Intake Manifold Cracked

[MuscleZ71]

My brother in law and I were working on his truck (98 C2500 5.7L 350) this weekend and while replacing his alternater we noticed the compression nut that holds the hose for engine coolant was half eaten away and needed to be replaced. Well, apparently this is fairly common so we got the replacement parts and removed the old and put in the new. While cranking down the new one my brother in law went one turns too many and cracked the intake manifold. He had a five hour drive home and while driving had to fill up the engine coolant from the "Cool" setting to "Hot" setting twice. My question is how much would the part cost and how serious/timely is the problem. Will it hurt the engine to just keep an eye out for the low coolant and refill while also watching the engine temp. Or, should it be replaced right away. Of course, like many, money isn't exactly growing on trees so we are trying to get away with the cheapest fix that won't kill the truck. At the same time though, if the part is only $100 - $200 then we might be able to do it ourselves. I'm pretty sure it is the intake manifold, but need more specifics. I called the local dealer's parts department and they thought it might be the lower intake manifold and would cost about $700 just for the part. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

[cyclejerk]

It needs to be replaced right away! or it will more than likely cost a butload more in say, about a week!

Sounds to me like you coulod do this one on your own. Make sure you clean the gasket surfaces COMPLETEY or well, you already found out what could happen.

It helps to label hose and electric plugs etc. when removing for easier re-connect. Some people use nail polish or colored tape etc. I use tape, nail polish is semi perminent.

Sorry to hear about your trouble but FIX IT NOW!

[Blue-2001-Z71]

Look for a new intake at a junkyard or see if an aftermarket performance intake is made for it. Out of disaster, fun is born.