Well, here'* the deal...

I still can't tell if my upper intake has failed or not. I am losing coolant somewhere, very slowly. There is no visible smoke coming from the exhaust, and the exhaust itself smells...gassy. Nothing else. I also have had no prior evidence of coolant in the engine oil.

However...

The fact that I am this nervous about the running state of my engine is exactly why I'm going to have it replaced. There'* nothing I hate more than spending money unnecessarily, except perhaps not spending the money on this now and having my engine cataclysmically fail to the point where something much larger - and more expensive - is required.

Thus, I am trying to put together a list of parts I will need. Whether I am going to do this myself or have my mechanic friend do it, I'll need to have these beforehand.

First off, the "cure" for the upper intake problem, this revised intake:
http://www.autopn.com/store/pc/viewP...product=229679

Is that the one you would most recommend?

Second, the aluminum lower intake gasket. Can anyone give me the GM part number for that?

I also understand that the oil and coolant will need to be drained from the vehicle, so I will make arrangements to pick up my preference in both.

Is there anything else I'll need?

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly...in your honest opinion, is this something a beginner should attempt, even with your guidance? If you believe so, then I'll do my best and perhaps make this into the most in-depth thread BC has on this, as I'm sure I'll be asking questions every step of the way. I would post many pictures as well, of course.

Thanks so much for your time.
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Thanks for the offer and for the link. I'm planning on giving it a shot as soon as I have all the necessary parts, so maybe sometime next week?

I have a quick question about the APN replacement intake. Do you think that'* the best fix for the problem?

If so, I think I'm about set. I found the part number for the replacement aluminum gasket thanks to your link. With that, the intake replacement kit, some coolant, oil and filter, and whatever tools I may need, I should be set to do this, right?

I'm still debating whether or not to try it. Time isn't an issue, I'm just worried about getting stuck at a point where I have to get the car towed to finish the repair.
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You make it sound easy enough that I think I'll give it a try.

I can at least set about removing things while I'm waiting for parts. While the intake is off, I might as well clean the throttle body.

My assortment of tools is pretty good but I lack any sort of a torque wrench. I'll probably need one for both inch and foot pounds, right?

I need to do a little more thinking about what all I need to do before I can begin, and I may even start tonight for all I know.
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Great, thanks. I'll go buy a set of torque wrenches tonight and start disassembling.

Might as well drain the fluids as well. Question about that, when I tried to drain the cooling system before, I could not if my life depended on it find the drain plugs on the engine block. Would it be sufficient to just drain from my lower radiator hose? I don't want to knock coolant all over the place.
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Thanks, I'll see if I can have better luck this time.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to do this in the driveway, the garage is taken up by some other junk right now. Oh well, I'll set about raising the front end of this thing and getting to work soon. I think I'll take off the throttle body and clean it tonight, then move on to more things tomorrow after work and do it a little at a time.

I should probably get your phone number in case I run into trouble, and thanks for being willing to help.
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Little update...

I decided a while back not to try to do it myself. Mechanic gave me an excellent deal if I helped him with the process, so I will be learning from this experience.

While he was looking at my engine (I mentioned the help I got here as he has a Bonneville, you guys got some free advertising. ) we noticed that there appeared to be some wetness on the outside of the engine right around where the UIM connects to the throttle body...so maybe my phantom coolant leak was the UIM after all. I had suspected the heater core as I would periodically smell a very faint aroma of coolant, but now I feel it was just the coolant on the engine burning off. I would also get that same faint aroma when I opened the engine bay. It'* set to go, I have the LIM gaskets and everything else I need, the APN intake is due to arrive today, so we'll get to work on it tomorrow.

While he was taking my serpentine belt off, he noticed my belt tensioner was wiggling more than it should...needs to be replaced. :( Complicated little device, too.

Today he'* going to have my throttle body off and I will take it home, clean it and the MAF sensor.

I'm curious to see how clean my lifter valley is. I've been running nothing but Mobil 1 or Royal Purple since I got the car.
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