I'm finally going to bite the bullet in the next few weeks and fix my leaky intake manifold. I have reviewed the service manual, and it seems relatively straightforward (nothing I wan't expecting). I sarched the tech tips, and to my surprise there didn't appear to be anything on this topic.

Does anyone have any tips they can share, time savers, best brand of gasket, best type of RTV to use, etc.

Thanks,
Preston

 

Preston, replacing the intake gaskets on an LT1 is one of the easiest repairs you'll ever do on these cars.

The intake is dry. So, no need to drain coolant.

No need to purge the fuel system. Just remove the 4 fuel rail bolts, and pull the entire fuel rail/injectors assemble. Set the fuel rail back on against a protected winshield.

I use GM intake gaskets, Felpro will also work well. I also put a decent bead of high temp RTV on the front and rear of the block.



-Mike

 

Mike;
Thanks for the tips, they definitely sound like time savers compared to what the service manual says.

 

TTT, anyone else have any good tips!

 

We used a FelPro gasket and copper RTV silicone. The RiteStuff sealant by PermaTex is also excellent.

 

after two Felpro gaskets with vacuum leaks, the third time i used a smear (very little) of black RTV around the ports with the Felpros. it's been over a year with no leaks.

note that many people have installed it dry without leaks.

ditto on the Right Stuff for the front and rear lands.

 

Thanks everyone, I'm off to buy parts tonight!

 

some other tips:

clean all surfaces before applying gaskets or RTV. if this is the first time the intake manifold is off your car, the stock gaskets are probably stuck to the surfaces and pieces will peel off. you will need to scrape everything off the surfaces. get an old towel to drape in the lifter valley when you do this so no crap gets down there. also handy to have a shop vac within reach.

removing the manifold for the first time was a challenge. it was stuck nice and good on the heads & block. i ended up using a prybar with a towel wrapped around it, and lifted the manifold on the "lip" that overhangs on the front end. be careful if you do this.

i removed the passenger side AIR fitting in order to move the pipe out of the way. i might've been able to get by without doing this, but it certainly made things easier.

the Felpro gaskets included a TB gasket, and injector o-rings. i don't think it included a gasket for the EGR valve, so you will need to get one separately.

first time i did this it took me two days, 4 hours(?) each day. by the third time i had the process down to around 3 hours.

i just noticed you're in Ypsi. i'm just north of Novi. if you need a hand send me a PM. good luck.

 

Yeah, this will be the first time it is off, so I am planning for a couple of days to do the job right.

Thanks for the offer, I'll zip you a PM as I get closer (probably goign to do it next week).

 

Thanks for all the help everyone, that was not bad at all, probably the worst part was putting it back in and being carefull not to mess up the RTV in the process!