Beating a old horse... Intake / plenium gaskets

[Oldblue98]

Another day .. Was tossing the idea of a new crate motor in another post, here is what I got ! I have the original 5.7 and it has a very well maintained 195 K on it now. It still runs good and I have no issues other than it would be about the last thing major that has not been replaced in the truck since I decided to resurrect this old truck.

I replaced the radiator the other day that tank was leaking on, feeling good about that I come from town yesterday and just before I tucked it in I thought I smelled coolant, well today I got into it to check it out and it appears that the notorious intake gasket is dripping down the back by the starter area, and a little ran down the front of the block ( Water pump not leaking ) all hoses good. NO COOLANT IN OIL as I checked oil level and filler cap area.

Not wanting to tackle this I called the GMC dealer and was told around 750-800 labor + parts and then he did his tap dance about the intake being 700 and I asked him to give me the readers digest version, worst case and intake is cracked and we had to replace all the hoopla "HOW MUCH" he told me 2 grand and I said ok if it just needs gaskets and labor and he told me roughly a 850-1 K. So my question is ???

What is a normal price to do this job ? Anyone payed to have it done lately ? I am just not health and condition wise up to the task at hand.
And on the flip side I am wondering for that kind of money thrown down the well and I still have a motor with 195 K on the clock if regardless of how it runs if it should be crate motor time.
Another problem is lack of reputable shops in the area !

 

[someotherguy]

Even at dealer rates they're sticking it to you. Many years ago it was common to get quoted around 300-400 for an indie shop to do this job.

Not saying it's easy, or fun, but it's not a $1K-$2K job, not even close.

Still, get it done ASAP, before it does start dumping coolant into your oil. That's the usual failure mode of the Vortec small block intake gasket.

Richard

 

[Oldblue98]

Even at dealer rates they're sticking it to you. Many years ago it was common to get quoted around 300-400 for an indie shop to do this job.

Not saying it's easy, or fun, but it's not a $1K-$2K job, not even close.

Still, get it done ASAP, before it does start dumping coolant into your oil. That's the usual failure mode of the Vortec small block intake gasket.

Richard

Yes he started out by quoting 700 bucks just for an intake that he did not even know if I needed.. This truck has never been run hot,it was run at 160 degrees most of its life. I am thinking on getting the whole smear through rock and tackle it myself. I am equipped with everything except parts and a good back =) That is why I generally jump into things because of the bullshit you get from the shops that think because you want it done you don't have a clue as how to do it. I don't mind paying a fair price, I just don't like getting *****.. Is it common for the plenium or intake to crack ? I have heard of the upper cracking but never the lower intake ???

 

[Biggershaft96]

Ive done 4 sets on 3 trucks and havnt seen a cracked lower yet. Just find a buddy that knows the difference between a ratchet and a wrench and save yourself some money.

 

[Oldblue98]

Ive done 4 sets on 3 trucks and havnt seen a cracked lower yet. Just find a buddy that knows the difference between a ratchet and a wrench and save yourself some money.

Just got off of phone with a shop about 35 mins away that was recommended by a friend , read reviews on them and they looked good. Give him a call and he said 350.00 with coolant , oil change and filter. I have and appointment for Tuesday. His price sounds a little closer to earth !

 

[Biggershaft96]

Just got off of phone with a shop about 35 mins away that was recommended by a friend , read reviews on them and they looked good. Give him a call and he said 350.00 with coolant , oil change and filter. I have and appointment for Tuesday. His price sounds a little closer to earth !

Yea that sounds like a pretty good deal

 

[rangrayy]

I just did this job on my 98 over the course of a weekend. It was a brutally cold weekend too. I've got 251k miles and I towed my dads 20ft trailer and I think that was the last straw on my intake gaskets. Cost me $100 with coolant and two days of my time. Granted my brother works for Oreillys and let me use his account since he has a 97 z71 to save me some $$

Just make sure they use FelPro p/n MS98000T with the metal gaskets and if you haven't switched away from DexCool now would be a good time for a flush and change.

 

[Oldblue98]

I just did this job on my 98 over the course of a weekend. It was a brutally cold weekend too. I've got 251k miles and I towed my dads 20ft trailer and I think that was the last straw on my intake gaskets. Cost me $100 with coolant and two days of my time. Granted my brother works for Oreillys and let me use his account since he has a 97 z71 to save me some $$

Just make sure they use FelPro p/n MS98000T with the metal gaskets and if you haven't switched away from DexCool now would be a good time for a flush and change.

Give me the scoop on dexcool ? Used it for 20 years and changed it as should and only replaced one water pump, and one radiator replaced a few days ago. I know I have heard here of getting rid of it but have not heard the specifics on why ?

 

[rangrayy]

From what I have read the factory gaskets in the vortecs and dexcool do not get along like the newer ls motors. As you probably know too dexcool has to be well maintained or problems occur. Like in my case I bought my truck that had stop leak in it but did not see it when I opened the cap. There was a leak and the P.O. did not want to address it which probably lead to coolant flowing down the front of the block near the head. The plastic and silicon factory gasket, the plastic started to deteriorate and the silicon inlay lost its support and blew out. I know GM had a lawsuit with dexcool.

 

[Oldblue98]

From what I have read the factory gaskets in the vortecs and dexcool do not get along like the newer ls motors. As you probably know too dexcool has to be well maintained or problems occur. Like in my case I bought my truck that had stop leak in it but did not see it when I opened the cap. There was a leak and the P.O. did not want to address it which probably lead to coolant flowing down the front of the block near the head. The plastic and silicon factory gasket, the plastic started to deteriorate and the silicon inlay lost its support and blew out. I know GM had a lawsuit with dexcool.

I did not know that, but it has been maintained very good all its life, coolant changed very often, when it was changed it didnt even look dirty or old. I guess with new gaskets I don't know as there is any need to worry about it at this point . Will find out if it is a good idea to flush system and change out, at this point I would be more concerned with getting it cross contaminated than I would be just staying with what it has had.
Anyway thank you for your help.