Changing Intake Manifold Gasket this weekend

[dachrist]

Ok, I got myself all ready for the infamous Intake Manifold Gasket change this weekend (99 Tahoe). Its been weeping a bit of antifreeze out the back of the manifold and a bit out the front for a while now, so its ready to be done. I'm also changing plugs/wires/cap/rotor/thermostat at the same time.

I picked up the Fel-Pro MS98000T gasket kit for the job. Now here is what I don't understand...there has been a ton of work re-designing these gaskets from GM and from Fel-Pro. Yet, the most common source of the leak is where the manifold joins to the flat part of the block, where the silicon bead is. So why all the development on the gaskets? I just don't get it.

BTW my truck only seems to leak after a short trip (IE it doesn't get fully warmed up). After a long trip I don't get any leaks appearing.

 

[Jabba's Barge]

i'm doing this now. check out the pics in my thread i just posted. fun stuff.

 

[bsamoul]

Ok, I got myself all ready for the infamous Intake Manifold Gasket change this weekend (99 Tahoe). Its been weeping a bit of antifreeze out the back of the manifold and a bit out the front for a while now, so its ready to be done. I'm also changing plugs/wires/cap/rotor/thermostat at the same time.

I picked up the Fel-Pro MS98000T gasket kit for the job. Now here is what I don't understand...there has been a ton of work re-designing these gaskets from GM and from Fel-Pro. Yet, the most common source of the leak is where the manifold joins to the flat part of the block, where the silicon bead is. So why all the development on the gaskets? I just don't get it.

BTW my truck only seems to leak after a short trip (IE it doesn't get fully warmed up). After a long trip I don't get any leaks appearing.

I just did this myself about two weeks ago for the very same reason. Same gasket I got as well. I would actually go grab another valve cover gasket too from the auto parts store since you already have to pull one off, might as well do the other as well since everythings all apart.

 

[TigerEyz3]

I installed the same thing last year - Fel-Pro MS98000T gasket kit plus an extra valve cover gasket (installed the upgraded fuel spider and VMax Spacer while I was at it).

As far as the leak/gasket design goes... originally, the gaskets themselves were the problem - would crush when torquing the manifold back down. Over the years, this issue has been fixed and tweaked - different materials and slightly different designs were used to fix the problem. The leak between the joints (between the gasket and lower intake) can be resolved by overlapping a bit of the RTV and letting it setup just a bit. I haven't had any problems doing it this way.

 

[dachrist]

Yeah so far its just the coolant puddle on the ground for me, nothing is in the oil. I want to catch this before it escalates though. I'm hoping to get away with just removing the one valve cover.

 

[TigerEyz3]

You can do it by removing just the one... the thought behind suggesting the 2nd is that both will be new/fresh.

 

[dachrist]

Well, its done. Took me the whole weekend. The only problem I had was that I think I had an airlock on startup, as the thermostat did not open until I parked it on a hill and let the air escape. No trouble codes, no leaks. My "oh crap" moment came when I realized how much I had taken apart, and would it all go back together and actually run!

 

[young_2010_chris]

i did it in 6 hours

 

[foreverfalcon40]

Don;t forget the new bolts for the manifold too.

 

[bsamoul]

i did it in 6 hours

yea that's about how long it took me too, not including lunch and breaks lol