Intake manifold leak, Possible upgrade???

1997 blazer ls 4x4 4.3 120,000 auto

I took a trip down the beach(wildwood,NJ) i check all my fluids before no problems even with the crazy heat the east coast is having. got down there checked it again my antifrezze level was low so i toped it off didnt think twice. Got home last night checked it low again. UHHH OHH. Let it warm up and the driver side where the bottom of the valve cover meets the manifold that whole seem was orange :banghead: so i have a little bit of a project ahead of me. Im assuming its the intake gasket. If my assumption is true theres enough info on here to help me with that and it seems stright forward just take off everything in the way of the manifold.

BUT i know there are aftermarket intake manifolds avaible for our motors but im not sure if they have to converted to carb. I figure im taking the whole thing apart it would be prime time to put a better one in. Has any one herd much on how well the aftermarket manifolds work. Edlebrock i know makes one.

Also since ill be there what else would be worth replacing, I did cap rotor wires ect Basic tune up. Anything larger?

did you check the oil for coolant

did you check the oil for coolant


Yea its brand new. I changed the oil 50 miles before i went down its golden and still is. Im keeping my eye on it though along with all my gauges in the car

Did you replace radidator cap?
I had a leak also, but leaks went away after I change radiator cap and top off coolant in radiator.
I hope this will solve your problem also.
Good Luck.

Did you replace radidator cap?
I had a leak also, but leaks went away after I change radiator cap and top off coolant in radiator.
I hope this will solve your problem also.
Good Luck.

About 1500 miles back i fully flushed the system all new dexsludge new stant rad cap and t-stat. also back flushed the heat core. About 500 miles later its was turning darker again. Most likley from deposits in the rad breaking loose. Im gonna replace is regardless. and put all new dexsludge in again along with new drivestain fluids(trans,t-case, front and rear diff) I go back to school in a month. theres no way in hell im gonna let a stealership bend me over for an intake gasket. Ill do it my self for almost nothing. Any other things i should do while im there???

Took me an hour to rip to whole intake out:grinyes: The passenger side front coolant port was the only unblocked port and i had a huge blow out on the back driver port.

My new question is now that its out Whats the best way to clean block. Not the gasket but like all the gunk down in the valley and around the ports. Also on the intake manifold. All the black stuff(Carbon deposits??) out of there???

Then, once i took it out i took the rad cap off and coolant poored in to the valley. All in the cam and distributor. I know an oil change is needed after this but there was a good amount that when in will that cause me any damage or the best way to flush that out?

AND.... i wanna flush the system again. would it be smart to do it with the intake off to get the big chunks out or put it all back together??

Drain the coolant and oil out of there. Don't allow it to sit in it.

Change the oil and run the engine for 10 minutes, then change the oil again.

Also put rags down the port going into the heads and such to stop and stuff falling down into the engine.

Get some felpro gaskets that will help you out.

Drain the coolant and oil out of there. Don't allow it to sit in it.

Change the oil and run the engine for 10 minutes, then change the oil again.

Also put rags down the port going into the heads and such to stop and stuff falling down into the engine.

Get some felpro gaskets that will help you out.


Already stuff rags in there. the last thing i wanna to is rip off a head. my oil can is full. I will drain is first thing in the AM. I wouldnt think it sitting in there over nite would hurt it. This is gonna take 3 days to complte due to my time restaints. I was just gonna go to the dealer to get gaskets but Ill look for the Felpro. Any idea where to pick them up at?

Autozone, or advanced auto parts. They should have felpro thats what they gave me for my accord head gasket.

Autozone, or advanced auto parts. They should have felpro thats what they gave me for my accord head gasket.

I concur. :D

I picked them up at national auto for 45 bux upper and lower gaskets they were the felpro to, Thanks guys for the help it should all go back together tomorro with money in my pocket thanx to AF not in the stealerships

3 hours later all bolted up and done. Went real smooth. The hardest part was just cleaning everything. While i was there i did the thottle body plate mod. I can feel a very slight differnce. But all new dex dool, t-sat and rad cap and 15 Qts of oil flowed though my motor today. First start, started right up :grinyes: that usally doesnt happen with my projects. Once it got hot it devloped a nasty tap. After pulling hairs and a few words of choice at the time i traced it to the stupid belt tensior, Id rather have replace that then rip all of the manifold back out, Any way Thanks alot guys You saved me an arm and a leg once again and it feels good to be able to slam the hood on some something like this.

Just hope you used a torque wrench with everything being put back together.

Just hope you used a torque wrench with everything being put back together.


65 lbs in a criss cross pattern