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Who has found a good way to keep those squirmy gaskets at the front and back of the intake manifold that are supposed to fit on the top of the "China walls" on the L98's? I know, some will say just throw them out and use RTV, but that makes such a mess to clean up the next time! There must be a secret to success!
I used a thin line of black RVT along the front and back block (a little heaver at the 4 wedges at the heads) and then set the 2 gaskets, let them set for 10 minutes, then drop the intake on. No leaks.
Last edited by HAD2HAV2; Mar 23, 2016 at 10:48 PM.
I used the a thin line of black RVT along the front and back block (a little heaver at the 4 wedges at the heads) and then set the 2 gaskets, let them set for 10 minutes, then drop the intake on. No leaks.
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
A product called "The Right Stuff" peels right off the china wall when it is time to change intake manifolds. Good idea to dimple the wall with a punch too.
Gas-ga-cinch.
A thin coating will "hold" any gasket in place while you position whatever it is you are sealing up. Works great for blind applications where the gasket will not sit where it needs to for a proper seal.
with corvetteronw, use The Right Stuff. I dimple both the china wall and the intake manifold. Gives the sealant more to grab. I used to use the old rubber gaskets on other Chevy engines, only to have a future failure with those gaskets.
From: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
St. Jude '03 thru '24
Originally Posted by Hot Rod Roy
Who has found a good way to keep those squirmy gaskets at the front and back of the intake manifold that are supposed to fit on the top of the "China walls" on the L98's? I know, some will say just throw them out and use RTV, but that makes such a mess to clean up the next time! There must be a secret to success!
Originally Posted by corvetteronw
A product called "The Right Stuff" peels right off the china wall when it is time to change intake manifolds. Good idea to dimple the wall with a punch too.
That's the "secret". Has wroked many times over for my L98 as well.
Nice part is the RightStuff is firm enough to make cleanup a cinch
Who has found a good way to keep those squirmy gaskets at the front and back of the intake manifold that are supposed to fit on the top of the "China walls" on the L98's? I know, some will say just throw them out and use RTV, but that makes such a mess to clean up the next time! There must be a secret to success!
The Fel-Pro intake manifold gasket sets I've used recently did not have those China wall gaskets in them. They supplied a tube of RTV and that's what I used.
You don't need to dimple the China wall if you put a generous amount of RTV on it. It will squoosh out and make an o--o shape. After it does that it can't move:
Old School:
If you are going to use the rubber gaskets on the front and back:
I used High Tack (The Red Stuff) gasket glue on them and never had a failure.
Just use it on the bottom,to stick them to the block.
I don't mess with the gaskets. I don't know anyone else that does either.
- pretty much "caveman" technology. I don't think fel-pro even puts the rubber gaskets in the rebuild kits anymore.
Originally Posted by Cliff Harris
The Fel-Pro intake manifold gasket sets I've used recently did not have those China wall gaskets in them. They supplied a tube of RTV and that's what I used.
You don't need to dimple the China wall if you put a generous amount of RTV on it. It will squoosh out and make an o--o shape. After it does that it can't move:
- if you get the china walls, PLUS, the mating surface of the intake, "squeaky" clean, and with a sufficient amount of sealant, there's absolutely no reason to dimple the walls. I've never had an issue with clean-up the "next time." when I say "squeaky clean" I mean cleaning with solvent!
After I clean the surface of the china walls or any other that will have a gasket with a razor blade, I take Scotchbrite as the second step to cleaning the surface followed up with lacquer thinner.
Intake Manifold Gaskets
with corvetteronw, use The Right Stuff. I dimple both the china wall and the intake manifold. Gives the sealant more to grab. I used to use the old rubber gaskets on other Chevy engines, only to have a future failure with those gaskets.
