LS6 Intake - Questions about removal & reinstallation

[Atrus]

I pulled my stock intake this weekend to prep for an upcoming LS6 intake swap...and, busted the oil pressure sending unit. Overall, the removal was fairly easy. My hands and arms look like I duked it out with a feral cat for a while, but all went well.

So, it got me thinking...I had a few questions I was hoping experienced folks could weigh in on:

1) Has anyone had an issue in running a "de-ribbed" LS6 intake with the LS1 coolant crossover? Seems a lot of folks to this, but of course on Tech there's always a couple who claim they had interference causing vacuum leaks.
2) I assume it'd be best practice to swap the intake runner gaskets/seals. I've heard some (FAST?) may be thicker than others, which would be a good idea to give a couple thou more clearance for the LS1 coolant crossover. Experiences/thoughts?
3) OPSU...are they all created equal? Should I go Delco, or just get whatever is cheapest? Given the PITA location of the oil pressure sending unit, I'd just like to do it once.
4) Knock sensors & harness...should I just get a new harness? I saw a few indentations in the sheathing of the stocker, I presume from when it was assembled at the factory. If I do replace the harness, again, should I go Delco at $40, or Dorman at $20? What about sensors? Replacing the knock sensors and harness is $100-$125 I'd prefer not to spend, but will if it makes good sense to while I am in there.
5) Anything else I should be doing while my intake is off, either to the exposed areas of the engine or the LS6 intake before it goes on?

Here are some pics because why not...

[meissen]

[pferris]

I had switched to the ls valley cover, for the integrated pcv setup in hopes of reducing oil consumption. I think it helped, but I still shot a bunch of oil into the intake. Id dont think it was too expensive to go for the ls6 valley, and crossover, but It was something I bought ahead of time.

As far as oil pressure sensor, I think i got mine from advance auto, haven't had any problems with it.

Knock sensors and wiring. As long as you don't break a connector, or it hasn't cut through the insulation, I wouldn't willingly throw money at it.

That's my opinion anyway.

[Superman09]

I have done it both ways. De-ribbing was a pain but it worked with no issues. Second time I picked up the LS6 coolant fittings and it was much easier.

OPSU, I also broke one doing it many moons ago, picked up a replacement from O'Reillys (Murrays at the time I believe, haha) and no issues!

I remember the knock sensor harness being tight. Think I may have removed some of the protectant but cannot remember, in any event I never changed it out.

[farmington]

Deribbing the bottom takes some time, but it allows you to still have the 4 corner steam lines. A good idea in my book.
Have read people had problems with non-GM OPSU's.
I used new Felpro seals that I got at advanceauto.
Not sure if the LS6 valley will go straight on for you or not. good addition if you can.

[pferris]

Deribbing the bottom takes some time, but it allows you to still have the 4 corner steam lines. A good idea in my book.
Have read people had problems with non-GM OPSU's.
I used new Felpro seals that I got at advanceauto.
Not sure if the LS6 valley will go straight on for you or not. good addition if you can.

I honestly forgot about having to cut the block. My memory is so bad I had to google if I did or not.

All the ls1 blocks you would need to cut inorder to install the ls6 valley cover. Being a 2000, like my motor, He would have to.

[Atrus]

Thanks for the info, guys. I am thinking I'll replace the gaskets with the Felpro units ($20 on Amazon). Looks like the cheapest OPSU is at Oreilly - a Delco unit for $35. I'll forego the LS6 valley cover. If anything, maybe I'll look into an oil separator in the future if I notice buildup. I don't think I am experiencing anything to drastic currently - the intake looks relatively clean on the inside for almost 75k miles.

I'll take a good look at the knock sensor harness and evaluate whether I replace it. If I do, I'll check out the condition of the sensors. If not, I'll just try not to fiddle with the harness much to help preserve it and the sensors.

Oh, and, I would like to keep the LS1 coolant crossover as after reading, I do think it's superior to the LS6 setup. I'll give it a whirl.

[farmington]

Are you planning on getting it tuned? I remembered you were talking about headers a while back

[Atrus]

I will eventually. I'm still really interested in that Blackheart system you had posted. Also was considering a small cam, but I don't see that in the budget this year. Exhaust may or may not be.

[farmington]

I'll tell you, these LS motors love cam shafts. I only have a 224r and it makes a huge change. A cam and all the needed parts aren't cheap but you get a lot for your money

[Atrus]

Yeah, I figure the LS6 intake, exhaust, and if I opted to go for a smaller cam would really bump up the power. I hope I am not hoping for too much, but I think just the exhaust and intake would make a decent impact.

[farmington]

I would love to do a nice set of heads on mine, but after the cam, intake, and header swap I swore off working under the hood. Now if I could drop the motor trans out the bottom it would be another story.

Something that amazes me about the LS motors is that mine makes 380 to the wheels with a small cam and headers. that's about 425 to the crank or as much as a GOOD 427 back in the day. that's with 346 cubes and it gets great gas mileage to boot. And its faster by far than almost any older muscle car even modified ones.

[Atrus]

I completely agree, Don. Mine, completely stock (well, EGR/AIR delete and SLP lid on a paper filter) put down 312/326. I think that's damn impressive, and still very relevant for a 16 year old car. I've pulled 28 mpg in the thing coming back from St Ignace at 80 mph with the windows down (top up). Not too shabby.

I'd like to pump up the power - reliably and in a refined way - to keep the car relevant for a while more. I liked that it ran just fine against a 5th gen SS or a R/T Challenger. It wasn't some archaic vehicle that was left in the dust. Sounds like the V6 6th gen should be on par or a little quicker than my SS stock. A few goodies will put it back into the lead.

Which reminds me...I am 35...got my license in '97 and graduated HS in '99. So, when I was in early High School is when the LS1s came out. I remember the 3rd gens and 5.0's being the fast cars in Jr High. I was watching Powerblock or whatever the hell it's called this past Sunday while hanging with my kids and cleaning the house, and they had an '86 IROC 305 TPI on Detroit Muscle. I think it was rated at 190hp and actually put down 15X to the wheels. Just funny to me as I remember those in high school and was wicked jealous of friends with them and thought they were fast. Keep in mind, my first car was an '86 Firebird 2.8L MPI (135hp?) that was probably putting out 110 after 125k hard miles on it. My second car was a '91 Dodge Daytona ES - 3.0L V6 rated at 141HP. So, I guess they were "fast".

[farmington]

Back in 85 I bought a new Dodge Omni GLH turbo. All 146hp of it. It did run low 14's bone stock, and was trouble free for 10 years and 100k miles. It was the 2nd or 3rd fastest car you could buy back then. I could kick new IROC's asses all day long.

[BlackJesus]

Knock the ribs off and get some OEM gaskets. No need to mess with the knock sensor harness.