Just recently finished putting a top end rebuild/DOD delete swap engine back together and ran into some fitment issues and wanted to know if it was a defective Dorman part or something I might be overlooking.

engine specs:
-5.3L LC9 - pulled from 07’ avalanche
-799 heads
-LS3 cam and springs
-DOD/AFM physically deleted using GM #12598832 (ls2/ls3 valley cover bolts and gasket)
-Dorman 615-901 intake (ls2 replica)

engine back together and when the intake was laid in place before torquing found that all the bolt heads from the valley pan below were hitting the bottom of the intake and causing a gap around 0.060” between the ports and the intake.

obviously if this gets torqued down it will crank the intake and not seat properly.

I removed approx 0.225” from the heads of each bolt and this has left me with about 0.015” between the bolt heads and the intake now. But should not have been needed in the first place. Has anyone else run into this with the Dorman intake or am I missing something here ?

as an aside, the intake plastics appear to be fairly cheap, the claimed 89 in-lb torque spec to tighten the intake to the heads can’t be achieved without crushing the plastic, and there are no threads for the fuel rails to mount. They use what are essentially sheet metal screws to mount the rails which will cause the plastic to fail in these bosses after repeated assembly and disassembly. A metal captured insert should have been molded to the intake here.

general quality of the piece leaves much to be desired, especially at the astronomical price point it’s at.

ive contacted Dorman’s customer service but would like to make sure I’m not missing something obvious.

 

can you use button head bolts?

 

If you had bought that intake new, it would have come with button head bolts to replace those in the valley cover. It would also mention them in the instructions.

Brass inserts would have been nice for the fuel rail mounting bolts, but how many times do you plan to have the fuel rails off? I just used the sheet screws for mine, no need to fight it.

 

Thanks for responses.

looked up the instructions from dorman's site and confirms exactly what you guys suggested about the button head bolts. I guess I should never make assumptions that an aftermarket part will fit with OEM hardware without looking at the specifics.

 

that intake is junk. I have one on my car, bought it when it was $200....now they charge 3 to 4x that, they are nuts.

 

The dynos show it to make slightly more hp than a LS6 or TBSS. It was a decent budget intake but not at the current price.

 

thats originally why I bought it. The additional power. But it’s built like absolute junk and I can’t believe they are charging that much money for something so shoddy built. Even a fast intake is built better than this thing. I wish people would stop buying those junks and just buy a fast for not much more money. Maybe the crooks at dorman will get a reality check. No morals I guess.

 

When I could get the Dorman LS2 for $500 Australian dollars compared to $2000 for the Fast 92, I was considering the Dorman but there was just way too many negative reviews regarding quality and fitment for the Dorman. Seemed like false economy, as you say. 3x the price? No way!

 

I got mine before the price spike, so it made sense. Not sure the hate is warranted, it's better than an ls6 intake and costs marginally more. It's ugly out of the box, and the amount of hardware they casually tossed in a couple baggies was worrisome. But with some sanding and jb weld (saw some of the rope gasket at the opening), it was a solid buy.


Now at $880, 100% no way would I pass on a fast 92 for this.

 

for $250 maybe $300 it might be an ok option but like you said....$800. Nah. They crazy. It’s way too low quality for that price. The hate is because they are ripping people off because holdener posted a video showing it making a decent gain.

 

Like said, it should have came with button head bolts for the valley pan. They eliminate any clearance issue.
Mine only needed the typical steam vent pipe "flattening", which is needed for clearance with an LS6 intake as well.
I've had my rails on and off at least 5 times, maybe 6. I hand tighten the screws, and while brass or metal inserts would be a great addition, I have had no issues whatsoever.
I got mine for under $400 a few years ago, and thought then, that it was a very low quality, flimsy piece, but it has been through 3 different engine combos, a couple minor nitrous backfires, and 22+ psi of boost and is still hanging tough, so my original impressions were evidently wrong...

Agree 100%, especially now with the ridiculous cost.

The new price on them is ridiculous, but I disagree that it is "junk". Is it made cheaply? I'm sure it is, but mine's been through a lot, and is still working great. Only bad thing I can say, factually, is the new price is double what it should cost.

Agree 100%

Buying a $800-$900 intake TODAY, I'd never choose the Dorman LS2 over anything...

Agreed. If I was looking for an intake, TODAY, I'd just buy a $400 used LS6 intake and throttle body, and call it a day.