I have a 2001 3.9l v6 . . . . is replacingthe gasketfor the manifolda pain??

 

Depends on what you think "a pain" is. Take a look under your hood and then read through the service manual. That will answer the question for you.

 

Its pretty easy, i have the same exact truck and just it did it, LABEL EVERYTHING use masking tape and a marker, buy a gasket set from atuzone, make sure it has two rubber pieces for the front and back, two manifold gaskets and a plenum pan gasket
you want to remove the alternator
the ac compressor, DONT remove the hoses, just the mounting bracket and pull it aside
remove the bracket that holds these two, (there is a bolt hidden under the pulley on this bracket)
remove the throttle body intake
remove the accelerator cables, remove all connections from the wiring harness to anything on the intake manifold, Again Label everything
remove the vacuum hoses
remove the coolant hoses for better access
remove the fuel line, you will need a special tool from your local store
unbolt the intake manifold and it pulls right up
on the underside of the intake manifold is your plenum pan, replace this gasket also

clean up the surfaces, apply a thin coat of rtv, it hels hold the gasket in place, lay the gaskets down, make sure where the front and rear rubber gaskets meet the side gaskets that there is a thick bead of rtv to connect everything
lay your gasket
you will want to fabricate some studs, either get some all thread from home depot and cut it down to size or cut the heads off your existing bolts and buy new ones to replace them, thread in 4 of these bolts into the holes, it helps to guide the manifold when u lower it into place, be careful not to slide or disturb the new gaskets
tighten it back up and replace all your hoses and electrical connections