Replaced intake gasket

[2kTrailBlazer]

I know there have been alot of threads on this topic, Just a couple hints i learned from doing it. total time from start to finish was about 5 hours. book called for 4.5 . A mistake i made was taking off the power steering pulley. It is pressed on so we used some special tools to take it off and put it back on. i later found out that the braket behind it (which is why we took off the pulley) can be pried back once all the bolts and the one nut come off. this would then give you acsess to the intake bolts. Also I would recommend replacing your t-stat and water pump while doing this job. I did, if you wait till they go bad you have alota parts to remove again to gain acsess to that water pump. Also check for pitting on the heads and intake. I had a little bit and made sure to use some extra RTV in those areas. If the pitting gets bad enough you may want to replace the part.

[dmbrisket 51]

nifty little job isnt it? on some newere blazers and s 10 pickups the wiring harness is a pita to remove at the uhbfc (underhood bussfuse center) to get the harness off the plenum, you dont need rtv anywhere but at the end rails, perioud, the gm gaskets seal great, even with some moderate pitting in the manifold and heads, if its to bad, replace or repair it, and if you get the oe gaskets from gm, you pay more, but they are now aluminum, something the aftermarket world hasn't cought up with on yet