I did both on mine too, just because I didnt want to have to pull it apart again later on.

I feel like an idiot if that'* it I just really didn't want to tear it all the way down. Do you guys think this is definitely my problem if it was leaking would it be able to leak into the motor while sitting i ask because it sat for three days without starting and it was a massive cloud of smoke but if I drive it daily its very minimal with the smoke more than a normal car but not horrible and the smoke is white with a hint of blue at the tip of the tailpipe but smells mostly like oil but if you put a rag on the tailpipe it doesn't leave any residue

Also where and what gaskets work best for the LIM and can I re-use the UIM gasket It'* the one that came with the dorman kit 615-180

You should be fine reusing the "new" upper gasket.

As far as the lower gaskets. Rockauto probably has the cheapest set of ALUMINUM framed gaskets. Don't get anything else but the aluminum ones. Seems how your diggin down that deep in the engine, try to find the aluminum coolant elbows while your at it. Almost guaranteed that your going to break one removing the lower manifold. So might as well get a new GOOD one.

Goto the last post in this thread to find the latest discount code for Rockauto.com if you choose to shop there.

https://www.gmforum.com/general-gm-c...-279335/page9/

Which one is aluminum also what'* 1st design mean i see the Victor reinz master set and a fel pro kit but the fel pro is steal not aluminum

Also where do you get aluminum coolant elbows I went to the dealer last time because I don't trust the help dorman ones if I can't get aluminum ones I will go back to the dealer

Lemme page the parts guru....

There are no oil passages in the LIM, but gaskets can fail, and coolant can get sucked into the cylinders, which usually does not end well, you can throw a connecting rod.
How many miles are on your car, if over 60k or so I can almost bet the LIM Gaskets are starting to fail around the coolant passages, so while this may not fix your smoking exhaust issue, it is something that I'd fix if I were planning to keep the car for a while.

I have not had to deal with an issue like you describe myself, but given the fact that heads are pretty reliable on the 3800 II, I doubt the smoke you get is from a head gasket problem, some of your piston rings could be damaged though, if you are able to I'd have the cylinders compression tested before investing in replacing the LIM gaskets, that way if you have to pull and rebuild, or replace the motor, you won't be throwing away the money for the LIM Gasket Kit .

If you do a compression test, let us know your results.
The lowest reading cylinder should not be less than 70% of the highest and no cylinder reading should be less than 689 kPa (100 psi). Perform compression test with engine at normal operating temperature, spark plugs removed and throttle wide open.


I'll go ahead and give you part numbers in case the compression test numbers are all good.


LIM Gasket is FEL-PRO Part # MS98014T
This kit comes with the reduced diameter EGR stove pipe for the LIM, this will give you added piece of mind that you won't have the EGR passage effect by the heat like it was before.
If you plug the coolant ports on the LIM to the UIM, then you do not need to worry about this.
If you do not plug them be sure to put the reduced diameter EGR stove pipe into the LIM.


The Dorman coolant elbows are fine to use, but not the o-rings on the old HELP pack, if you cannot get the the aluminum one, then you can either get the elbow from GM, or get the Dorman Nylon one, just be sure to replace the o-rings on there with these o-rings. ACDELCO Part # 1534066

The best fix for problems that are known with the elbow would be the aluminum elbow, it was back-ordered at a few places, but it looks like it is available now on RockAuto for about 7.00
Dorman 47065hp is the aluminum elbow part number, as far as I know the o-rings on the new aluminum elbows are not bad like the old ones were, you may want to pick up a pack of those AC Delco O-Rings just in case, they are pretty cheap.
Dorman Products - 47065hp

Thank you MR E for providing the much needed information.

Thank you for all the information so basically I take all all the spark plugs out screw in the compression testers and have someone crank in and record the psi on each cylinder I have the compression gauge but have never used it