uh, nope. y would i tell them i have 97 when its a 2001.

 

You wouldn't, that would be a downgrade. But my truck, for example, is a '96. If I told the parts store I needed intake gaskets for a '96, they would give me a set of cork gaskets. If I told them I needed intake gaskets for an '01, they would give me the rubber version of the same intake gasket. At least that was my experience.

You can also try looking up the part on Rockauto. Intake gaskets for a '97 5.9 = cork material. Intake gaskets for a '98 5.9 = rubber. Same cost, same gasket (except material difference obviously).

I wasn't necessarily posting to you specifically in my original post, just stating how to get the rubber intake gaskets instead of the inferior cork gaskets, since there are several people discussing it. Maybe someone with a '97 or older pickup, looking to redo their plenum/intake gaskets would like to know how to get the better rubber gaskets (just ask for gaskets for a '98, or '99... etc)

 

I have a 96, got gaskets for the 96, and they were the nice viton seals.......

 

Ah, nice. Sounds like it's a "your mileage may vary" kind of thing at the auto parts store.

And here I thought I was on to something

 

Probably just random chance.