The early Chrysler minivans were really great to work on. You could pretty easily get to all the parts on that Mitsubishi 3.0. But even they succumbed to the covering cowl I think around '96. I wonder if it isn't a compromise made in the interest of improved crashworthiness. Or perhaps aerodynamics that places the base of the windshield nearly over the centerline of the engine. I know the front end of the Silhouette is way beefier than the early Caravans.

It is hard to believe that any company would do this so only their mechanics could work on 'em. After all, difficult to service design just means that repairs will be more expensive and fewer vehicles can be serviced/man. This is not profitable for either GM or their customers.

And to boot, the notorious lower intake gasket problem is just as big of a problem on the 60* V-6s. Two things complicate the lower intake job on a Montana van....

1.) Cramped engine compartment.
2.) Design of the lower intake gaskets on the 3100 and 3400.. The pushrods have to come out to gain access. That means the rockers have to be loosened. Enjoy:
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GM still hasn't been able to correct the lower intake gasket issue on the 60* V-6s. My father-in-law has to replace his lowers on an 03 Grand Am. 65,000 miles.

IMO, I'll just stick with the 3800!

Well, that looks familiar! I did the intake and cylinder head gaskets on my '98 3400. The intake gaskets were fine. No evidence of deterioration (maybe they had just been done!) But the head gaskets were failing badly as coolant migrated from the coolant passages to the fire ring and eventually split it on the #2 cylinder. The others were well on their way to failing in the same way at 130,000 miles. I blame those failures on deteriorated acidic Death-cool.

And for a big job like head gaskets, the car was not that tough to work on because everything had to come out anyway. I did not have to fuss with the cradle for the alternator or even disassemble the wiper linkage, cuz I had removed the top of the engine and gained clearance that way. Routine maintenance is where it becomes a royal pain.