mavidatt

I havent called anywhere yet, but does anybody know about how much it would cost, not including the price of the gaskets, to have a mechanic change out my valve cover gaskets and intake manifold gaskets. Just to much work for me and dont have the time to do it, so was looking for an estimate, dont want to get ripped off.

GREGGPENN

Wouldn't be cheap. There's a lot of work to pull a TPI. If you're going to dig in that far, I'd wonder about the head gaskets too. (This year vette can have head gasket issues).

What's the issue?

mavidatt

coolant leaking, not sure where at though, im pretty sure it is not through any hoses though, so i figured it had to be worn out gaskets or seals or something?

JAKE

Before jumping off into changing the intake gaskets you should first identify exactly where the leak is.

Clean off all the existing anti-freeze/coolant, the run the engine to find where the leaks is.

Changing the intake gaskets isn't all that difficult, but is time consuming. I'd say four hours start to finish including the time it'll take to clean all the mating surfaces for someone who knows which bolts have to be accessed and which tools are needed. Not know that, you could probably add two hours, or so.

I never timed myself when pulling the intake, but those numbers seem about right to me. Of course, if the shop you use charges by the hours, instead of a flat-rate, just multiply their hourly charge by those hours.

It's unfortunate that you can't do it yourself because the cost of the gaskets, silicone sealant and anti-freeze is pretty cheap. Something less than $50

Jake

mavidatt

if i can get it done for a couple of hundred that is fine, ill have the money in january to have it done, so it is not to big of a deal for me. I just dont want to get charged an outrageous amount. If it is less then 3-200 then that is fine with me.

runner140*

I'll bet its closer to $400.

mavidatt

would that include the price of gaskets and everything.

TA

Wouldn't be surprised if it was even more

GREGGPENN

Coolant can leak out of the head gaskets as well as the intake. It can leak other places too. Be sure before giving any O.K. to fix. BTW: Coolant leak from the head gaskets is a consumer reports flag for late 1980's 350s. That's why I mentioned it.

I'd guess the intake gaskets cost more. My guess: $700-$800 with labor because most shops that charge $80-$100/hr. Heads too would jump it above $1000.

Again, not cheap.

There can be a LOT of age issues pulling a 20-yr-old motor apart. There's definitely more work than a newer car. Shops will understand and charge accordingly for this.

cv67

Some time spent cleaning, running and inspecting under the hood can save you quite a bit. Id suspect youll be well over $400 in labor alone. TPIs suck to tear down and put back.

mavidatt

Shoot that sucks, not really what I wanted to hear, i know its tough to tear down, takes quite a bit of work and time. Well I guess Ill have to see if I can find the time to do it myself sometime. Hate to have to go through all that though. But better then throwing away an extra 400 + to do.

mavidatt

Replacing the head gaskets wouldnt be quiete as bad as replacing the intake manifold gaskets? About how much time would it take to complete replacement of just the head gaskets?

WW7

Sounds like maybe you should have a shop do it... WW

HlhnEast

Are there any other gaskets that I might need while changing out just the valve cover gaskets? How much stuff do I have to take off the top of the motor to be able to remove the covers? Thanks!

janarvae

On our motors, you must first remove the intake to remove the cylinder heads. If you don't have the time, skills, or a Factory Service Manual (FSM) I would let a shop do it. Additionally, there are many different torque specifications for each bolt.

When removing the valve covers, you will need to unbolt the AC compressor bracket on the passenger side. You DO NOT have to unhook the AC lines, just lift the compressor forward off the water pump studs and set it aside. To do this, remove the nut on the exhaust manifold/header stud, the nuts on the 2 water pump studs, the bolt for the serpentine belt tensioner, and the two bolts going into the cylinder head. I believe you may have to undo the fuel lines as they cross through the AC compressor bracket. On the late model driver's side, you will need to slide the AIR pump off of its bracket so you have clearance on the front. There is also some sort of hidden, slotted torx bolt either in the AIR pump or AC compressor (fortunately, I didn't have to deal with this on mine). On my '91 (still an L98), however, I only needed to loosen the torx head bolt for the AIR pump/alternator bracket. It helps a lot on the passenger side to disconnect the battery, remove the alternator connector, alternator power wire, spark plug wires from the distributor (need to remove rear plenum cover) injector clips, TV cable and throttle cable bracket from the plenum, so that you can move that entire wiring sheath out of the way.

Good luck,

Jonathan

0Paul Ruggeri

My labor guide quotes 6.2 hours to replace intake gaskets. With gaskets and antifreeze you are probably looking at $600+, depending on labor rates where you live.
The aluminum head cars tend to leak out the rear of the heads. So it could be headgaskets.

Paul

GREGGPENN

You are showing your inexperience here. I don't know of ANY head that wouldn't require pulling the intake first -- before the head could be removed.

That's kinda how the air gets in the head don't-ya-know?

I'm betting most would advise against doing intake/head gaskets w/o much wrenching experience. There are a lot of things that can go wrong -- especially with a head gasket swap.

rick lambert

You really need to identify where the leak is comming from! If it's not your daily driver you might be able to do it with our help, regardless of whether it's a head gasket (worse case) or intake. Main thing is 1. make sure you have a FSM, next, 2. take pictures of everything before you take it apart.What I'd suggest, if you can't identify where the leak is, take it to a shop and have them identify it, get a quote for the work and post back here again.

65Z01

Indeed the 1st job here is to isolate the source of the coolant leak.
If you dig into the intake system gaskets you will pay 10x the parts cost for the labor.

When I do the intake base I allow a long weekend since the RTV used to seal the front & rear engine lands needs >24hrs to fully cure. Then I retorque the base bolts and complete the assembly. If you have the tools, the FSM and are "handy" I'd say you can do the intake job in 8 man-hrs of actual time.

floridamale

The big trouble is the deeper you go the more you should be doing depending on mileage and past service. Your in there do it all, before tear down, ohm your injectors do a fuel pressure test, check your EGR, if distributor comes out new cap & rotor, new thermostat, if the heads come off new plugs I would check the rear ones now for coolent on them, new wires, think about new valve seals if the mileage is high, do a compression test. If you’re rebuilding the top end don’t cheap out because you will have to do those things sooner or later. That is why you need to find out where the leak is before going forward. It could just be something simple like the small hose on passenger side of distributor that runs to the heater valve a small pin hole or crack would leak over time so find out exactly where the trouble is before doing anything. My .02 worth good luck.