It took me about 3 hours to change out the upper intake on my 96 with 63K. Went to Pontiac to get manifold 17113136 Kit with all gaskets and seals and a Tstat. They did 3 manifolds this week and were out. On national back order couldn't say exactly when he could have it. Told me Buick down the street had 3 kits on the shelf. 226.00 out the door for all. I did ask the engine mechanic at Pontiac about torq specs on plastic intake and TB. My manual said 22 ft/lbs which I thought was too tight. He agreed and said he does them hand tight in crisscross pattern. Don't overtighten. He also told me to be care removing the brake booster vacuum hose because they are plastic and crack easily. Also change oil before starting. I asked about 180 Tstat instead of 195. Engine guy said stick with 195. Computer/ emissions are designed for 195 and they don't recommend it. I did find things done wrong by Pontiac dealer when they did upper/lower intake gaskets 2 yr/10,000 miles ago. Does anyone take pride in their work anymore? They broke one of the brake booster fittings clips off. They also never installed the TB support bracket bolt. I'd like to thank this forum for the information provided. In the end I really think GM needs a better fix for this problem. It seems to be widespread and not caused by poor mantenance but bad engineering and cost cutting. Plastic is much cheaper to mold then aluminum. Whoever is molding those manifolds is laughing his *** off rolling in dough.

Thx,

Jeb

Glad you got through it. I've helped JSeabert next door through this twice on his 93SSE. That gasket kit? $168 thru gmpartsdirect. It includes head gaskets, lower intake gaskets, upper intake seals, valve cover seals, and Thermostat housing gasket That won't do you any good if you're in a hurry, though. What the kit doesn't include is new o-rings for the injectors, TB seal, and something else....can't remember. Josh? Help me out here.

As far as the thermostat goes, he gave you the 'by the book' answer that GM wants you to hear. 2 of the mechanics at my local Pontiac dealer said that GM'* stand on the issue is that they can do no wrong, and they both said these drivetrains can benefit from the 180. Both are running it. One in a GTP, the other in a GP SE.

The point is to prevent this from happening again. The best prevention is to decrease the overall operating temps. That'* why the extra tranny cooler is also so highly recommended.

3 hours is pretty good. Not bad at all.

Glad to have you back on the road!

Does anyonehave a gm part number for the 180 tstat. Also do you run Trans cooler in series with radiator cooler or just bypass radiator cooler altogether. I had my trans rebuilt at 60 k covered by Allstate luckily

You won't find the stat at a dealer. Go to your auto parts store, and tell them you want the 180 that fits the same as the stock 195. You'll need the rubber seal AND fiber gasket.

Put the trans cooler in series with the rad. Just like the installation instructions say. Piece of cake, and the extra insurance will give you some piece of mind.

Wait til spring for the cooler, but do the stat now. Even in this cold weather, at idle, the temps can climb big time.