Intake Manifold Install:

[thechadzone]

I installed an 1800 Single Plane manifold onto my 2.0 head over the weekend. Many of you know that it's a PIA to get to all six bolts on its upper and lower portions.

When it was time for a test drive, I seemed to be sucking too much air. I adjusted the Weber DFAV as much as one can with little improvement. With the car idling, I sprayed some starter fluid at the places I suspected, and the motor reacted when I sprayed the intake manifold gasket. Dammit! I tightened the bolts/nuts down as much as I dared, but it didn't help. I was satisfied with how clean and smooth the intake and head surfaces were, but now I'm not so sure...

I know that there's a diversity of opinion about the use of gasket sealants, and I chose to use none. Some say use a sealant that doesn't dissolve on contact with fuel around the ports, but leave the other areas alone. This makes sense to me; thoughts?

Is there a torquing order for these? I've read that the torque spec for the intake is 18 fp, but is there an order? I'm guessing that both surfaces are flat because there's no coolant leak. I'm really not looking forward to removing the intake again, but that seems to be the only way. Any tricks to make those tight spots easier?

[bradartigue]

Use sealant, it won't hurt anything. Although I will say I've never had to on the intake manifold - but that's no measuring stick.

Remove the thing and clean the hell out of the studs it rests on. Frequently those things get corrosion on them and hold the manifold out from the block just a fraction of the mm - enough to cause an issue. So do that, clean up the mating surfaces, use some permatex (fuel resistant) and it should seal up.