exhaust gasket

hey...
my friend has an 88 gmc sierra with the 350 in it. its been sittin for a while because back in the day the exhaust gasket blew and melted a bunch of wires together in the main wiring harness. he wants to get it up and running again but a local mechanic said that he wouldn't do it because if he replaces the gasket the engine will shift(??) he claims that when you undo the three bolts to replace the gasket the whole engine will shift its placing and everything will be screwed up....now this sounds really skeptical to me. i was just looking for some feedback on the topic...thanx guys

I think you need to find another mechanic.

I have a 90 K1500 with the 5.7 and it is very similar to the 88. I recently had to replace the oil pan gasket on my 90. I had to lower the Y pipe by removing the 3 bolts that connect the Y pipe to the exhaust manifold on both sides. I assume that is the 3 bolts you are talking about. I can tell you that my engine did not move when I dropped the Y pipe.

I did not remove the exhaust manifold; however, it could easily be removed without causing the engine to move.

The engine has 2 motor mounts and there is no way the engine can move unless one of the motor mounts break.

//2000CAYukon

thank you...im happy to prove him wrong...he was bound and determined that he was right...haha