You'll need an 8mm, 10mm and 13mm socket, torque wrench that will do 89 inch lbs and 13 ft lbs.

Beyond that.. It'* gasket cleaning.

I use a 3/8" drive Craftsman deflecting beam torque wrench ($25 new) that only reads in ft-lbs with 2.5 lb divisions on the scale. But that'* OK, I know the secret formula. (12 inches = 1 foot) I do 11 ft-lb for the LIM bolts and 7.5 ft-lb for the UIM bolts. That'* right, I overtighten my UIM bolts to 90 in-lb and I don't care who knows!

I am glad I found this thread. I've just learned a lot of information. I am going tomorrow to pick up a Green 98 SE for only $400. After what I've just read, this is the problem. I was actually thinking of just replacing the engine with another Series II 3800 engine. I am wondering now if the engine can be saved. According to the seller, they were driving the car, it got hot and started to overheat. The stopped the car to let it cool down. When they tried to restart it, it locked up. This is where I come in. Could it possibly be saved?

That'* hard to say for sure. Do you know how long ago that happened? It sounds as if the cylinders have hydro-locked from coolant being trapped. The plugs would have to be pulled, and the engine turned over, either by the starter or by hand, to get the coolant out. The oil should be drained immediately, also. The longer the lower bearings have been sitting in the coolant, the less likely it is that they will survive.

Welcome to the forum.

alright I took off the upper intake manifold and lower intake manifold and of course it was full of coolant... now the car has been sitting for 6 months like this is it just worthless now??? and if its still worth a try to just put in the new UIM and gaskets LIM gaskets and see what happens what should I do about cleaning out everything?

Sure, it'* worth a try. Put an APN upper on it and the GM aluminum frame gaskets using just a dab of rtv silicone in the corner joints between the aluminum frame pieces on the heads and the rubber side rail seals on the block. Use just enough silicone to seal the ends of the side rails to the aluminum frame pieces to prevent an oil leak at the corners. You'll have $200 invested.

If when you fire it up, you find the bearings were damaged by coolant, (it won't be long before you either hear a knock or spin a rod bearing), you can remove all the parts you just installed and use them to properly seal the top end of any junkyard engine you buy for it. All of the gaskets, the UIM and the new stovepipe from the first engine can be swapped to the new engine. The silicone sealing beads in those gaskets will remain sufficiently resilient to be re-used for at least several months. By that time you will know if you need a replacement engine. If you have to install a junkyard engine, spend another $12 and replace the crankshaft rear seal before you install it. That seal cannot be replaced without pulling either the engine or the trans.

Cleaning up:

Drain the coolant in the engine and do not refill until repairs are completed. Drain the oil and install a new, cheap filter.

Use a turkey baster to suck up all the oil and coolant from the top of the LIM. Sop up the remainder with towels so you don't dump more coolant into the crankcase when you remove the LIM. When you remove the LIM, suck up any coolant you see in any crevices and then blow it out with air holding a towel above it if you have compressed air available.

Especially important if the engine was hydrolocked, but good to know before you do a lot of repair work, with coolant drained, pull all the spark plugs and make sure the engine will turn over by hand. That will safely expel any coolant that has collected in the cylinders. If you can't turn it over by hand with the plugs out, or feel a metal to metal click or resistance at one point of the crank'* revolution, you probably have a bent connecting rod. If it turns over easily by hand, that is a good sign. Leave the spark plugs out.

To encourage the flushing of any coolant that has accumulated in the pan, you can pour the first quart of oil through with the oil drain plug removed.

You can do a preliminary cleaning after repairs are made by filling with a light weight (5W-30) inexpensive oil and filter, running it for just a few minutes, then changing the oil and filter. Run the next batch of oil and filter to operating temperature, then change oil and filter again.

But, for the best possible chance of saving the engine, you can flush the bearings with new oil as soon as possible and before you repair it or start it. Make sure there is no coolant in the engine and that fresh oil and filter have been installed. Then spin the engine for several minutes with the spark plugs removed using a really heavy 1/2" drill. The starter is not designed for this kind of use. (I rent a big Milwaukee drill from the local rent it store for $10.) Buy a cheap, 1/2" drive extension; cut off the female end and grind three or six flats on the shaft for the drill chuck to get a good grip. Remove the RF wheel and splash shield, slip a socket on the crank pulley bolt and circulate the oil with the drill.

I picked up the Bonneville today, and I got the story from the previous owner. He told me that when he was driving during normal driving, the temp needle went hot. He pulled over and turned off the engine for about a half hour to let it cool. It started up and he drove it home. When he got it home, he notice the resivoir and the radiator was low. He added about a gallon of coolant/water, and thought problem was solved. The next day when the car would not turn over. It just clicks. So with that said, I am wondering what kind of internal damage it may have. Or perhaps maybe it can be saved. What do you think? I only paid $400 for the car, so this will be a plus If I can get it started. So should I try draining the coolant and oil and repacing the spark plugs and the Upper Intake Manifold? I found some on Ebay. How are these?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-G...QQcmdZViewItem

You need to replace the lower intake gaskets. It'* only a little more work, and the cost of the gaskets. They WILL be in bad shape, guaranteed. You could get the aluminum ones from the dealer or an online place, but if you need to go CHEAP (and I just might without knowing what shape the rest of the engine is in), get the replacement plastic FelPros from the parts store. They'll only last another 50-100k miles.

I'd use the Dorman kit from a parts store on the UIM before buying that on ebay. It has the UIM gasket, the PCV and housing cap,nd o-rings, and all of the little extras. I paid about $130 or so several months ago. The APN kit is probably the best route if you can wait for it via mailorder.

I think you might be OK, but you never know. I'd put some cheap oil in it, fire it up to operating temp (20-30 minutes), and drain and replace again. I bought one car that sat for a while in a similar no-start condition, and it had no apparent bearing damage when I was done. I did have to replace a head due to a crack, but this is RARE. I wouldn't go that far based on what you told us. Here'* a few pics of my $800 1997 SE:

Almost forgot...this is about as good as a Chilton manual...

http://www.autozone.com/addVehicleId...leSelected.htm

Here'* what my $800 1997 SE looked like...

If you read the techinfo article that Don (Jr's3800) gave you - you'll see the recommended intake is the APN, along with the metal LIM gaskets. The rest of the information Bill Butterworth gave you. If you're going to do the job, may as well do it right the first (and hopefully only) time.