some pics of the manifold before and after cleaning. didn't take a pic of the silicone bead i put in

edit: just changed the oil ( morning after ) and DAMN was that stuff thin and watered down haha glad i did this now

 

Sorry to hijack, but this discussion seemed like a good place to ask.
I'll be going through this in a day or so when the rest of my parts get here from RockAuto.
On that note, I have a couple of questions, if I may.
What tap is required to chase the threads? (All my taps and dies are SAE)
I ordered the new bolts for the lower manifold, and they appear to have threadlocker already on them...is this typical?
And what is the torque specs for the upper intake (plenum)? I can't find that info anywhere.
Thanks for any help, and please forgive me if this is in fact an interruption of this thread.

 

How To Replace Intake Manifold Gaskets On A GMC Jimmy 4.3 Liter V6 To Fix A Coolant Leak - GM Truck Engine Repairs

that should help you with a lot of info you will need.

 

torque on the upper intake is

3.7 ft lbs ( first time )
7 ft lbs ( second/final time )

Also im not sure which tap would be used, my guess would be find a die that fits the bolts and match a tap to that.

The bolts i picked up didn't have any thread sealer on them, at least none that i saw. Id grab some for a few bucks just in case.

 

Post #2 has the tightening sequence and the torque specs.
First step: 89 inch pounds.
Second step: 106 inch pounds.
Final step: 132 inch pounds.

Guaranteed the LIM bolts are metric. If I had to guess on the thread size and pitch, 8mm x 1.5 Probably be best to take one of the bolts to a hardware store and match it up, then get the necessary tap & die. I'd be skeptical using bolts with sealer already on them. The sealer is most likely hard which will affect the torque reading, and that's the reason for chasing the threads in the first place... to make sure there is no unnecessary torque needed to tighten the bolts. 132 inch pounds in not very tight at all, the thread sealer helps to keep the bolts from loosening up from engine vibration, and to prevent oil from seeping past the threads. Chase the threads, apply the liquid sealer to the bolt threads, install & torque them.

 

Thanks to the three of ya for the input.
Still waiting on the FedEx driver for the last of the parts, should be here today.
On the lower intake bolts.....is Blue LocTite OK?

On a side note, I'm in the process of getting a used 2 post lift, but it's still a couple months out.
Today I pulled and reinstalled the catalytic converter since my parts aren't here yet, and I realized how much that lift will be appreciated.
I don't know for sure that the convertor was plugged, but the core was broken into a bunch of small pieces, so for now I just cleaned it out.....completely hollow.
When I get it all back together and running like it used to, I will pick up a new one.

 

Blue LocTite is fine. When applying it, keep in mind that it needs to seal the threads and hold the bolt in place. The plenum bolt torque is very low also, so a drop or two on each bolt is probably a good idea so they don't walk out. Those threads don't need to be sealed though.