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is my LIM gasket starting to go?

blackthunder

blackthunder

New member
I've notice that under a cool engine and when I go WOT i get a puff of smoke. I don't really notice it when its warmed up. My car is a 2004 Grand Prix and from what I can tell i still have the plastic gasket (i see black by the thermostat and not aluminum.)

Its not a heavy cloud or anything but definitely not right. My coolant seemed low so I added some more. Oil doesnt have that foggy look to it so it must be small amounts that get burned up.

My buddy is going to replace the LIM gasket on Monday, but just want to confirm with everyone here that has had this happen.
 


that puff of smoke could be moisture in the exhaust burning off.

or maybe the lim gaskets. if they are plastic, they should be changed either way.
 
it looks plastic, as its black and not shiny, haha.

I had my step bro behind me one day (who knows nothing about cars) and he said I had smoked him pretty good and it was very smelly, lol.
 
Take a file or sand paper to that corner. If it starts showing Aluminum then its the new metal gasket, if plastic sheds of then you need to replace it anyways.

Personally I think its the old style and you need to replace them, the elbows, and other various gaskets, flush coolant and refill with new.

Then see if its still smoking. Just make sure you change the oil several times to get all the extra coolant out, or you'll need a new motor.
 


do what he said,^^^^, but degrease it before you work on it, and flush the cooling system too before it gets torn down.

and that looks to be a plastic gasket.


i did my lim gaskets, for under 100 bucks in parts,(gaskets to fluids, everything) good time to change the valve cover gaskets as well.
 
I actually rubbed that corner with my finger the best i could, figured if it was grease on there it would wipe off easily enough to see metal, lol.

my buddy who works out of his garage at home is doing it for 250. I could do it, but i worry if something happens like a busted bolt or stripped threads and I don't have the proper tools to fix it. I dont mind doing little stuff like brakes and oil changes at home. But give me a bay with all tools then i would do it in a heart beat haha.

Thanks for all the replies too! its greatly appreciated!
 
meh, i sold a computer for 400 and its extra cash, would rather someone else do it so in case something goes wrong i can blame them and not me, haha.
 
truth is once you got the wires off and the fuel rail, and throttle cables, theres not much left. its rather easy to get done in a few hours.

theres a few guys who have done them more then once, say they can have it done in 2 hrs.

if you got time to lay it up for a weekend, its a good time to paint some parts up.
 


Took a friend and I, 7ish hours, with hand tools, in the rain, and I painted the blower.

Not hard, and again, see the link for the video. Its step by step, just not minute by minute (unless you have a time machine, in which case its irrelevant).
 
7 hrs, ouch.

did mine in 3 hr first time out, ( alone) only reason it took that long was i had to find injector O rings, and had no ride to the store. i swear, i spent as much time cleaning the old sc gasket off as it took to get apart in the first place.

i had just done my elbows Pryor to the lim job, and i have a 98 so i left the alt bracket and just changed the top elbow when the lim was off.

so nothing got painted.
 
limjob3.jpg


limjob1.jpg


and back together running.

limjob8-1.jpg
 
Scottydoggs said:
7 hrs, ouch.

did mine in 3 hr first time out, ( alone) only reason it took that long was i had to find injector O rings, and had no ride to the store. i swear, i spent as much time cleaning the old sc gasket off as it took to get apart in the first place.

i had just done my elbows Pryor to the lim job, and i have a 98 so i left the alt bracket and just changed the top elbow when the lim was off.

so nothing got painted.
Click to expand...

That was including time to spray paint the blower and let it dry infront of the heater. No pics of it once it was back together as it was dark and I didn't think about it. Typical Silver blower with brass lines, use your imagination.
Intake Gaskets 75k Photos by tlsheff | Photobucket
 


i wish mine was not so abused by its last 8 owners lol as you can see inside mine is cooked looking with burnt oil. the good news is the rockers have cleaned up a lot just from regular oil changes. so im hopping the valley is also cleaning up as i own it.
 
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