I was hoping to find an answer be using the search, but I could not find one.
I have a 90 L98. I had some bad luck with putting my engine back together after a head gasket replacement. To make a long story short...upon starting the car back up after putting it back together, there was ALOT of white smoke coming out. I figured out why...

When I popped the hood I was able to see coolant all around the intake manifold. The car went dead because the engine was drowning in coolant.

MY QUESTION...
I have been shopping for intake manifold gaskets on Summitracing.com... But I noticed that the stock gaskets had the very rear hole blocked by a piece of metal in the gasket. Do I need to buy a gasket that has these same metal pieces blocking certain passages?

I have not been able to find any that match exactly. SOme have the second or third passage blocked off, some have a piece of metal with a hole in it?????

Which gasket am I suppossed to get? Can I get either one, does it matter...They all say they fit on my car.

 

Felpro 1204 should work

 

Great thanks Ill order a set.

Does anybody know the deal with some passages being blocked off by, what I assume to be, the stock gasket??

 

Look at your intake manifold, there is no water jacket in the rear. That's why the gaskets are blocked in the rear. Agent 86 is dead on with the Fel-Pro suggestion and when you get them they are marked as to which way they go.

 

There are water jackets at the rear of the manifold. The gaskets are restricted on the Vette (but not the F-Bodys) as the engineers decided that keeping the coolant in the rear of the heads a little longer would cool them off a little better (given the head gasket failures on the aluminum headed L98's, I'd like to cross examine the Dilbert who thought this was a great idea). To insure an adequate supply of coolant, a bypass line from the heater core, adds a little bit more. Some, including myself, have lived without the restrictors and you could, if you wanted to, eliminate the bypass by using the F Body gaskets. Otherwise, gaskets with the restrictors are (were?) readily available at your dealer. The only problem you might encounter is if someone sells you the '91 or current production 113's intake gaskets (I don't know why they would - they're damn hard to find - I have these heads!). With or without the restrictor plates, these gaskets have retainers built into the front and rear bolt holes which fit in bosses drilled into the heads and they do a really good job of keeping everything in place when you slap on the manifold. Speaking of which, your problem is probably because what you did use slipped into the valley when you put the manifold on. Solution is to do it all over again, but I wouldn't worry about the restrictors, just be really careful when you lay that manifold in there and maybe a little stickum (grease is good) will help hold it all in place so that it seals up this time.

 

Just wanted to note and Suncr said it too,there are water jackets in the rear manifolds,that started in '86 up until the l98 went out of production.The 85 TPI manifolds do not have the rear water ports.

You probably got fooled by the general since your year doesnt have it.
I get confused like this alot,especially with the egr systems.They changed that too...its nuts.

 

Btw forgot to add,felpro has the best intake and runner gaskets kits available..that being said,I hope you didnt ruin the engine.Be sure to drain the oil,remove the plugs and let every bit of coolant out of the engine.
Coolant can cause alot of damage to motors if enough get inside.

 

OK Great thank you all for answering my questions

I appreciate it

 

I stand corrected and thank you for explaining it. It's true I made a statement based only on my 85, I'll be a bit more careful next time. Sorry Phantom90 for misleading you.