LIM Gasket Removal

[lilrebel68]

I am trying to do a LIM Gasket Removal and am a little lost.. its on a 1996 3100 engine... Do you have a step by step article about doing this? as the info i got from autozone.com makes it seem like the only way to do this is to jerk the motor out...

oh and I tried the links for plenum removal and lim gasket removal to no avail... that damn "Page Not Found" message...

HELP HELP!! Is there an easier way to do this.. and the info I have says to use a tool to support the engine, and remove the engine mount.... WTF?
There has to be an easier way to do this.... Isn't there? Again HELP HELP!!!

[1meanz]

what vehicle is this in? if its not a mini van then at least you dont have to rotate the motor. but if its like my uncles 99 malibu then yes, you do have to take the motor mount off. just use a jack, with a board on it under the oil pan. and if yours has the stupid air pump, which id say it probably does. you gota take that off.
if you need more help just leme know. ill walk ya through it because we just done it on my uncles malibu and iv done it on mine a few times

[lilrebel68]

this is in a corsica, and i am down to removing that engine mount bracket and repositioning the power steering pump, but it has started raining, so i wont be able to get it off tonight.. (daaammmmnnnniiiitttttt).... is getting everything back together gonna be easier than getting it apart was????

[3100 MPFI]

There is no pics, but this is one of the better ones to read through.

http://www.60degreev6.com/content/Gen_2_Gen_3_TopEnd_Swap

What you are doing is similar to the intake upgrade as well, so it will follow though easily.

I don't know why you would have to remove the mounts, but I am not familiar with the Corsica. My experiance has been with the Cutlass Supreme.

I will try to dig up my old walkthrough, but I don't know if I still have it.

Basically, to do the lower intake removal, you need to remove the power steering pump, and alternator, intake airbox, igntion modual bracket with everything still attached, and throttle body. Once those are off, you can then remove the upper intake manifold. After that, you can remove the valve covers, and the lower intake manifold, and you do NOT have to remove the fuel rail. You can leave the fuel rail on it.

After you get the lower intake off, you can then remove the pushrods so you can get the old gasket out (you don't have to remove all of the pushrods, just the ones that go OVER the old gasket.

When putting it back together, the thing you have to watch out for is the pushrods. If you mix them up, you WILL damage the engine and bend the valves.

[lilrebel68]

ok thanks for the info. will report back..

[lilrebel68]

What should i use to clean both intakes out before re-assembly??... there is lots of carbon buildup in them.. or should i just get the gaskets done, and then seafoam the crap out of it to get it clean???

[3100 MPFI]

you simple CARB CLEANER to get most of it out. Spray some on, let it sit a minute, spray more one, let it sit, spray more on. That seems to do it pretty quick.

[WrathOfSocrus]

I too was quite curious as to what different methods people have for removing all of the build-up of carbon/oil/crud or whatever you prefer to call it. I remembered having extreme difficulty cleaning out my 2.8 top end a while back, and really wanted much faster results with the van I am currently working on. So after knowing the common auto cleaners I have on hand were not effective enough for my liking, I decided to go hunt down something stronger.

Before I left yesterday I came up with the idea that paint stripper would probably work very well. I remember reading somewhere (on here I believe) how someone used cheap citrus paint stripper to clean the paint off of an engine block. Surely something that strong would clean up some heads and manifolds.

So I stopped by Advance Auto to grab so fluids I will need to get this van in my yard back together. I was going to leave there for Wal-Mart to look for the paint stripper and decided to see what they had available in the parts store before leaving. That is when I found some really really nasty stuff that cleans like a champ.

Tal-Strip II Aircraft Coating Remover from Mar-Hyde. Safe for use on aluminum and strong enough to remove virtually anything you can coat aluminum with, this stuff made very short work of my heads and manifolds. I was able to spray inside my UIM and remove gunk from places I never expected to get clean.

I will give a word of warning. You do NOT want to get this stuff on you. Even the tiniest dot starts to burn immediately. At the very least I would recommend eye protection because this stuff is really strong. I'm sure other paint strippers would work pretty good as well, but I have tried degreasers, carb cleaners, and brake cleaners and it would take several bottles to clean up as many parts as one can of this stuff did.

If anyone else has a recommended cleaner I would like to hear about it!

[3100 MPFI]

I used that stuff to remove the old paint from my car's metal surfaces before painting them.

I have a strong tolderance for both acid's and bases, but even that stuff would start to burn in about a minute. It also can eat through latex gloves, and stuff.

I didn't even think of using that to clean parts with.

[lilrebel68]

where would be the best place to get this stripper from?? did you get it at advance auto parts or wal-mart??

[geldartb]

walmart or autozone and advance will have it.

ive bought it from both walmart and advance auto before

[lilrebel68]

ok.. thanks a bunch..

[geldartb]

you can get either a spray can or a can that you would brush on like a traditional paint stripper.