to be a prevalent problem with this manufactures 3.4l engine.
Coolant leak at intake. Venture had 40,000 miles only.
I took my 1997 chevy venture van to the dealer today for a previous recall for steering and to my supprise I was informed that my lower intake manifold gasket is bad and will cost approximately $600 to fix. Not everyone has that kind of money including me. I did some investigating on the internet and found that thousands of similar complaints have been filed. How many complaints need to be submitted before a recall is issued?
Coolant temp. Gauge will go up and fan will not come on unless I turn heater knob to defrost. Changed thermostate and had flush and fill, no change. When gauge is all the way on hot , temperature of motor is normal, by way of computer check by lisenced mech.
The intake manifold and head gasket failed, and the head light lens fell out of place. Ph
The intake manifold experienced a coolant leak.
Gm mainfold gasket leak
Total engine seisure from blown head gasket(plastic) coolant sucked into engine oil, total destruction of block. Heard from service reps from twentyfive local dealerships (chevolet) that this is no uncommon but typical!!! Something has to be done!! Total cost for fixing over $4000.!!!! Chevy no heelp says it's too bad, called every local dealer in upstate ny (20+) and get the same reply "typical of this engine, good thing nobody hurt!!sorry" if nsta wont do anything how about a class action suit??what will it take a few deaths?? Gm is junk!! I wonder how many others out there are suffering also?? Notified the ny state attorny general with problem also. Next will be the media.. I know there are many more with the same problem with this type.
On my 1997 chevy venture the manifold gasket is leaking! And I don't have that kind of money to fix that it, because of gm poor engineering. There are thousands of complaints online about this defect and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Ts
Leaking intake manifold gasket no longer covered under warranty. Cost to repair is $1000.00 + a web site has been set up to petition gm to recall this defect http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?gmcnsmrs&1
Bridgestone tires showed signs of tread separation. Chevrolet notified, but stated tires are not on recall list.
The intake manifold gasket blew and filled the engine with water, this is a problem with the 3.4 engine that gm is aware of. The sliding door on the passenger side has fallen off the van 4 times since we have had dealer fixed 3 times then it was out of warrenty. The front and rear brakes started squealing when the van had 1000 miles on it and continue to this day. Gm says they are designed like that. The seat belts in the van come unlatched at any time, the belts in the rear will contiually tighten when you hit bumps in the road. Gm told us that we were not using the seatbelts properly. The rack and pinion steering started making a growling noise immidiatly following the warrenty running out.
Car overheating and stalling in traffic could cause an accident. Part on national b/o and not a recall. Vehicle down. 48,000 parts needed through out this country. Should this be a recall?
Consumer states that the exhaust manifold is leaking.*jbmechanic informed consumer that it was an improper gasket installation.
I was told this problem was very common on venture vans.brother had the same problem on 1998 venture van. No safety defect listed.
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