i went to go replace the coolant elbow on my bonnie and after really inspecting things it appears the worse leak that i didnt see before is coming from between the upper and lower intake under the throttle body. so my question is if i have to take it apart should do lower intake manifold gaskets? or block the coolant ports for the tb? the intake man was replaced but it was probably 6-7 years ago and the car had maybe 75k. now has over 175k

Yup! If your digging down that far, whats a few more bolts for added protection? If you want you might as well block off the ports.

its extra 50-75 bucks for gaskets, thats kind of why i was asking if it was necessary

Dorman Products - 615-180

this has the upper intake and come with all the gaskets and o rings for upper and i got that for 67 and the felpro lowers from rock auto.

so with the alum elbow and these i should be good, anything else i should do?

Me, at 170k plus, I would replace all the hoses and also look at replacing the water pump. You have a awesome vehicle, put in the extra 200 in parts and never worry for next 5+ years......

When I did the LIM gasket on my 4.3l I did just that (water pump, hoses, etc), and was super happy I did. The only thing I missed was the radiator developed a hairline crack a few months later. $90 for a Delphi replacement, wish I would of known. Hairline crack happened on my other 4.3L powered vehicle in same exact spot six months later......

thats a good idea, the wife loves the car and hasn't really cared for anything else so it may be 5 more years before we get something different.

Waterpump? Why replace it? I can't say as I have ever seen anyone on here have to replace a pump. But, with everything else off, might as well.



Mike, that hairline crack wouldn't happen to be on the front side of the radiator right in front of the upper hose now would it?

I haven't seen a 3.8L Bonny pump go either, but with everything apart, the AC Delco pump cost $25 on Rock Auto: ACDELCO Part # 252693 #88926207} Cast Iron Impeller; Does Not Include Mount Bolts; Aftermarket Design
PUMP KIT,WAT 4 DOORS

Just a piece of mind issue. All new coolant, new LIM gasket, new hoses, new thermostat, why not? Murphy could always come visit, so that is a why not.......

Yes, the hairline crack on the 4.3L is the exact location you identified. On a plus note, once you replace the radiator, fuel pump, water pump, LIM gasket, ball joints, idler arm, rear calipers and ignition switch, the 4.3L are pretty darn good vehicles, less the gas mileage which sucks bad for such a small footprint vehicle. I love that my Wife drives the Bravada in the winter. Easy to park, no buttons to push to go from 2WD to 4WD, heated seats toast up super fast.... Forgot to mention to convert the trans to DEX VI and updated the transfer case fluid to blue stuff........ And while you have the ball joints off, might as well replace the CV axles and the wheel bearings on the 4,3L powered vehicles.

Yea, I have replaced 2 of them because of that darn crack. I think its heat/shock related, so I drilled a small hole in the thermostat to allow coolant to flow a little bit. Hoping it would gradually warm up that part of the radiator instead of 200 degree coolant hitting it while it was cold.