350 tbi gasket replacement

[rivers5447]

Hey all!

Can you share some advice? 94 xcsb, 350 motor with 215k. All original gaskets; planned on replacing intake gaskets preemptively. Should I do the head gaskets also? Obv a bunch more work there - is it worth it? No symptoms, but I’m tryna get ahead of this stuff and keep the truck dependable. Thanks!

 

[1997]

my 95 still has original gaskets.
215k, if you're looking to pre-empt failures your list might be longer than just those, imo.
just did the intake on the 97 as it was starting to leak, no catastrophic failure.
to answer your question imo, i'd just do intake and take a good look at the distributer gears etc while you're there.

 

[Erik the Awful]

If it were a Vortec, I'd say pre-emptively replace your intake gasket because when it lets go, you're stranded. A '94 is still TBI, right? Why are you replacing your intake gasket? They don't have a reputation for dumping all your coolant and leaving you stranded.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

They don't have a reputation for dumping all your coolant and leaving you stranded.

Ditto, I've seen guys that create more leaks when they try to replace OE gaskets. Unless they're leaking, leave them alone. As far as head gaskets, I'd maybe check torque on the head bolts, if I found a "soft" one, I'd consider replacing them.

 

[someotherguy]

If it were a Vortec, I'd say pre-emptively replace your intake gasket because when it lets go, you're stranded. A '94 is still TBI, right? Why are you replacing your intake gasket? They don't have a reputation for dumping all your coolant and leaving you stranded.

Agreed. The small block Vortec intake gaskets are terrible, plastic junk; and notorious for leaking often before you hit 100K-150K, and they often will dump coolant right into the lifter valley, contaminating the oil and eating your bearings.

The TBI intake gaskets on the other hand are standard materials and generally don't fail until upwards of 200K, and seem to rarely let the coolant into the oil. The ones I've seen leak tend to leak outside the engine; upon disassembly you find that they eroded at the edge of the water ports toward the outer edge. This one had 158K and produced just a tiny dribble down the front of the head:

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Richard