Let's talk LIM and UIM gasket leaks

[Dadillac]

So I bought the '04 GT1 for my son about 15 months ago. Since then the car has been losing oil and coolant at a slow rate. Nothing drastic is what I mean. I am figuring that either the upper or lower intake gaskets may be the culprit. What would the tell tale signs of either failure be? I see some liquid on the lower intake near the right rear and some under where the EGR tube meets the intake. All around the intake it is grimy kind of like dirt encrusted oil. But the car is 10 years old and has 170k+ miles on it. And probably zero engine cleanings in that time. I know I could probably do a search and find the info I seek but I have to run out and haven't the time to do so. So please post what I am looking for in the area of UIM and LIM failure symptoms. Thanks

Don

[theaceofspades]

Spray with degreaser wash off I would cover my coils and alternator with a bag most don't but I would don't use a power washer use a hose. And the lims if they aren't a metal gasket are probably bad.

[dsmuts]

just have at it with a hose and degreaser. I use purple power from walmart. Just change the lim and uim gaskets and coolant elbows and never have to worry about it again.

[Timing]

Look at where the intake meets the head. If there is a black gasket there than you should just replace them now even if they are not bad because they will be. They usually go around 80-100k so they have probly been done once. The coolant by the left back is most likely coming from the coolant elbow located under the left side of your intake, there are two in total both connected to that bracket so replace both with the dorman aluminum ones(47065hp) while your doing your lim job. Ide say you could have this done your first time in 3-4 hours, i did mine in 2. There are complete video walkthroughs on doing the job here on the forums somewhere.

Forgot to mention they also sell a aluminum aftermarket replacement for the lim gasket aswell so this doesnt happen again. (ms98014t) is the felpro number.

[Dadillac]

Thanks for the input. But nobody mentioned what physical evidence is usually present when a LIM or UIM gasket fail. I have no issue working on the car but I do not want to change something that isn't bad. I do not want to change the LIM gasket if only the upper is bad. So I am really just looking for what will a failed gasket exhibit in the area of symptoms. Thanks again

Don