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DIY Lower intake manifold gasket replacement with picutes and questions

dont add coolant till its all back together.

see the 2 small holes on the right side of the pic? in the middle of the big one and other one by the edge of the lim?

these 2 holes are reassessed some, the o ring sits in those 2 holes. this seals these 2 coolant ports to where the blower mates up, the coolant then flows up to the TB to cool it, yeah what a joke, thats why a lot of poeple seal those two ports off.

how to mod a lim how to. http://www.grandprixforums.net/showthread.php?t=46931 the 2 holes he seals off are where the o rings should go.

limjob1.jpg
 


Just thought I'd chime in a small bit of info lol The Gen V blower gasket (04+) already have the o-rings built into the gasket so those o-rings are useless. You don't want to double layer o-rings or you'll have a leak. The LIM gasket kits are made for both 97-03 and 04+, both supercharged and N/A, so if you don't use a couple of the items included, you'll be okay. Other than that, Scotty is giving you good information :)
 
Thanks. I noticed the gasket is different also. The previous gen seemed plastic and when I watched videos it broke coming off. Mine is a big piece of metal. Almost thought if reusing it.
 


those gen 5 gaskets costs like 40 bucks too. where the gen 3 cost like $11. its paper and glues it self to the lim and blower.
 
Actually as I go through this process I realize the improvements they made. My LIM were intact. If they just made the coolant elbows metal to start life would be good.
 
if there were water ports on the timing cover and lim and the heater core hoses hooked right up to the ports, it would have been much much better.

the whole thing is completely dumb and a bad idea. ive never seen anything so poorly thought out.
 
Ok. Ready to continue. Next list of questions.

First. New sc gasket today. It looks dirty. Do I need to clean it?
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Next question. Should I clean the throttle body?
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Next what connects to this? One goes to the vac line around the blower(connected). What goes on the other?
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Any other advice? New injectors? Clean injectors?
 
i would spray and wipe down the gasket with brake cleaner.

the TB you can open the butterfly flap, and clean behind it as best you can, or take it off and clean up real good. its not the side you can see, but the back side, and the edge of the flap, back of the flap and the walls of the TB that get the carbon build up.

you can see the black creeping around the flap edges in your pic.
 


Got the supercharger on and cleaned the TB. This really is not a bad job to do. Got everything ready for final assembly tomorrow (still waiting on clip that I lost for injector)

But still need help.

I id'd where all the wires and hoses go and am still left with one blank.

This pic is prior to disassebmly

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This is my area of concern

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It is the bracket attched to the supercharger. There is one with a vac line from the front of the blower, but does anything go on the other one?

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on a gen 3 the vac line from under the snout leads to the map sensor.

the other sensor has 2 vac lines, the evap solenoid, one comes from the TB then the other side leads off to the evap canister.

if your missing a line, look down by the rear exhaust, they fall down there and get lost till the wtf factor happens lol
 
Ok. No judgement allowed.

So lets recap. To fix a coolant leak that I could not identify, I replaced the radiator, heater core, thermostat, water pump, LIM, and elbows. I got 3rd degree burns on my face. I have spent almost $400 and countless hours on the job. But tonight I announce:

I beat the leak. I got it almost all back together and pressure tested the system and had no pressure loss in 15 min (I did release the pressure to quick when I was done and sprayed the entire engine with coolant)

Now for the other parts. I made a new vacuum line. I put back on the rail (but still down 1clip-will be here tomorrow). The rail took a lot of wiggling and an hour to put on. I put tape over all the broken plastic connectors (high temp if course)

Now for the question. And no laughing or judgment. Remember one of the first posts when I asked how to get the wire off the injector? Well, I may have pried 1 or 2 or 5 off with a screw driver and now they do not click on. Is there a way to replace them?
 
I don't think you understant the level of my incompetence. When I took them off, instead of following your directions, I pulled the tab up, then used a screwdriver like a lever to pop the connector off instead of pushing the button. I now have three connectors that the tab is broken and won't click in. I found a replacement on line. only 4 dollars each, but now a few more days wait.
 


Thank you. I can now rest easy. I was about to lift the car and look under.

As far as replacing the conectors, you can just pop off the end and put on another. It takes a special tool, but not a long process. If you look at the connector there are the two opening where it connects adn two others below it. Put a small pick or tool in the bottom hole and the wire pops out. The things I have learned inthe past by breaking things I never should have.

Any special tips prior to restart? Just turn the key and let it rest for a minute until fuel pressure builds up and then crank? Going to change oil after runs a bit incase anything got in there.

Oh, and the leaking coolant elbows over time leaked onto the power wteering lines and they are rusted and need replaced. Got a quote for $1000 to replace both from the dealer.
 
Oh, and the leaking coolant elbows over time leaked onto the power wteering lines and they are rusted and need replaced. Got a quote for $1000 to replace both from the dealer.


dont let the dealer change the lines, they are easy to change.
 
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