Leaking intake = false air = lean condition = hot engine...

But $1500 sounds like a head gasket job to me as well, and an expensive one to boot. Why don't you check your oil and your coolant for anything unusual as well? Do you know anyone with a cylinder leakdown tester? It sounds very strange that the engine would be at 90% after you fixed the elbow but then be back down just a little bit later.

 

How was this determined?

 

either way, head or manifold gasket its very easy to replace. and far cheaper then freakin 1500 dollars.

 

Have your car jacked up and let it sit for a day and when you first take out the drain plug antifreeze will come out if its a blown head gasket. If that isnt it check the cat next.

 

It does sound like you have a clogged cat. You can definitely check the antifreeze and oil to verify if the head gasket is blown.

 

19 years old. No mods or power adders to the engine. I bought the car used and I guess its a lemon. The 1500 estimate is a the "top-end" of what this is going to take if there is more damage once I pull it off. Plus why would I lie about how it happened, either way it costs me to fix it. It was just a small burn out. How many hours is it going to take to replace this gasket? I've never done it before, I have a repair manual for this car I just can't find it right now.

Edit: When doing the water pump, realized the area around the intake manifold was wet. in the front where the manifold meets the block its wet. That how I know it's the gasket. No anti-freeze in the oil or shavings.

 

I had a head gasket blow on me this past summer, and it cost me roughly $800-$900 to fix it. I did all the work myself, too. $125 of that was welding on one of the heads, since it had a couple of holes worn in the passages from the walls being ported too thin awhile back. $275 for the milling to make sure they were straight, pressure testing, 3-angle valvejob, etc. This was also work done on both heads, even though only one head gasket blew. So he could probably replace the head gasket for about $500 (including machine work).

 

Intake or manifold gasket should take 3-4 hours. If it turns out to be the head gasket, set aside a few days, especially since you will have to take the head to a machine shop. You should definitely do a compression or leakdown test to determine if the head gasket has blown. There is no water running through the intake, so I would be surprised if that gasket went, especially since you have no power adders. You can always put a vacuum gauge on the car to see if you have a horrible vacuum leak, but I still think it sounds like a blown head gasket.

 

if htere is no anti freeze in the oil then i would think that the head gasket is still good. i remember when i did my cam and forgot about the egr valve my car ran like sh(t

 

Both the above are false. A blown head gasket does not automatically mean coolant in the oil pan. A gasket can weaken causing coolant to be channeled exclusively to a cylinder.
Once again... How do you know it's a blown head gasket? Who told you this? How was this diagnosed?

 

My mechanic said so, and its intake gasket not head gasket. He's not screwing with me, been working at my fathers company for 5 years. I also saw some liquid boiling out between the intake manifold and where it meets the block.

 

Well I'm thoroughly confused. $1500 just for replacing the intake gaskets is astoundingly ridiculous. It'd be a good idea to investigate whatever "liquid" it is you seeing "boiling" out of the block.
Did the mechanic tell you what steps he took to come up with this prognosis?

 

I agree. An intake gasket is a whopping $19 at O'Reilly. I'm really confused as to what this liquid is, since there are only water passages to the waterpump (or so I believe) in the front of the engine. He should really do a compression/leakdown test and check his coolant level.

 

Well I've come to a cross roads, engine will start but will not stay running, bogs down immediately after start up and dies. It's not smoking, I mean maybe when everything was leaking from the intake manifold it got on the opti and killed it but I really dont know. To diagnose and fix this problem is going to take big bucks, just the labor is going to be astronomical. My mechanic, my father, and I decided we aren't going to dig into the engine and fix something that we can't be sure is wrong. So this is where I'm at, do I take the engine and spend the money on fixing it without a real gaurentee that something wont blow again, or do I put it away until I have enough money to put in a crate motor with a 36,000 mile warranty. What can I say, I bought a lemon. Ran great when I first got it, looked and sounded fine. My father who is a certified mechanic checked out it said it looked good. Just sucks... wouldn't want this to happen to anyone.

 

It doesnt sound like either of them are very good mechanics if they cant diagnose a head gasket, a distributor, vacuum leak, or clogged cat.

You would be a ****in retard to get rid of a 45000 mile LT1.

Your diagnoses all blur together, but this is what I would do ...

Check your antifreeze and oil first. Its cheap...

Spray starting fluid into the intake manifold and crank it. If its starts to run better than it does with out it, you could assume it is getting ok spark. Pull the coil wire, stick a piece of metal in it, and crank the motor to see if it arcs ... Then youll know if your getting spark or not.

Check your fuel pressure. Replace the fuel filter cause it probly needs it anyways. The fuel filter thats on it could be from the last motor and have 100K miles on it now. Do a leak down test on it.

Did you try spraying brake cleaner, or starting fluid around the intake gasket to see if there is a leak anywhere? Really you could spray anything that would burn, even WD40 would work ...

If your dads a mechanic, theres no reason you couldnt diagnose it ...

If its a 96 motor, its OBDII, throw it on a scanner and see if the rear O2's are reading normal ... If not then id be checking the cat ...

And even if it is a head gasket, if your dad is a mechanic, it shouldnt cost you more than a few hundred dollars assuming the heads needed machined down or something. It hsould be a one dayer if he is a mechanic. Chill out, and check things one step ata time.