so, that explains it...

[Jabba's Barge]

took the intake manifold off for the reason circled in the third picture. discovered why my oil level keeps rising. good ol' manifold gasket.

also may have found the reason i was getting a P0440. took the intake off and found this:

 

[blueflamed03]

yep, amazing those clear to mid 96's had intake issues...hope it fixed all your problems!

 

[AtomicHoe094]

shes a dirty one

 

[boble94]

whats the 440 about?

 

[Jabba's Barge]

whats the 440 about?

the orange connector in the center of the pic is not inserted all the way. that's the purge solenoid, i think.

i got another manifold because i don't know anyone who can weld. i'm off today, but i am on my way to work to use the parts cleaner for the replacement manifold.

i got a fel-pro top end gasket kit, so everything's getting cleaned up and replaced. tomorrow, though, cuz i'm pooped.

 

[retorq]

I had that nipple thing break off my 95 going down the highway one morning. Ditched all the coolant.

 

[bsamoul]

Yours looks exactly as mine did

 

[Jabba's Barge]

i hope there's a reassuring lining to that statement! it was running when i started, but the cleaning of the heads and block should make for an interesting re-start. not to mention this is only the third time i have had an engine apart to this degree. the other two were good to go. it's still early to call this one.

 

[kickitandholdit]

go ahead and port and polish

 

[Jabba's Barge]

everything's back together except the distributor. cap and rotor were a little toasty and the wires have seen better days. just gonna do delco parts.

have a slight issue though. the upper section of the injectors didn't pop all the way through the opening in the top of the upper manifold. the large connector can't click down on the tabs. almost but it's about 1/8" short. i'm thinking it might be because of the new gasket i put on it keeping it from seating correctly. thoughts?