LIM gasket change walkthrough

[Plug]

Here is a pic of what I saw when I got my LIM apart....

Yeah, mine looked like that if nt worse plus the oil/coolant sludge all over the place.

There is a technical bulletin with revised torque numbers for the plenum bolts:

1. Tighten the vertical lower intake manifold bolts (1) to 7 N.m (62 lb in).
2. Tighten the diagonal lower intake manifold bolts (2) to 7 N.m (62 lb in).
3. Tighten the vertical lower intake manifold bolts (1) to 13 N.m (115 lb in).
4. Tighten the diagonal lower intake manifold bolts (2) to 25 N.m (18 lb ft).

After I did step 4 I went back and checked the vertical bolts and they were slightly lose so I retorqued them, maybe that was a mistake but I remember them being so lose when I took it apart I figured it was worth a shot.

[Hot_Stud18]

Oh and if anyone is real lazy all I did with mine was add in half a bottle of Bar's Leak Liquid Aluminum stop leak(cost about 3 bucks) and that sealed up the leak rather nicely Its been going on a few weeks now leak free.

[gectek]

Originally Posted by Plug

Here is a pic of what I saw when I got my LIM apart....

MMMM...applesauce, thats almost what i saw, but mine only started at 160k mi so mine looked like carlsbad caverns. thats why when i put it all back together i switched to the prestone yellow. no probs yet

[geldartb]

no more dex for me. back to good ol green. hopefully it will last longer this time.

[canadian_racer]

Can you use green antifreeze in a car that came with dexcool?

[gectek]

i think you can, but it really isnt formulated for alum engine parts and may have the tendency to mess them up if you dont flush it every year, thats why i use the yellow

[Sprucegagt]

Originally Posted by gectek

i think you can, but it really isnt formulated for alum engine parts and may have the tendency to mess them up if you dont flush it every year, thats why i use the yellow

The green stuff is formulated for use with aluminum parts. It just has a shorter service life than Dexcool, thus why you have to flush it regularly.

[alerored04]

after just finishing this fix, and going through my haynes to double check torque specs, the UIM in the walkthrough is listed as torqing to 18 ft/lbs. My haynes shows it at 115 in/lbs. Just thought i would post this so others using this might see it.

[lone_wolf025]

Basically according to the manual you'd need about half of the 18 lb-ft of torque. 115 is roughly about 9 or 10 lb-ft (9.5) for those who want to be picky.

Alldata also has you using 18 ft-lbs but be careful, the rear driver's side bolt broke off half of the Lower plenum bolt hole, and after what I had gon through I wasn't replacing the Lower plenum, so using 5 bolts instead of 6 to hold the upper plenum

[alerored04]

thats why i thought i would post it, i retorqued mine as soon as i saw that mistype.

so is the 18 ft lbs wrong for the diagonal LIM bolts? or is that the correct revised number?


also, is it best to get a complete coolant flush before doing this job? i hate to pay the cash for a complete flush right before i have to drain all of the coolant again but how else would you clean the coolant system out?

[gectek]

just take the t stat out for the coolant flush, i would do one after the whole gasket replacement, and taking the t stat out makes flushing the coolant a little quicker and easier, plus you dont have to worry about sediment building up ont eh back side of the t stat

and how exactly are you flushing it? or have a shop do it?

[gectek]

well i used to use the good ol 2 part prestone powder flush, but most of the stores dont sell it anymore, so you can get a flush kit with the T to put in the heater lines, but i didnt do that, i just run the prestone liquid flush through it real good, maybe use 2 bottles and follow the directions. any autoparts store is gonna have multiple types of flushes, so take your pick, but id use name brand and well proven flushes/kits. i do all my work on my car myself, i have better quality control then and ive had bad probs with mechanics leaving stuff off or contaminating my oil/coolant and i save a load on labor also

i have heard before to use 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 distilled water. they say it is safe for the seals and stuff but i am almost scared to try it....

[gectek]

good for pickling also

i have no idea about the vinegar, sounds rather smelly to me

i have used it before in my atv and it worked good. but i am a little more cautious with my car than my atv's. i mean the atv's have thermastats, seals, sensors, etc and nothing was harmed. well, not that i know of anyways.

[gectek]

over 1,000,000 customers cant be wrong