Well I smelled antifreeze today while driveing and when I popped the hood noticed puddles of coolant in the valley between the valve cover and lim under the sc . So it looks like I'm about to be replacing the lim and sc gaskets . I looked at autozone and they have 2 different ones. One is 75$ and comes with a bunch of extra little o rings and seals. The other is 45$ and just comes with the lim gaskets . Anyone have any suggestions as to a certain brand or what one I should get .the ones I looked at were both felpro . I just can't see spending an extra 30$ for a few p rings but maybe there is something I don't know. What are the extra orings for and should I get the high dollar kit ?
best lim gasket kit
- Thread starter paul82
- Start date
Scottydoggs
Killa Bee
i got the acdelco metal gaskets off rock auto for like 40 bucks shipped. you need the 2 o rings for the cooling ports on the lim, or seal them off. new coolant elbows, a upper plenum gasket, i got a felpro one local for 11 bucks. for the gen 3 blower.
and a small tube of rtv, and pipe thread sealant for the lim bolts.
the injector o rings can be reused if they dont fall apart, i needed a few they were cheap a 6 pack was like 5 bucks local.
you'll also want to pick up 3 feet of vac line and a 2 pack of t's. your vac lines are gonna break. just the way it is. advance auto has the best t's i could find, 2 bucks for a 2 pack. you need two. vac line is less then a dollar a foot.
and a gallon of new coolant. full strength, not that 50/50 crap. id flush it to clean water first. drain it, do the lim re fill with new coolant.
if you need flush directions i have it saved, easy to paste it here.
and a small tube of rtv, and pipe thread sealant for the lim bolts.
the injector o rings can be reused if they dont fall apart, i needed a few they were cheap a 6 pack was like 5 bucks local.
you'll also want to pick up 3 feet of vac line and a 2 pack of t's. your vac lines are gonna break. just the way it is. advance auto has the best t's i could find, 2 bucks for a 2 pack. you need two. vac line is less then a dollar a foot.
and a gallon of new coolant. full strength, not that 50/50 crap. id flush it to clean water first. drain it, do the lim re fill with new coolant.
if you need flush directions i have it saved, easy to paste it here.
Wow 40$ shipped. Thts what I need to do then, that's even cheaper than the low price ones at autozone thanks for the info. What kind of thread sealant is the best to use for the lim bolts I was thinking blue loctite but wasn't sure . Also if its not a prob go ahead and paste the coolant flush procedures I did notice a lot of gunk in the coolant res and on rad cap. The previous owner must have changed over to the green coolant too because its not dexcool in there I just hope he flushed the dexcool out good when he did it otherwise I'll have a lot more gunk in parts unseen
Scottydoggs
Killa Bee
they also have discount codes, for a cheap sale like 40 bucks you end up with free shipping. rock auto also has the metal elbow you need. the only problem with them is they will ship from 2 or 3 warehouses and you get hit with 3 shipping charges. so watch out for that at check out.
heres a good vid, its a over view of the lim job, in the vid he changes the lifters too, your not going that far. but the lim job is the same.
how to flush the coolant.
remove the t stat, put the t stat housing back on, take the upper hose off the radiator, then push it down to the ground to a bucket or let it fly.
get your garden hose out, put it in the rad turn it on, then fire up the car, let it run till clear water pumps out the top hose.
then turn the hose off, run the car till no more water comes out the upper hose. then turn it off.
put your t stat back in, with new gasket, the upper hose back on.
now take 1 gallon of full strength green antifreeze, not the 50/50 crap. ( parts store cheap green is fine to use) dump the whole gallon in the radiator, fire up the car, fill the rad with hose water till its full. top as needed till its ready to be bled of air. it will burp and take coolant as the water in the block warms up the t stat opens up for a few seconds till cold coolant hits it and it shuts again.
now to bleed the air out, let it idle rad cap off till the fans turn on, (when the fans are on the temp is over 195 deg, the t stat is wide open) then open the bleeder screw on top the t stat housing a few turns till a steady stream of coolant comes out the hole, shut the screw, top off the rad. cap it.
done.
heres a good vid, its a over view of the lim job, in the vid he changes the lifters too, your not going that far. but the lim job is the same.
how to flush the coolant.
remove the t stat, put the t stat housing back on, take the upper hose off the radiator, then push it down to the ground to a bucket or let it fly.
get your garden hose out, put it in the rad turn it on, then fire up the car, let it run till clear water pumps out the top hose.
then turn the hose off, run the car till no more water comes out the upper hose. then turn it off.
put your t stat back in, with new gasket, the upper hose back on.
now take 1 gallon of full strength green antifreeze, not the 50/50 crap. ( parts store cheap green is fine to use) dump the whole gallon in the radiator, fire up the car, fill the rad with hose water till its full. top as needed till its ready to be bled of air. it will burp and take coolant as the water in the block warms up the t stat opens up for a few seconds till cold coolant hits it and it shuts again.
now to bleed the air out, let it idle rad cap off till the fans turn on, (when the fans are on the temp is over 195 deg, the t stat is wide open) then open the bleeder screw on top the t stat housing a few turns till a steady stream of coolant comes out the hole, shut the screw, top off the rad. cap it.
done.
Scottydoggs
Killa Bee
came at me bro lol i got you by over 2 minutes and looked up that vid and opened word, and pasted directions for a flush lol i flat out beat you.
Slick2500
New member
No loctite, the stuff says thread sealant right on the package.
I was reading some reviews and it seems that the Fel Pro gaskets are made better than the AC Delco ones, the aluminum is supposedly better and the seals on the gaskets are thicker, if this makes for any reliability issues idk. The AC Delcos are $45 and the Felpro are $48 on Rockauto.
I was reading some reviews and it seems that the Fel Pro gaskets are made better than the AC Delco ones, the aluminum is supposedly better and the seals on the gaskets are thicker, if this makes for any reliability issues idk. The AC Delcos are $45 and the Felpro are $48 on Rockauto.
Scottydoggs
Killa Bee
and yes shopping at advance is also cheap, do all your shopping fill your cart, go get a discount code apply it see what the price comes to. try more then one code, some are better then others, then buy on line, pick up local.
http://www.retailmenot.com/view/advanceautoparts.com its nice to not wait for sipping. you can order your oil change filter, coolant, gaskets, elbows, vac t's vac line, all of it on their site.
http://www.retailmenot.com/view/advanceautoparts.com its nice to not wait for sipping. you can order your oil change filter, coolant, gaskets, elbows, vac t's vac line, all of it on their site.
REDCRAPGP
New member
You got lucky that's all
Yup I agree I seldom order from RA, yea their prices are cheap but after you factor in shipping cost and your parts coming from 10 different warehouses at don different days not worth the hassle, plus I usually get everything at ADV for cheaper and just wait 5 mins and walk across the street and pick it up. Talk about convenience
Yup I agree I seldom order from RA, yea their prices are cheap but after you factor in shipping cost and your parts coming from 10 different warehouses at don different days not worth the hassle, plus I usually get everything at ADV for cheaper and just wait 5 mins and walk across the street and pick it up. Talk about convenience