my mother took her 2002 Malibu to a garage three times for the same overheating problem and still has the same problem.

i brought it to my garage and started disassembling the engine and noticed 2 and a half gallons of oil sludge in her oil pan.

after tearing it down to the block only (short block) noticed the engine was coated with this sludge. apparently a intake gasket failure.

Can any one give me a educated guess as to what condition i can expect the engine to be in after reassembling?

In 2006, while having my 2002 Malibu at the dealer for an unrelated service visit, I was notified that the mechanic had found a small coolant leak coming from the backside of the motor. I was told it was not a large leak, but that my head gasket was beginning to fail. I told them that THEY HAD TO BE KIDDING!! There wasn't that much TIME ON THE MOTOR for it to FAIL! The car was four years old with a mileage reading somewhere between 45,000 and 47,000 miles. I cannot remember the exact dollar amount they threw at me to fix it, but it seems like $1,400.00 is close...it was definitely well over $1,000.00. There was no way I was putting that much into a 4-year-old car, and apparently it is not a warranty issue. I decided to put a band-aid on the problem by adding a radiator stop-leak to the engine to maybe plug up the gap. I was hoping this would hold it for another year or so until I trade the car in on a new one. This past summer (2007), the water pump failed. The dealer wanted an outrageous amount to change it, so i did it myself...not so difficult. But, upon removing the coolant reservoir, I found it was full of this dark brown snot-like substant that is the stop leak. It took me a long time to get that disgusting stuff out of the reservoir. So, do yourself a favor and DON'T ADD STOP-LEAK to the engine. NASTY STUFF!! It wasn't until I chanced on this site while looking for a reason why my Service Engine Soon light is on, that I found all of these other things happening with the Malibu. So, I decided to put in my two cents about my head gasket. I have to be honest, though; other than a couple of things happening that maybe shouldn't have happened (like the head gasket, and that STUPID SUN ROOF SWITCH that hasn't worked correctly since day one & they can't seem to FIND OUT WHY OR FIX IT), my '02 Malibu has been a great car. I've run this thing hard for five years now, and it has served me well.

I have been told to replace the manifold gasket as well for $650.00 back in June but haven't done so yet. Since it was summer, I have been running the A/C and making sure the car does not overheat by making sure I keep antifreeze in it; however there is still some leakage but the car doesn't overhead. After reading other complaints, I'm thinking maybe it's best to just get another car if the repair is going to lead to other auto problems. There DEFINITELY needs to be a class actions lawsuit for this costly problem.

When checking the fluids in my Malibu, my father discovered a yellowish-brown sludge in the coolant reservoir. We took the car to our mechanic thinking that it was either too much oil added from the past oil change or a possible problem with the head gasket. Turns out it was a leak in the intake manifold gasket! The repair cost me around $900, plus the headache of not having a car for a few days. To make matters worse, my mechanic mentions that many people have had that problem with their Malibus, and Chevy should issue a recall! I say, move it or lose it, Chevy! Too many people's wallets are suffering!

Hi. I have had my chevy 2002 chevy malibu for about 3 months. I have noticed that while I am driving my RPMs will jump when it is not time for my car to switch gears. My gauge that tells how hot my car is goes over halfway alot ... but then it will come back down. After reading all of the complaints on the intake manifold going out.... I checked my coolant to see if it is the same orange coolant that everyone is saying messed up their intake... and it IS! I am not noticing any leaks right now, but my engine coolant is lower than it should be... is this the first signs of it going out? And while it has not went out yet is there anything I can do to keep it from going out? Maybe switch coolants or something? It is so sad to hear that over 35 Malibus have had this problem (and many more that have no idea about this site) and Chevy will do nothing for most of the problems.

Last, May I had the exact problem with my 02' Chevy Malibu, the manifold gasket was blown. The low coolant light came on and the next day my car would not start. The car was towed to a mechanic who fixed the problem along with fuel pump that also needed to be replaced because of the manifold gasket. The total for repairs was $900.

As of yesterday, when I parked my car, it was leaking antifreeze. Every time I go to get my oil changed they give me a synopsis of my car and tell me it looks as if I need the manifold head gaskets replaced. I explain that it was just replaced in May 2006. Now it seems as if I am experiencing the problem again. I just spoke with a GM representative who in a nut shell told me there was nothing they could do about it even after I told her I was aware this was a common problem on 2002 Chevy Malibu's. I just want to know if there is anything else I can do to avoid paying another $900 to repair the same problem?

coolant low light came on, and that was first indication that something was wrong. guess I am fortunate that i bought the extended warranty, because the $1,200 repair was covered except for the deductible. Car was out of service for about a month while my selling dealer (a Ford place) messed around trying to figure out the problem, finally sent the car to a Chevy dealer next door, and was fixed in a day or two. This seems to be the prevalent problem with this car/motor, and if enough people get on GM's case about it, some of us might get our money back...

Today is July 29, 2007. Problem began about 8 weeks ago. Noticed the low water level light was coming on. 6 weeks ago I took the car to a mechanic. Had the oil changed and asked shop to check the coolant level. They added coolant and all was fine until a week ago. Low water level light started coming on again. Took it to another mechanic. He informed me it is the manifold (head) gasket leaking. I purchased this car new on June 5, 2002. It has less than 43,000 miles. I JUST GOT THE DAMN THING PAID FOR AT THE END OF MAY !!!! Tomorrow I'm getting an estimate on the repairs (I've been told it will cost $600+ A friend in another state that is the manager of an auto shop told me it would probably run me about $1,500) OR I'M GOING TO BY A NEW HONDA I LOOKED AT FRIDAY. This is the second GM car I've owned that had this problem. The first was a Corsica I purchased used. Up until now this has been an excellent car if you don't count the crappy tires and battery that were OE. As I am a single car household, I need a car that will continue to provide dependable service. Even after getting this car fixed, I would always be wary of it. Guess that settles the issue. I'm trading it tomorrow.

Took my POS Malibu in for brake service AGAIN, and along with worn out calipers, worn out rotors and pads, they found oil in my coolant overflow. The mechanic said the intake manifold gasket was leaking and needed to be replaced. He said it's a common problem because of the Dexcool antifreeze, but that GM won't address it. My mechanic is working on it as I am writing this, so I pray to God that he doesn't find anything else wrong. He is going to flush the radiator, replace the gaskets, and add new oil. So far, my bill is up to $990, but like I said, it could be worse. He told me this morning that he might have to replace hoses also. Never again, GM. My next car will be a Toyota.

ONLY 22,200 miles on a 2002 Malibu, and ive got yellow mud in the radiator? ive never even spun the tires on this car and ive got a blown intake gasket? GOD help me, i hope the phone number and class action link works. anybody got a link to what after-market gaskets and anti-freeze are best to use when i get this fixed???? how about a link to the white papers GM sends to authorized dealers/repair centers??? (FWIW, "white papers" are service alerts from GM to their mechanics, and in general, are things GM does NOT want US to know about...)

ive been a chevy fan for over 40 years, but right now im ashamed to admit that. it started back in the day when there was only 15 wires under the hood tho, and eight of them were for sparkplugs...

if this car had 122,200 miles on it, id expect a few issues. but at 22,200, the motor is barely broken-in!!! and now its just broken. right from the factory. my father likes this car, and was going to buy a new one for himself before we found out about all this mess. WELL HEAR THIS GM, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

I purchased my 2002 Malibu in January, 2004. I JUST HAD MY 2002 CHEVROLET MALIBU V6 DIAGNOSED AND THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT I NEED TO HAVE MY ENGINE REPLACED BECAUSE OF THE OVER HEATING, and CONSTANT LEAKING OF THE ANTI FREEZE. MY QUESTION IS: WHY WOULD CHEVROLET HAVE ON THE ANTI-FREEZE BOTTLE USE GM DEXCOOL PREFERRED IF IT CAUSES SO MUCH DAMAGE. MY CAR HAS RAN HOT EVERY SINCE I USE IT BEGINNING LAST YEAR IN 2006. EVERY SICNE THE WARRANTY COVERAGE EXPIRED, I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS. ALSO FAILED TO MENTION HAD THE WATER PUMP REPLACED, THERMOSTAT REPLACE 2X WITHIN A 6 MONTH LAPSE. GM SHOULD ACT ON REIMBURSING MONEY BACK INSTEAD OF DOING NOTHING AT ALL

The problem: At 33,000 miles began having to add coolant to the reservoir with no visible leaks (bad indication). Found sludge in oil filler cap and in coolant reservoir. Search of internet indicated a defective intake manifold gasket is a known problem with the 2002 Malibu. Dealer would not acknowledge there was a problem in this area but, ultimately diagnosed problem as the intake manifold gasket and charged me $960 to replace. Any long term engine damage is, of course, now a lurking unknown. Strongly suggest any current owners get any loss of coolant quickly diagnosed and repaired to avoid more serious engine complications.

Now the rant: I have been a loyal GM buyer for decades. I have owned 10 GM vehicles in 30 some years (8 were Chevrolets) plus one Toyota. All the GM cars have been problematic ranging from annoying (starters/alternators/water pumps) to major (engine replacements, one at 35,000 miles, one at 48,000 miles and one at 65,000 miles (only one of which was covered by any kind of warranty)). On the other hand the single Toyota I owned was driven 85,000 miles over 11 years on nothing but gas, tires and oil changes (and then sold for a whopping 50 percent of its original purchase price). If GM is struggling and losing market share all I can say is there are probably many people like me who sincerely wish to buy American but are tiring of being suckers in order to do it. It's truly a shame in that I do like the Malibu (and my other GM cars) in general terms but, I now fear the Malibu will follow the path of the other GM vehicles I have owned and will cost me dearly in dollars and frustration for my conviction to buy American.

I have a 2002 Chevrolet Malibu with 55,000 miles on it. It has been well cared for since I bought it in September, 2005. It exhibited no problems until last week when the check engine light came on and it was running slightly hotter than usual. I took it to the shop where I bought it.

It has two blown head gaskets with water and sludge in the oil. I have used the Dex-Cool coolant as directed in my owner's manual.

For those of you seeking to join the class action suit, here is the link to the website of Girard Gibbs, the firm I found online that is the lead firm in the class action suits:

http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool. html?gclid=COP8o53alYsCFQlQWAodVUPdWA

I had never bought a Chevy, or any GM car, before this one (although I grew up with Chevies) and I guess I never will again.