L36 Intake Questions

[93CutlassSupreme]

Hello

 

I have a few questions about an upper intake replacement, and lower intake gaskets replacement on the L36 3.8L.

 

What is the difference between Fel Pro MS95809 (First Design) and MS95809-1 (Second Design) lower intake gasket sets?

 

Alldata gives 3.9 hours time for this job. Accurate?

 

Are any special tools needed (tamper torx bits etc.) so I can just go to the store once?

 

I assume the belt tensioner needs to be removed to replace the coolant elbows?

 

I will not be disconnecting the exhaust crossover. The bolts are just strips of rust. How much time will this add?

 

Thank you.

[l67ss]

One gasket is plastic and the other is metal. Normal hand tools will work. Yep remove alt bracket. Not removing the exhaust xover wont add any labor time. I did lims on my friends 98 gpgt in just over an hour...drinkin beer

[Imp558]

Some kind of tool with a hook on it is nice. A chunk of the coolant elbow usually gets stuck inside And you need to fish it out with something. I have an old T handle Dent puller I use for this.

[93CutlassSupreme]

 

 

 

I am disappointed in Fel Pro. The LIM gaskets have already been "fixed" on this car with the Fel Pro "Problem Solver" gasket set MS98014T. As you can see one of the LIM gaskets still failed. This gasket was from the rear bank.

[rich17]

Its a shity design my GM IMO. Not felpro's fault

[z34Phoenix]

clean everything really good and make sure to use silicone/ rtv on the 4 corners where the LIM gasket meets the side gaskets for the valley. i like to put the dab of rtv first then lay the gaskets down for a better clean looking seal. if you dont like felpro there is always the victor renz set from autozone. think those are steel vs the aluminum of the felpro. also inspect the upper intake manifold at the coolant and egr ports as the egr likes to melt thru and cause a coolant leak. I suggest blocking the coolant ports all together and be done with it.

[93CutlassSupreme]

Its a shity design my GM IMO. Not felpro's fault

 

I agree, but I would advise all L36 owners who have used the Fel Pro "Problem Solver" LIM gaskets that they are not a permanent fix. Most people think otherwise.

 

clean everything really good and make sure to use silicone/ rtv on the 4 corners where the LIM gasket meets the side gaskets for the valley. i like to put the dab of rtv first then lay the gaskets down for a better clean looking seal. if you dont like felpro there is always the victor renz set from autozone. think those are steel vs the aluminum of the felpro. also inspect the upper intake manifold at the coolant and egr ports as the egr likes to melt thru and cause a coolant leak. I suggest blocking the coolant ports all together and be done with it.

 

If I knew the Victor Renz set was a different construction I would have checked them out. I replaced the whole UIM with the Dorman kit.