what are your thoughts on the edelbrock 3704 intake manifold and comp 12-249-4 cam w/ a set of 1.6 roller rockers on my 88 1/2 ton burb 350 TBI. Supposed to make great low end power and better flow for a little mialedge as well??? Your input is always appreciated. I think im leaking coolant from the back side of my intake manifold so i figured if its a good chioce i would do it all at once. Thanks for your feedback.  

The intake is a good idea because factory one does not flow well but on cam and rockers I would base that on your final gear ratio selection. I would lean toward a CompCam 252 or possible even a 260 with stock rockers at your altitude if you have a nice set of deep gears behind it. Usually a slightly warmer cam gets better results in thinner air when geared properly. I would leave engine stock until you regear if you are planning to do so.  

will do. I am going to go w/ 4.56 gears. How time consuming and difficult are gears to install? Im leaking at the pinion so i need to do something. Never done gears before. Have installed a locker in a jeep.lol
and would stock size roller rockers be worth the change?  

NoTime:
will do. I am going to go w/ 4.56 gears. How time consuming and difficult are gears to install? Im leaking at the pinion so i need to do something. Never done gears before. Have installed a locker in a jeep.lol
and would stock size roller rockers be worth the change?

Refresh my memory, I know you are at about 5000 ft but what tire size are you running before I "bless" a 4.56 for you so to speak as you may need to go deeper with your needs and configuration. As far as changing them, 10 bolt are not very hard to setup and since both front a rear is same pig you only have to learn one kind. Do front pig and practice on it this way if you do not get mesh pattern quite right and it is a tiny bit noisy at speed it will not be a issue on front drive axle wheeling off road. You want to be picky setting up rear axle because you want it quiet since it is always in use and at high speeds. I would also check to see whether you have 28 or 30 splines on rear axle shafts. They went to 30 starting around 89 and shaft is 1/10th of a inch bigger too. When rear end is down it would be a good time to change spider gears and upgrade to stronger OEM axle shaft. You should be able to find some in a bone yard.  

33 10.5, 33 12.5 one or the other. and most of my time at 4700-4800 ft, may be moving to 5600 ft. but will still work at 4700ft everyday.  

I tend to lean toward 4.88's here. Your tranny has a .7 OD so even a 4.88 looks like a 3.43 so to speak in top gear. You loose about 3% power minimum for each 1000 feet above sea level so at 5000 feet you are down at least 15% in power vs sea level and likely more. A 4.88 would help offset this and put engine at a better cruise RPM in OD if you warm cam up a bit later. Burbs are big heavy vehicles and I love them but they need some good gears when you lift them and add big tires to really shine at times. They are considerably heavier than a 1/2 ton std cab pickup off which they are based.  

4.88 it is, makes sense. so based on that gear what are your thoughts on the 1.5 roller rocker vs. stock stamped rocker? And, after market cam??? Which one?? And will the intake leak coolant? It is coming from the back of the motor up high somewhere. I value your opinion. Thanks  

Intake tends to leak in rear between intake and heads and engine block. On cam, you need to remember that TBI heads do not flow well at high RPM's they are designed to swirl mixture going into chamber to improve mixing, burn and response. This design is counter productive above 4000 RPM or so. The point of this I question what might be gained with high lift rockers. When you use a aftermarket cam like a CC cam you do not want to change the tuning of it with different rockers. I have used Competition Cam 252 and 260 in years past and they are good cams. If you want max low end, midrange and MPG combo, go with 252 and if you want more midrange and a bit more power at 4000 RPM go with 260. You will loose a little low end with this cam though. 252 is a good compromise.  

ok thats what i was hoping. The cc 252 sounds good because ultimately im going for the most low end and fuel economy (oxymoron?) I can have in a fairly capeable offroad machine. It will never go over 65 mph.. What rpm should I be at for best efficiency at 60-65mph?  

Given weight, size and drag of vehicle with lift and tires I would say that the 2200 RPM or so that 4.88's will give you should play really well with that cam. Torque should peak between 2500 and 3000 with your engine and a 252 so you will not be far of the mark at cruise. Engines tend to be most efficient under moderate to heavy when operating at or near their torque peak in terms of power delivered to crank shaft vs fuel consumed and when seeking max economy/power balance you want to have your torque peak below 3000 RPM where you will do most of your work anyway. High HP ratings and power peaks above 5000 look good on paper but to get them you have to move torque peaks above 3000 RPM which reduces efficiency at lower RPM cruises. It is strong low and mid range that wins the day here in your combo to bring out the best in your beast. I own a 2000 Vortec 350 in a K3500and a 89 TBI 350 in my 4x4 burb and while the Vortec has some impressive upper RPM pull the TBI is better below 3000 RPM and I would never change the general power curve I have in my burb for the one in Vortec because the Vortec lack the low RPM torque when you lug it down a bit in OD. My 350 TBI will fairly strongly pull from 33 MPH in OD without a down shift (that works out to about 1000 RPM) and Vortec 350 will not to that though it is a lot better than higher HP rated 5.3.  

Awesome thank you again, I cant tell you how valueble your knowledge is to me. Plus you've owned your burb for so long, and i tend to go with experiance over what people say something should accomplish. As far as the cam goes, are these hydrlic roller cams or just hydrolic? Comp makes so many 252 cams im lost at which one would be best? Thank you again.
                            - Dan  

I looked at the sheets here and I would go with XR252HR. Stock cam has about .390/.410 lift (intake/exhaust) and this cam has .472/.48. It has a lobe center of 110 which is good for your needs too. The XR252XFI HR13 has more lift and a 113 lobe center and slightly different overlap and valve opening and closing and it going to have a bit less low RPM response, torque and MPG than first cam here.  

ok sounds good. now thats a roller cam will that be a direct replacement for my cam or will I need new lifters,dist.gear, ect.? This should be the last question for a while. lol I appriciate this more than I can say.. Thanks again.  

Your engine should have a roller cam in it now just not roller tipped rockers.