Tiros

I have a small oil leak at the intake china wall junction. Got a small coolant leak sometimes at the thermostat housing. I figured I'd do the long overdue coolant flush and fill while knocking out both intake leaks.

I installed this intake a good 20 years ago. I remember the China wall area being a bitch to get right. The rubber seal kept squeezing out, lubed by the silicone. There was no internet to search for advice back then, just did the best I could. Its been fine but about 10 years ago I switch to Mobile 1, and developed small leak.

I ordered Felpro intake set 1210. It is blue. The end pieces appear to be a cork composite. I would like advice on the current best methods to seal the intake and the ends. Most importantly the China wall.

Is anything applied to the port gaskets?
What's the best way to handle the China wall?
What brand/type of sealant is preferred? (Been using ultra grey right stuff on my GTI)
Did I get the best sealing gasket set? Is the cork preferred to rubber these days?


Any opinion on this gasket for the Tstat?
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fe...99caAm3Q8P8HAQ

GTOguy

Much info on this. I learned from the guys on this forum and a Chevy guy at work that the best route is to forego gaskets on the walls altogether and simply use a high quality sealant. If machine work has been done, the gaskets are too thick and will get squeezed out. Happened on my '61 in less than 50 miles. Used Toyota Silicone Sealer and it's totally leak free now. The Right Stuff is equivalent, and easier to use. Just let it set up for a few minutes before the install, make sure the intake is square, and let it set up overnight before filling with coolant for best results.

66jack

Throw away the 'cork' china wall gaskets and purchase 'RIGHT STUFF' sealant...

Apply a fairly large bead on the ends so it oozes out....once it dries overnight...clean off the excess with a razor knife.

Bill32

Yep, what Jack & GTO said.

RTV sucks, no gasket and "The Right Stuff" = no leaks.

Randy G.

Right Stuff on the ends of the block and slightly up each end of the head = No leaks. Throw the manifold end seals/gaskets from the box in the trash.

mrg

In lieu of using the cork/rubber suppled gasket a thick bead of Permatex RTV ultra gasket maker was used on the china walls. .. Sealed up nice, no leaks.

The intake manifold had to come off recently. While applying leverage on an intake manifold corner a single edge razor blade was used to cut into and slice along the length of gasket maker material. The same stuff was used on the china walls upon reassembly. Gasgacinch was used on the intake manifold gasket.

Using a gasket maker in place of cork/rubber gaskets on the china walls really works well.
John

ohiovet

My choice has always been and will continue to be rubber gaskets with a dab of silicone at each end.
Never had a leak.
Before installing the gaskets thoroughly clean the "china walls", use some tacky adhesive on the wall, place gasket on, wait a few minutes, install intake , your done.
Do not use RTV (room temperature vulcanize-able silicone polymer) to hold the gasket in place, it doesn't hold it in place , it lubricates it so it can squeeze out.
Just my 2 cents.

JohnZ

Try this:

http://www.lbfun.com/warehouse/tech_...ntake_Swap.pdf

Pilot Dan

The method in John's article works so well, the gasket makers on the newer GM vehicles ( and GM) don't even include the end seals anymore, just a tube of sealant in place. My 04 Silverado which I just did the intake R&R to fix a leak is a good example of this. Most of the new cars have eliminated many of the major gaskets we are accustomed to in favor of just a sealant

Faslane

yep! X2, i as well use the rubber gaskets, If you did not need them the set would not come with them.

Tiros

The consensus seems to be leave them off.
Personally I would feel better having something in actual compression rather than glued and hardened in place. It would seem I would relying on the bond to the metal rather than mechanical pressure...

However adhesives have come a long way...I intend to clean surfaces with acetone first. There are several flavors of "The Right Stuff". On my GTI, the Ultra Gray was called for, it says it is specifically for parts with many fasteners.

So what flavor/color Right Stuff should I use?
Is Gasgacinch the same as Permatex #2? Should I use that for the intake bolt threads as well?

Bill32

The Right Stuff only comes in black.

Did the intake on my 92 LT1 6 years ago, absolutely dry.

How good is it? We sometimes change trans gear ratios at the track (the car in my avatar). Using RTV on the gearbox cover, it would leak right away (no set up time). Using TRS, we can take it on the track immediately - no leaks.

Use TRS on the intake and you can drive it right now. It won't harden up that much, stays semi flexible . And it's fairly easy to brake the seal with a putty knife if you ever need to pull the intake.

jim lockwood

I've had the same experience with The Right Stuff and won't use anything else.

One of our track cars developed a valve cover leak. Cleaned it, laid down a bead of The Right Stuff, mooshed [technical term] the valve cover back on, and went back on track. No leaks.

The Right Stuff isn't cheap, but in IMHO it's worth every penny.

Jim

JohnZ

NO. Gasgacinch is essentially sticky glue for placing/locating gaskets before/during assembly of components. Permatex #2 is a non-hardening sealant that works well for sealing threads (like SBC head bolts that go through the block deck into the water jackets).

1snake

Gasgascinch is the same as Permatex High Tack. Only the labels are different.

xsray

which is the proper gasket set for a L79? Fel-Pro 1204, 1205 or 1206?

Randy G.

Gasgascinch is nothing more than contact cement.

Desert Nomad

Another procedure I learned years ago when I had my '90' C4. It leaked along the front and rear "china wall". With the intake manifold off and cleaned very well, I used a center punch and dimpled the wall and the bottom of the intake manifold in that area. Dimples were 1/8"-1/4" apart. Dimples don't have to be very deep just something you can feel with your finger nail. Then used "The Right Stuff" along the walls. This really gave the sealant something to grab to and it never even thought about leaking again. I learned this from somebody by the name of Jake on the C4 forum. I think he was out of Texas.