Started noticing puddles under the vehicle, seems I've got the lower intake gasket leak. Want to get it done soon, hopefully this weekend.

Got some questions

1: are the Fel-Pro gaskets from Autozone good for this or should I order them from somewhere?
2: about how long does it take?
3: any special tools needed?

97 Olds Bravada, 137k miles

 

You should have a torque wrench that does inch pounds. I just snugged them down and I haven't had an issue in almost 3 years. I am not sure what other tools might be needed because I did mine with the engine out. I used Felpro MS 95817 I believe that Autozone should carry that. If you want to spend a few more bucks you can get the same kit with the valve cover gaskets included. I don't know the part number to that one.

 

Do the valve covers need to come off for this?

As for time, what is it, like 2-3 hours or so?

 

the very first one i did was a 98 bravada and it took me 12 hours lol. but it was a very extreme case of bad intake gaskets.

so basically 4 hours disassembly, 4 hours to clean everything, 4 hours to put it back. this was basically using all hand tools, taking my sweet time.

basically all the antifreeze filled the cylinders and into the oil this is what it looked like under the intake so i had to do like 6 oil changes on it




now i can usually knock one out in about 4 hours, a tip i can give is take a bunch of pictures of your engine bay from every angle, nothing worse then having it 98% done and you cant figure out where a wire or vacuum hose goes.

 

I can't see it taking that long. Disassembly might take more time than the rest.

Mine is also leaking externally, going along the head and down the back of the motor. If it's got too much crap like that, I'll do a flush.

 

Maybe it will take that long Lel

I'll just spread it out over a few days. I read in another thread that in lieu of paying $30+ for a new set of lower intake bolts,I can just get grade 8 5/16-18 x 1.5" bolts and use aluminum anti seize. That any good?

 

AC comperssor/PS bracket needs to come forward to get at the front intake bolt. Just wire brush the old bolts and reuse them with telflon sealer for head bolts. Be sure to clean out all the bolt holes in the heads with a tap. A lot of junk gets in there when they leak and will prevent proper tightening. Don't short cut on the inch pound torque wrench and tightening in sequence. I personally go over them again with the torque wrench after a few hours (or overnight if I have the time). Don't use hardware store bolts for torqued engine fasteners.

 

So these aren't stretch bolts then? Good to know. What brand Teflon sealer would you recommend?

Also, does the fuel spider absolutely need to come out independently, or can I leave it connected to the lower intake? Asking because I can't find just the o-ring set for the poppets.

 

What Les said... I torqued mine and then waited overnight b4 I did the final torque.

 

theres like 2 bolts on that thing that are kind of tricky to get at. theres one under the exhaust manifold and one on the very bottom you may have to lay under the truck to get at... sometimes you can get away with leaving that bottom one in and just move the bracket forward a hair. ive even seen people cut part of that bracket under the a/c compressor instead of moving it