There are a ton of posts about this but I haven't found the exact answers I'm looking for.
First of all, I am looking to purchase and install a Renegade intake myself. The only other mechanic experience I have is installing long tube headers. From what I've read you have to sometimes get crafty to complete the install. What will I need to do it if I even can?
Besides the intake and a gasket kit, will I need anything else?
Finally, and most importantly, how do I make sure that my intake has been machined correctly and does not have flaws? If I'm going to do the install myself it needs to go fairly smoothly.
Thanks in advance for any info.

James

 

\Hope you know how to find TDC. Its handi to do that b4 you start work and a must know after you remove dist and engine moves.(rotates)

 

@ghoastrider1 it seems fairly simple if I get a piston stop unless I'm missing something.

 

its that simple

 

You won't need a piston stop to find TDC if you don't rotate the engine after you remove the distributor. Just be sure the distrib. goes back into the engine in the same position as you removed it. There is no reason to rotate the engine while you have it apart! In fact, if you rotate the engine, you'll probably be frustrated because the oil pump drive won't line up with the new distrib. position.

 

Message or possibly Buccaneer will chime in, He knows the Renegade intake and what to look for.

 

I keep an oil primer laying around incase i do bump it though. Then you just align it. Its not too bad, just make sure the throttlebody bolts don't bottom out otherwise you'll need washers to space them off. Check gasket alignment before you install etc.

 

Hello James and thanks for considering buying a Renegade manifold. You will see a performance gain by installing it for sure. Now on to the other questions... IMO, if you have zero experience doing this type of thing, you might want to have someone else do it for you like a qualified mechanic. It's not that complicated or rocket science, but there are some things that can bite you and may get you very frustrated. The two biggest things that are important IMO are, getting the manifold to align up straight down on the heads as you install it and to get the china rails to seal properly...the first time. Do Not use the cork or paper gaskets supplied with the intake gaskets. If you do decide to tackle the installation yourself, use the sealing compound called "The Right Stuff" for both front and back china rails. That compound is a little expensive as well for what you are going to use it for. I think it is $25 for a small tube at Autozone, O'Riely's, NAPA etc... DO NOT USE IT TO SEAL THE TOP PLATE! If you do, you probably won't get the top plate back off once cured without damaging it. It's seals that good. Just use some blue Permatex sealer on the top plate.

The next thing that MOST people run into that can be an issue is dropping in the distributor correctly. Again, this is not rocket science, but is a rather easy task, if you know what your doing and have done it before If not, it can be frustrating. Just getting it one tooth off WILL make a difference let alone 180* out. I will not even attempt to explain the procedure here. Best bet is to watch YouTube vids on how to install a GM SBC distributor, over and over again until you think you have it down and then watch it so more. Also do some research on this in the way of How To articles. A couple things to watch out for when doing this task is that the dizzy doesn't bottom out, always use a gasket on the dizzy, do not double up on them if you need something thicker, they make thicker gaskets for that purpose. The other thing is the oil pump connecting rod that the dizzy goes into seems to stump a lot of people for some reason. That has to mate properly and the dizzy will not drop in properly until it seats onto the rod. Do not turn the motor over for any reason once you have it on TDC on #1 cylinder until you are ready to fire it up.

If this is just a remove and reinstall a manifold thing on an already running motor that you recently have been driving, you shouldn't need a priming rod for the oil pump, but you can get one and prime the system if you like, it won't hurt it. If it a new motor, than for sure use the priming rod. Make sure you get the right rod as well that seals the lower end to pump oil up top or it won't work properly no matter how long you try to prime the system.

Things to watch for on the manifold coming from Eddie Motorsports... Check the top plate mounting holes on the base of the manifold. These holes "are not" supposed to be "through holes", but Eddie Motorsports has screwed up some units and they are machined wrong from original drawings. They should be blind holes. If they are through holes, you MUST seal every hole that goes through the base into the plenum with sealant when you install the top plate screws or the manifold WILL have a huge vacuum leak. You also have to seal the vacuum holes for the stock items as well which goes without saying. Also make sure the top plate holes are drilled correctly and not off center to the base. I have seen pictures of some that they machined much to close to the edge of the plate and some actually went through the side/edge of the plate. If this happens, SEND IT BACK and demand a correctly machined manifold. It's a matter of attention to detail that is lacking on some units and improper machining fixture configuration. I hate to say that, but it's true.

These are the big issues that I have seen, but there could be other small things as well, so check it over completely before you install it even if you are not the one doing the job. I wish I could control the company doing the machining, but unfortunately I can't. The only other recourse would be to pull our tooling from them and say you're done! Before Eddie Motorsports started doing the machining, we had a local machine shop (who is still my go to machinist) do all the manifolds and had ZERO issues with the manifolds and I personally hand stamped each manifold before it went out the door with a serial number and checked to make sure they were OK to ship and added my own little touch to each one to make it look nice, just like I would want mine to look like. I'm sure that doesn't happen now unfortunately in a production environment.

Your best bet also is to buy it from Summit Racing since they have the best customer service that I've seen in regards to the manifold after the sale issues and I do recommend that on my new website. When machined properly and installed correctly the manifold is a nice piece and works as advertised and should perform well. Good luck with your project whichever way you decide to go with and I hope this helped you out. Just being honest on some things which IS important with me.

 

After installing your TBI units onto the Renegade manifold, you'll need to re-balance them in accordance with the procedure that is outlined in your '84 FSM, pg. 6C14-3. The TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) is to be adjusted per procedure on pg. 6E2-66.

 

@Hot Rod Roy Okay. I have no plans on rotating the engine so that shouldn't be a worry as long as I get the distributor back in correctly. Also, I should probably invest in a FSM.

@Buccaneer I might look around for some shops to do it but the shop I normally take my car to normally does not want to do anything too major on my car because they are not familiar with CFI. I'm guessing dizzy is short for distributor. Thanks for the info on checking the manifold. I'll definitely make sure to check all of these things when the manifold comes in. Can you link your new website? I believe I saw something about it on a Facebook group a couple weeks ago but I was not able to find it on Google.

Thank you everyone for the help.

 

Yes, buying a 84 GM service manual is a great idea and may come in handy in the future. If nothing else, checking your balance is a good idea after you have removed and reinstalled them. Maybe if you had a shop just do the R&R and you do the rest might help, not sure though since if it doesn't run right, that would be their scapegoat...you did everything else and now it doesn't run, they wash their hands. You probably didn't find the new CFI website yet via Google because the web crwlers haven't picked up on it yet, it takes a little time for that to happen. PM sent. Oh yeah, dizzy is short for distributor, got tired of spelling it out each time. LOL

 

@Buccaneer Yeah. I don't know if I trust a random shop with only part of the work because like you say, they could mess something up and blame me. Thanks for the pm. Definitely some nice stuff there.

 

Yep, it could easily go that route for you if not careful IMO.
Thank you and more will be added as time goes on. Adding more on Monday sometime, check back there later Monday.

 

@Buccaneer okay. Will do. Thanks again for the help.

 

Hi James
i recently installed a renegade and I am very happy with the result. I didn’t have any major machining issues but I had to do some minor adjustments. You can read all about it here https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...e-journey.html
This kind of mechanical work is straight forward provided you take your time.
A lot of good advice has been provided already but I thought of a couple more things.
Use good gaskets. I used Fel-Pro 1206 gaskets and they worked very well.
The manifold has a torque down sequence it’s in the FSM. Also I purchased new high tensile bolts but you have to be careful of the length. Some of the middle ones can bend the push rods if they are too long. This is important!
With the distributor remember that the gear on the end of the shaft is helical so the rotor will turn when you remove the distributor. Good idea to mark the distributor housing with where the rotor was pointing before and after removal. Also I find that I never seem to be able to line up the oil pump drive. I don’t know why but it always seems to move a bit when I extract the distributor. The are many ways to fix this. You can use a long screwdriver or an oil pump priming tool to turn the pump slightly. There is also a very good YouTube on how to aline the oil pump by simply turning and the rotor and allowing it to rise and relocate. To many words required to explain it but the video makes it clear. I use this method every time.
And one last thing. Test fit the manifold before you put goop on the China walls. That way you can identify any clearance issues before you make a mess. I used Permatex black for this job because I was worried that if I used “the right stuff” and I needed to remove the manifold I could be in trouble.
Oh and one other thing while everything is apart there is better access so it’s a good time to replace things like the oil pressure switch for example.

 

@GregMartin I actually read that thread a few days ago. It has a lot of useful information and the ownership of your car has definitely been a journey. Thanks for all the tips you provide, especially the one about the bolts hitting the push rods. That seems relatively important. Do you know what length of bolts you ended up using?

Thanks,
James

 

If you do just use "The Right Stuff " on the china rails you will be fine if you have to remove the manifold down the road for any reason. With that said, DO NOT use it on the manifold gaskets or top plate or you WILL have issues getting them off again. That sealant works amazingly well that's why its great for the china rails to seal them. Do forget whatever you decide to use to put the sealant over the manifold gasket tabs on the ends so that it gets a good seal. All good info though.

 

@Buccaneer I notice as I"m looking to buy new seals that I can get the fel pro ones but cannot find the one for the top plate by itself. I do not want to buy extra gaskets, or is that why you told me to use blue Permatex on the top plate?

 

I can’t remember but my intake had some long bolts and some short. I don’t know whether that original or not. But I we t to the bolt supplier and bought the same.

 

@GregMartin okay. Thank you. That was kind of a stupid question. I should obviously just look at the old ones.