I'm ready to take off the upper plastic manifold on a 1996 4.3L Blazer and it looks as though it might not need to be removed from lower intake manifold. Has anyone done the LIM gasket job and left the two manifolds together when taking them out?

 

If I do need to remove the upper manifold, I assume the injectors would need to be removed. How do the spider's individual fuel lines connect to the injectors and do I need any special tool to detach them?

 

I believe you are correct if similar to an '02..the intake can be removed as a single unit. I never could get the fuel injectors out of the intake when I did the LIM gaskets on my '02....they just would not come out and I did not want to break anything, so I left them in.

 

Lanny is right, on 96 & newer, the plenum does not need to be removed from the lower intake. However, if you want to access the injector assembly & fuel pressure regulator, the plenum needs to be removed. The old style poppet nozzles can be removed from the lower intake by pinching the tabs together and pulling them straight out. Caution: the tabs are usually very brittle and break easily. If they break, each injector can be replaced separately, but for a few bucks more than one replacement injector, you can install the entire upgraded assembly.




The new style, (upgraded) injector nozzles snap into the manifold. Removing them can be challenging, it's much easier if you access them from the under side. You might need to soak both styles with carb cleaner to remove them.

 

I did the LIM gasket and left the upper alone, it wasn't leaking and I didn't want to chance breaking anything. When my spider goes bad then I'll tackle that.