hey yall my brother has a 1998 suburban w/ a 5.7L and is STOCK EVERYTHING, SUCKS!!! anyways, he keeps blowing the header gasket and he doesn't know what do to about it. i'm sure he is buying the cheap autozone gasket but could that be the problem? if so what gasket should he get? i think he has about 100,000 miles on it. he never races or goes off roading it's just a grocery getter and road trip vehicle. anyways besides buying a new suburban (which is what i suggest) what should he do? what is causing this problem? thanks....

Randy

 

he needs to buy the OEM gaskets from the dealership.... some aftermarket gaskets are worthless believe me I changed them out twice before I found out to just buy the OEM gaskets...

 

Seems the 5.7 vortec is a machine fit stock manifold.You said it was bone stock?Bone stock with headers added or bone stock with stock OE manifolds?

 

 

what kind of headers are they. Is the flange thick or thin. I am with the other guys go with an oem gasket. Make sure you start from the inside out when you tighten the bolts. Good Luck

 

damn i feel like an idiot. i meant to say head gasket. sorry about that. i actually talked to my brother today and he says that there is antifreeze leaking down on him. now is that a head gasket or intake problem? my brother is pretty cheap and he said that he is probably going to just keep filling it with antifreeze/water. He's a little lazy and cheap when it comes to car repair.

 

Get a nice set of fel pro gaskets.start from the center and work your way out when tightening the bolts.

 

The intake manifold gaskets are a common failure on those trucks...I believe the right rear corner is known to leak...

 

You said he "keeps blowing the gaskets" with your second remark i gather he has yet to ever have touched it.Common is the intake gasket to fail.