To LIM or not to LIM?

[Burbman]

2001 GT, 148K miles. DD #2 has this at school about 4 hrs away. She's coming home for Thanksgiving and going back withr the 98 that I just did the LIM job on. The 01 is staying behind at Dad's garage and getting a hub bearing, tune up and misc stuff.

Here's the question: Service records from the previous owner show that the LIM gasket was done in 02 with 33K on the clock. Fast forward to last year, 135K on the clock, and low coolant lite on. Shop replaces upper and lower rad hose, pressure tests and reports all OK. No coolant leaks/lites since.

Soooo....do I do the LIM again as PM or leave it alone? I am inclined to say that the dealer would have installed the same gasket that was leaking when they did the warranty work in 02, meaning that this one is destined to fail at some point also. Or was the new design already out to dealers at that point, indicating the new gasket is probably going to hold? Anybody have any info and/or opinions?

[nos4blood70]

Replace with the updated metal design. Peace of mind is a nice thing to have.

[FriboRage]

You can look between where the head meets the LIM and if you see black rubber it's the bad gasket, if you see silver it's the good gasket.

[BillBoost37]

Open hood..look between head and lim to confirm black failure was installed. If silver, smile and see next sentance

Either way. Pull the UIM, plug the coolant ports and it'll never hydrolock on you. the UIM is also a liability. See my thread on L36 UIM failures, then another on how to mod a lim.

[Burbman]

Was trying to get a jump on this and order parts before the car gets here...so was wondering if anyone knew if the new/improved metal gasket was even available in 02, and if it was whether the dealer would have had access to or just installed the same OEM factory gasket under warranty. I agree the UIM needs to be changed anyway, so may as well do the LIM while I am in there, the gasket is only $30. Not really saving anything by avoiding this I guess.

[BillBoost37]

Aluminum framed gasket was not available in 2002. It'll be plastic

You don't need to change a UIM if you plug coolant ports.

[Burbman]

Well, you guys called it....pulled the LIM and sure enough the gasket was starting to fail...was still holding intact so no coolant loss yet, but some of the edges of square intake seals were bowing in and starting to collapse. I'll try to get a pic if I remember. Now for the bad news....I had to replace with the plastic gaskets. Like a numnuts, I ripped open the Fel-Pro box only to find out they were plastic. When I checked my Rock Auto order, I picked the wrong part # by mistake. Then I see the Fel-Pro box says "Not returnable if opened". So rather than toss $30 out the window, I installed them. Hopefully will give me a couple years....heck the plastic one the dealer installed back in 02 held up for 10 years, and these are an improved design with metal crush collars at the bolt holes, etc. If you believe the Fel-Pro website, the plastic is wrapped around a metal core...We will see.

Worth the effort, though, the valve covers were leaking like crazy so there was crud everywhere....was worth removing the LIM just to clean it up! Also doing the full works like on the 98, including water pump, serp belt, plug, wires, t-stat, temp sensor, elbows, UIM, TB cleaning, etc. Waiting for the injectors to come back from Mr Injector so I can get the fuel rain and re-install the wiring harness.

[BillBoost37]

Plastics should work for quite some time. Although within about 20K they would also show some potential warping in the same area. Not anywhere near as bad, I have personally experienced it though.

[Burbman]

I don't care if they warp as long as they don't leak

[BillBoost37]

Look at it this way..I've pulled them out at 160K, 140K, 200+K and never found a catastrophic issue from them.

[ExLimey]

Bill, where is a good source for the pipe plugs to block the coolant ports in the LIM? I checked every hardware stor around here with no luck.

[REDCRAPGP]

I got mine from lowes in the plumbing section.

[ExLimey]

Thanks, I'll check there again.

[BillBoost37]

I couldn't find them even at Lowes... McMaster Carr has them.

[MGRead]

does anyone know the part number for the Aluminum framed gasket?


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[Twizted 1]

Felpro MS 98014T

The NPT plugs can be picked up either at a local machine shop or hardware store. Some mechanic shops would probably have them as well.