LIM gaskets problem again

[BLADE]

I have coolant in the oil again up in the valve covers i just looked at my records and I replaced on 03/01.2009 about 35000 miles ago with felpro upper gasket kit. The lower gasket looks like it is seeping alittle out one side so it could be blown out again on the inside. What does everybody use for the lim gasket felpro/stock is there a better one out there the felpro didnt go that far. I do remember using an updated torque sequence. I torqueed the lond straight ones all the way and then did the four bolts on the angle up to spec. Did I install wrong or what do you guys think bag gaskets.Mine is the first design with ball and pivoit rocker arms without the pushrod guides on the intake gasket. any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

[BLADE]

its a 95 berretta 3.1 forgot that part. i did do a little reading on the site saw some stuff on dex cool but this one is green need to dig deeper i guess . I just thought that it would last longer. Do you guys use any thread locker or silicone on the lim bolts. should i have used new bolts on the LIM.

[Azrael]

If it's the plastic framed LIM gasket then yea, it'll eventually fail irregardless of coolant type used. I've gone through 2 sets of GM's plastic gaskets before using the Felpro Permadry-Plus metal framed ones with a top-end swap.

The Permadry-Plus part number is MS98004T for the small-port 3100's (MS98003T for the large-port 3x00's). Using blue threadlocker is recommended if you reuse the lower manifold bolts. New ones come with threadlocker applied.

[BLADE]

the one i used was the plastic with red rubber made by felpro. I had no idea felpro would fail this fast it looked close to the stock one that i took off as far as the way it was made. this car is stock so i have the small port. is everyone just getting this gasket from WOT-TECH or can it be found localy. This car is really testing my stress leval i just had the moter/tranny out 3 weeks ago. this car is beyond kicken my ass if it breaks down again this year you can see this car on u-tube going off a cliff lit on fire hope its a big BOOM it should be good. anyway if you guys could lead me to the right parts and should i change the injector o-rings as well keep in mind every gasket on the moter is 1.5 years old or less but i know you change some every time you take it apart . Just dont let me miss anything. thanks guys

[bob442]

you put in the older style of gaskets. i dont know when the revision came out for the gaskets, but with what you discribed you put in the non updated GM style gaskets.

http://wot-tech.com/shop/all/1996-2005-3400-and-2000-3100-intake-manifold-gasket-set/prod_118.html

those top gaskets in the picture are the revision. if your doing it again ,theres a MAC tool you can get to make taking the pushrods out a breeez, its like $20 off the truck. its all the more reason to hybrid that 3.1

[BLADE]

I havent looked into mods for this car to much what is a hybrid? I do plan to fix it when i get the revised gasket. I wasnt going to take the pushrods out again I dont think that it has a bad head or head gasket. It is still together I guess a compression check would be good. FWIW it didnt get hot. I love this car for my everyday driver good mpg 30-34 but will it be reliable again I hope so.

[bob442]

hybrid would be a 3100 or 3400 large port top end swap including heads.
you need to take out the pushrods to install the LIM gaskets correctly FYI, thats why its not big deal if you buy the proper tool for the job. doing the head gaskets would just be a really safe bet, you could clean off the block and sand both the head and block flat with a block sander and sand paper as uppous to taking the heads to a machine shop to get them milled $$

I cracked a head on my old 3.1 in my beretta on the side right up to the frost plug, but i started up the car pissed off in the middle of winter and held it to the mat for about 2 minutes. lesson learned.

[Azrael]

Always use new fuel injector o-rings and always lubricate them when installing into the rail/intake. It only takes one leaky one to ruin your day.

I know what you mean about your car kicking your ass. Almost every time I fix one thing, 1-2 other problems pop up. The joys of owning 16 year-old daily drivers.

[BLADE]

ya i just remembered pushrods are coming out to get the gasket out what cool tool do you have for this.

[BLADE]

BOB442 I looked at those gaskets at WOT-TECH it said it was for 1996-2005 and 2000+ for 3100 engines my car is a 1995 3100 will this be an issue for me or will it bolt right on. From what I can tell all the ports look the same but it looks like it had a metal band at the top and some metal renforcement in the middle looks like it will be alot better am I looking at the right one just to be shure thanks

[bob442]

you would have to talk to Ben, slappyse107, owner of wottech.com about the gaskets, if you upgraded your top end to a large port 3100 or 3400 for the extra performance gains, and probably MPG gains, those would work for sure, the only thing you would need is custom length pushrods (i believe) but again, you would have to confirm that with Ben, i'm not sure about the small port 3100 with the stripped intake:

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/1429/2901/3571450004_large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cardomain.com/ride/357145&usg=__7I-WO7Hk4h0TTAD8cQVBZWM_0JE=&h=431&w=575&sz=41&hl=en&start=0&sig2=UXTTl3tUbWJcR5GUPKpqsQ&zoom=1&tbnid=anLrjBjOOHCgQM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=180&ei=pE_gTP25NIq9nAfgpojuDg&prev=/images%3Fq%3D3100%2Bsfi%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D918%26bih%3D510%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=127&vpy=204&dur=734&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=79&ty=66&oei=pE_gTP25NIq9nAfgpojuDg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

to a 3400 if you would need custom length pushrods, that area is kinda grey to me. i know for sure you would need them for a gen2 3.1 MFPI to a gen3 3400 sfi top end, but you said your car was a 95, so someone else should chime in soon.

the special tool looks like this but the handle is smaller:

http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/page_2522_125/lisle_lis48500_push_rod_remover.html

its completely worth the $20 bucks for the time it saves and headaches, ontop of that, you would make the money back and be better at doing the LIMG's on other peoples cars for extra cash on the side, the job pays well, $400 atleast for labour, pending how much you want to charge.

[Azrael]

The small port 94-98 3100 SFI's are part of the Gen 3 family. So no custom length pushrods are needed.

[BLADE]

After further reveiw of the wot-tech site I think I found one similar to the one you showed me. It is for 95-99 3100. so I pretty shure that they can take care of me. What is everyone doing to these intakes porting the stock intake out at a machine shop or putting the intake off a 3400 moter to the 3100 I know this might be a dumb question to some of you pro's out there go easy on me im still learning. thanks

[bob442]

your basically right, theres a small port 3100 sif, which has the finned intake, like yours, a large port 3100 sfi intake, which looks identical to the 3400 sfi with a nice clean look, and basically both upper and lower intakes are the same size, and IIRC the heads should also be basically the same, if not very close to size and flow. bolting on the large port intake from another car should net good gains for your, and if you look at it from my perspective, more power is more MPG, as you need less throttle to get moving, passing, and general cruising, thought there is a point that it goes the other way of course.
This is your daily driver so it is up to you what you want to do with motor currently in it. if you get a top end from a wrecker persay, it would be wise to lap the valves and replace the seals, for a head ache free install, along with a good deep clean for inspection. but hey if your here to just simply learn how to fix common problems and get a few simple power gains out of the car, and driving it mostly stock, thats cool too.
We are all here to help and learn. if theres anything else you want to know about the swap or common problems, simply search for it. theres been thousands of members that have come along and asked the same questions as you, so that would be why alot of people just get tired of answering the same question to a different person every day. When i find myself with out a answer to one of my questions i look through articles that date as far back as 2004, and if i dont find the answer i'm looking for, someone knows off the top of there head and usually doesnt have a problem answering it in the chat box.

I'm sure you can understand how some would feel about being asked the same question over and over and over again, they would like to beet you with a foam search button

[bszopi]

Since you have a 95, do you have the stamped or roller rockers? This is a serious issue if you try to put a large port lower intake on your heds. If you have stamped rockers, they will hit the port of the large port manifold. You would need to grind down on the port to make sure it clears. I speak this from experience.... 95 was a transition year for the rockers, so there is a chance you could have either. Something to think about before people talk you into doing too much. Unless you also swapped heads, but then there are potential sensor issues as well. Well, actually, there will be sensor issues no matter what if you go to a large port plenum/manifold.

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