Upper Intake Replacement-Which Is Best?

**jsoluna** · 01-02-2010

Hey all,

Sweet forums! First time user here, I'm diggin it.

I have a 2000 Bonneville 3.8, has lower intake gasket leaking externally. I'm going to replace it and the upper intake/upper intake gasket this week.

Couple of parts-related questions:

Went over to ZZP, and they offer two new intakes. Which is better, the Dorman or the OEM GM?

Who in the aftermarket offers the aluminum lower intake gasket? What brand is the ZZP?

Also wondering what the best torque sequence is for the intakes - I seem to remember reading that there's an updated one for the 3.1/3.4 engines.

Thanks

Justin

**kfish** · 01-02-2010

i think for the aluminum lower intake gasket, you have to go through GM or else order it

**Ibwrong** · 01-02-2010

^^agree aluminum!

**The Guz** · 01-03-2010

I got the LIM gaskets from ZZP and they are aluminum. There are a few people that have gotten the dorman intake as a replacement. I have not read anything bad about them. Only difference is if you want to use the HV3 in the dorman you will have to shave down the HV3 a little.

**jsoluna** · 01-03-2010

Sorry, not sure what the HV3 is?

**SuperSport** · 01-05-2010

This is the best Upper Intake Manifold on the market. I plan to buy this when I overhaul my LIM gaskets this spring.

GM Intake Manifold Kit - iNeedParts.com

An HV3 replaces the intake runners and gives your engine better top end power. Ive also read its useless unless you have supporting mods.

In other words forget it.

**Bio248** · 01-05-2010

get an L26 update and hog out the EGR hole so its the correct size. that way you never have a crappy plastic intake. that is what i did when i was still n/a.

**SuperSport** · 01-06-2010

Originally Posted by Bio248

get an L26 update and hog out the EGR hole so its the correct size. that way you never have a crappy plastic intake. that is what i did when i was still n/a.

And get a TB adapter right?

**Bio248** · 01-06-2010

yeah, you need a TB adapter as well. its not hard to make if youre crafty and good with metal.

**SuperSport** · 01-06-2010

Originally Posted by Bio248

its not hard to make if youre crafty and good with metal.

Then forget that idea.

**BillBoost37** · 01-07-2010

I've used the dorman intakes many times and they put out a good kit. Not sure if the metal bushing version mentioned would be better or worse as the issue is a heat issue. Metal most likely heats up quicker than plastic that has been beefed up.

**jsoluna** · 01-08-2010

Should I be using thread SEALANT or THREADLOCKER on the intake manifold bolts? 11ft-lbs seems like not too much torque, really, so I can see why I would use threadlocker, but thread sealant also sounds like a good idea since they pass into oil/coolant ports.

**Bio248** · 01-08-2010

thread sealant.

**Toxicologist** · 01-21-2010

Hey all,
New member here, great site! I have an oil leak with pooling at the intake manifold. I think its the LIM gasket, but not sure. I had the UIM and gasket replaced @ 100K miles and was told that was about the lifetime of it. I think it was replaced with an OEM upper intake. The car has 146K miles now, needs a coolant refill every so often and has just started to leak oil pretty significantly. If I can find space to do it (no garage and it has been raining buckets lately), I'm going to do the gasket replacements probably with a valve cover gasket replacement as per the how to video (which is awesome BTW!).

My questions are:
1. Is the aluminum LIM gasket set any one that says "2nd design" in the product description?
ex:
97-03 Lower Intake Gasket Set 3800 V-6 PermaDryPlus - iNeedParts.com

2. Should I replace the upper gasket as well now even though it was done at 100K miles?

3. Should I also consider replacing the UIM again now, as according to what I have heard, it will fail in another 50K miles?

4. Is there anything else that I should consider replacing while doing this fix?

Thanks!

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