Intake Manifold..... anyone? anyone?

Bueler... Bueler...
o.k. I am done now....

I am about to tackle the infamous intake manifold leak…
Anyone have any advice for me????
Should I get my gaskets from the dealer or will the local auto parts store be sufficient?
What about rtv? I have an engine parts store not to far from here should I go there and get the good stuff?
And are there any surprises that are waiting for me????
The distributor doesn’t bother me much. I am sure I can make it run again but how should I get the timing back?
I am pretty sure I can use timing light but are there any tricks I need to know? I am not use to working on vehicles with onboard computers…. My last truck was a 69 chevy…
(b.t.w. it is a 97 K1500)

Thanks guys,
Richard

Just had mine done 2 weeks ago and as for the part ...go to your local auto store dealer will sell you the same gasket but jack up the price ....i goit mine at napa auto and brought it to my mechanic .....beware of those telling you to get dealer parts ....if you can buy them yourself your gonna save alot of money....

Use UltraBlack sealant too (on the front and back pieces) as for any surprises...there is one. You will have to take off the entire A/C mounting bracket to get the lower manifold off, and two of the bolts secureing it are behind the power steering pulley.

“You will have to take off the entire A/C mounting bracket to get the lower manifold off, and two of the bolts secureing it are behind the power steering pulley”

Thanks For the warning…. I didn’t read that in the p.o.s. hanes manual. I wonder why?????

It seems kind of odd that you could just change the gasket…. I would think that the something would have to get warped.
I was chasing an oil leak. And when I stuck my finger on the backside of the intake it came back with coolant on it…..
I figured it was about time….

I just did my Intake manifold on my 99 Tahoe. Get some gasket remover and a couple of cans of brake cleaner. These will come in very handy. I poped my distributer in on the first try and it cranked up with no problems. I had to take it to the dealer to get it timed and to get rid of the engine check light ($100 bucks later).

“You will have to take off the entire A/C mounting bracket to get the lower manifold off, and two of the bolts secureing it are behind the power steering pulley”

Thanks For the warning…. I didn’t read that in the p.o.s. hanes manual. I wonder why?????

It seems kind of odd that you could just change the gasket…. I would think that the something would have to get warped.
I was chasing an oil leak. And when I stuck my finger on the backside of the intake it came back with coolant on it…..
I figured it was about time….

We are talking about a 5.0 or 5.7 engine right? The removal of lower intake manifold is in chapter 6 page 311-315 (OEM service manual volume 2) hyanes manual won't tell u the details just the basics.

Hey Before You Go And Spend The Cash I Just Found Out There Was A Recall On The Intake Gasket By Gm ...i Never Got One But My Buddy Did After He Had His Changed....im Looking Now For A Number To Call To See If I Can Get Reimbursted For It......i May Be The Second Owner But It Dont Matter .....they Have A Defectivepart Then We All Should Get It ...hope That Helps Ya Out

Here's what you'll prolly need: Good torque wrench (3/8's drive is what I used) Torque steps and sequence (intake has both). Good gasket scraper and dremel with a good polishing bit on it to clean the mating surfaces real well. Just make sure you shove a towel down in the head runners so nothing gets down in there when your cleaning the head surface off. Manifold gasket Kit (comes with lower and upper intake manifold gaskets and throttle body gasket) and a good size tube of Black high temp RTV for the rear and front of the intake manifold and a small amount around the coolant passages. The bead of RTV should be about 3/8 of an inch thick in the front and in the back of the manifold and extend up into the manifold gasket slightly. Good luck with it, it's not as hard as you would think. It harder to get at then to actually do the fix.
-Paul

There are a couple of bolts on the rear passenger side that are hard to get. I had to climb in and put my knees on each side of the radiator front bracket. Be sure to swing the A/C over to the passenger side and tie it out of the way. You will also have to tie up the wire harness that goes over the intake before you remove it.

Thanks for the advice guys...
Damn I must be getting old…. Is the timing controlled by the computer?
My intention is to put it back the way it came out. But if I am off a little I could just mess around till I get it but I am trying to figure out if there is a sure fire way. (I came to this conclusion b/c I can’t find a timing tab) (or the holly carb….  Wish I was working on my 69 C-10!!!!)

Thanks for the advice guys...
Damn I must be getting old…. Is the timing controlled by the computer?
My intention is to put it back the way it came out. But if I am off a little I could just mess around till I get it but I am trying to figure out if there is a sure fire way. (I came to this conclusion b/c I can’t find a timing tab) (or the holly carb….  Wish I was working on my 69 C-10!!!!)


Lol, don't waste time looking for breaker points. Just mark the rotor to distributor body relation and mark distributor to intake manifold relation. Then remember that it will advance 42 degrees when pulling out due to the gear mesh. Just get the distributor set back in the same tooth pattern and you will be fine.If not you will get a P1345 code.

I am fixing my 98 do you know the torque steps and foot pounds for the lower intake. my intake leaked antifreeze in to my oil. thanks

Check out this link. Its all in there.. http://www.automotiveforums.com/t137850.html

guys tell me what you think.... upon tearing everthing apart I noticed the radiator hose at the thermastat was leaking. And the heater hose's rubber gastket on the front passenger side of the motor looked a little dryed out... I think I may repair those and put everything back together and give that a try before I pull the intake. what do yall think?

Bueler... Bueler...
o.k. I am done now....

I am about to tackle the infamous intake manifold leak…
Anyone have any advice for me????
Should I get my gaskets from the dealer or will the local auto parts store be sufficient?
What about rtv? I have an engine parts store not to far from here should I go there and get the good stuff?
And are there any surprises that are waiting for me????
The distributor doesn’t bother me much. I am sure I can make it run again but how should I get the timing back?
I am pretty sure I can use timing light but are there any tricks I need to know? I am not use to working on vehicles with onboard computers…. My last truck was a 69 chevy…
(b.t.w. it is a 97 K1500)

Thanks guys,
Richard
I have always purchased my parts from the local auto parts store, or online, unless the part needed was a "dealer item only." This saves a tremendous amount of money. However, after reading your post, a thought crossed my mind. You might want to check with the dealership part's dept. first to see if a revision has been made to the gasket by GM . The reason I say this is among the vehicles I own are 2 Chevy Ventures with the infamous 3.4 L engine. They are notorious for having intake gasket problems,and There have been revisions to the gaskets made over the years. To be sure to get the most up to date design, I would check with the dealer first to see, as they usually have the new ones before the local auto parts store would carry them. If there is no new design, then I would get the ones from the local store. If there is a new design out, you could also check with some of the online dealers first and ask them if they are stocking the new design. I have found that some of these online GM parts dealers are cheaper in price than my local dealership...sometimes by a wide margain. Figure the cost of the item plus any shipping costs to see if it would save you any money. They usually ship the same day and I usually get my parts that I order within a short amount of time.

Was your original leak?? on the rear of the engine or the front. I am glad I resealed the Intake manifold on my 99 tahoe. It was a mess.. I cant beleive it was running in the shape it was in before the re-seal..

I am fixing my 98 do you know the torque steps and foot pounds for the lower intake. my intake leaked antifreeze in to my oil. thanks


If you need the visual (a top or engine view) bolt tighten sequence, Give me an e-mail and i'll send to you in JPG format or BMP format. i'll include the upper sequence too.

thanks for the torque info. i got it back together . and now my water pump is not pumping. it was a new one about 6 months ago . any help on why it is not doing the job now?

Is the serpentine belt on correctly??

thanks for the torque info. i got it back together . and now my water pump is not pumping. it was a new one about 6 months ago . any help on why it is not doing the job now?


how do you know it's not pumping? It's not moving externally? No pressure build up? No hot water entering radiator? Someone Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't the water pump shaft/propeller a solid piece. If its turning on the pulley the impeller should be turning inside.Did you maybe block any of the passages and forget to remove upon re-install.

O.k. 10 Hrs. later and lower intake manifold gaskets installed I have no leaks....
I have one thing to say. Beware of the heater hose coupler at the front pass. side if the intake. Extremely brittle!!!!!!!!! I barley put ant torque on it and it snapped off.....
It was a good thing b\c it made me have to remove the lower intake to remove the remaining coupler. When I got the intake off I saw that the gaskets were in bad shape if they were not leaking they would be soon!!!!! Thanks for the help guys...

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/500/249398heater-intake.JPG

guys tell me what you think.... upon tearing everthing apart I noticed the radiator hose at the thermastat was leaking. And the heater hose's rubber gastket on the front passenger side of the motor looked a little dryed out... I think I may repair those and put everything back together and give that a try before I pull the intake. what do yall think?


Go for it! I was also ready for the dreaded intake fix when I found it was only the water pump! And now the coolant is a pleasant green! :iceslolan