Thanks for all the input. Im going to look for the plenium parts and print a copy of the how to. See if my mechanic is willing to get involved or if I have to take it somewhere.

 

Why not do a compression check yourself, to get an idea of the overall engine health ?

Instead of just rebuilding it

 

If I've followed this thread correctly, I don't think the OP intends to rebuild it at this point. Pretty good chance it's not necessary.

And a compression test has already been recommended:

"Speaking of basics, how about doing a proper compression test on it to see where you stand; it might just be pretty damn healthy, and just in need of some new ignition parts ..."

 

What is this plenum thing you're talking about? Is it a normal maintenance item, or is it a glitch like a gasket on the intake that goes bad with time? Sorry, but I've never heard it mentioned before. Thanks for the info!
Dave in Calgary
with a 94 SLT and an 08 SLT

 

It's the latter. Aluminum intake + steel pan on bottom (two dissimilar metals) = gasket failure over time. Very, very common problem.

Read ALL about it in the sticky at the top of all of the pages in this forum.

 

Installed trans cooler yesterday. I figured since whats wrong w/ engine is wrong I would protect the trans first. Thinking protecting what is still good would be the way to go and that was my reasoning behind trans cooler first

Started hitting all the bolts on exhaust manifold, plugs, everything that needs to come out for plenum w/ PB blaster. Thinking a coulple nights of soaking them good would make the job easier.

How hard is it to remove and redrill broken of manifold bolts?

 

Depends on which ones.... the fronts aren't too bad, if the rears break though, those can be a pain, as they aren't quite so easy to get too.....

 

My advice would be to drive it everyday and keep up with your fluid changes. Keep an eye on things, once a month climb inuder the hood and poke and prod to make sure everything is ok. Squeeze hoses, check for oil deposits in you driveway, look for wet spots on the underside of her. You'll get a bunch more miles just giving her a good run everyday.

 

Start spraying pb blaster on the intake bolts a few days before you fix the Plenum. I got lucky and didn't break any but a few of them looked like an hourglass

 

Hey johhny red, you might also want to remove the check valve in the trans line.