'97 UIM letting go

On my girlfriend's '97 LeSabre finally starting to leak badly under the throttle body. Heard about the problem and watched closely but it now needs to be done. Originally purchased the Ken-co kit but decided to go with the Dorman manifold.

I had seen one of the manifolds offered(another brand) has the stove pipe to be replaced that allows the new air gap. Does this come also with the Dorman? If not has anyone used the Dorman and did they widen the opening on the manifold?
I think this air gap is important. I think this other manifold also had the metal sleeve already installed on the upper too. I should be alright with the Dorman which many feel is the better one to go with, but would like to know what others think. Thanks

On my girlfriend's '97 LeSabre finally starting to leak badly under the throttle body. Heard about the problem and watched closely but it now needs to be done. Originally purchased the Ken-co kit but decided to go with the Dorman manifold.

I had seen one of the manifolds offered(another brand) has the stove pipe to be replaced that allows the new air gap. Does this come also with the Dorman? If not has anyone used the Dorman and did they widen the opening on the manifold?
I think this air gap is important. I think this other manifold also had the metal sleeve already installed on the upper too. I should be alright with the Dorman which many feel is the better one to go with, but would like to know what others think. Thanks

I used the Dorman on a 98 with the reduced size stovepipe. I left it normal as delivered. The brand with a metal sleeve inside the UIM is APN (Automotive Parts network).

In reply does the Dorman kit come with a reduced stovepipe? Or do you leave the original one in the lower manifold?

Thanks

In reply does the Dorman kit come with a reduced stovepipe?

The revised or latest Dorman UIM kits are supposed to come with two reduced diameter EGR stovepipes. One fits the '95-'98 SII 3800 L36 engine LIM (3/4") and the other is for '99 and up (5/8").

However, it is possible to get an older Dorman UIM kit without the EGR stovepipes if it is NOS (new old stock) so check the contents.

Thanks BNaylor for your info.
I have the Dorman on the way but was looking online at the APN version also. This one has the metal sleeve. Do you think one is better than the other? Is Dorman considered better than APN ?

I like the metal sleeve idea which the Dorman doesn't seem to have. I got my Dorman from RockAuto total cost $94. The "Sure-Fix" from APN seems $10-20 dollars more. I could return the Dorman if convinced the APN would serve my needs better. I don't know that's why I appreciate your advice.

Thanks Again, Formzy

I used the Dorman last go around and it had the reduced stovepipe. I paid about $125 for it. That's a good price at $94. The old manifold in mine had a bad gasket. It had been replaced before I bought the car-around the manifold and pipe, it was in great shape, but whoever did the job before overtightened the manifold and messed up the gasket. I could have probably got by fine reusing the old manifold and just putting in a new gasket. It doesn't take much to hold it on there.

I liked the other one better then the dorman. Less expensive also. IMHO, Better and cheaper was better then not as good and more expensive.

Seems like this is a mute point since you have the Dorman on the way.

Chris.

No reason for anyone to get mad, Dorman is good for some people.

Just to be fair in addition to the aftermarket UIMs there is nothing wrong with the revised GM UIM found on '99 and up models. Actually, I prefer the GM UIM over the aftermarket brands and have re-used them with only replacing the gaskets which includes the throttle body gasket.

No EGR stovepipe damage at the coolant passages and no warpage. All this one needed was a good cleaning up and FelPro brand gaskets were used.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/lizzywiz/uim_coolant.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/lizzywiz/DSC02570.jpg