I am getting ready to replace my intake manifold gasket on my 1989 vert because of a small oil leak that appears on both the front and back side. Other than that the engine runs great and only has 33k miles on it. The engine is all factory original and never been apart. I am a rookie and have never done anything this involved before. I am going to use the Fel-Pro gasket kit (MS93318). Also using the black 90 min Right Stuff on the China walls. I have been reading all the forum threads and watching videos but still have a couple of questions.

1) Since I am using the new injector rings in the kit, what type of oil is used to lubricate them first?

2) I am using the RTV from the kit around the openings on the head before placing the gasket on the head, do I also use the RTV on the gasket on the intake side?

3) I am also replacing the thermostat, if I go with the 165 degree instead of the factory one (189 degree ??), does the ECM need to be reprogramed?

4) The kit comes with a thermostat gasket, but do I also use the RTV on that gasket? And if so, which side, the bottom side against the intake or the top side against the pipe?

5) Since I am only removing the intake manifold do I need to rotate the crank to cylinder #1 "top dead center" or can I just mark the distributor base position and rotor position at start time and after it moves slightly when it is taken out?

Thanks so much for your help.

Mark

 

1) Motor oil works well, you just want to lube the O-ring up so it slides rather than grabs.
2) I prefer to use copper spray gasket on the gaskets like that, it tacks up and holds the gasket in place. A thin layer of RTV never hurt anyone, but keep it thin, you can go a little thicker around the coolant ports for the peace of mind.
3) It will only affect the temps while the car is moving, if the car sits around a lot in traffic, the temps will still climb, a little slower compared to before, but the fans won't kick in until the programmed temps.
4) I do text up, copper spray gasket or a thin layer of RTV spread out with your finger will do, you don't really need RTV with paper gaskets though.
5) Rotate the engine to TDC and make a mark, it'll save you from all the frustration of having to do it several times after you can't get it lined up.

A couple notes, if your kit comes with the silicone China wall gaskets, toss them, they're absolutely worthless. A heavy bead of Right Stuff or Ultra Black is all you need.
When it comes time to remove the intake base bolts, grab a trusty torch and gently heat the area around the bolts, and then give them a hefty love tap with a hammer, those bolts like to strip which is nothing short of a nightmare. The Mr.Gasket SBC intake bolt kit will fit and works if that does become a problem. Do the same for the water neck/thermostat housing bolts, heat, stick the torx bit in, give it a walk and loosen.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

One more thing to add; 6) don't forget to use either RTV or Permatex Thread Sealer on the intake manifold bolts. If you neglect to put sealer on the bolt threads, you will have oil and coolant leaks up through the bolt threads themselves.

I like to chase the head threads with a tap first (3/8" x 16 tpi unless I remember wrong) and make sure that you don't leave any metal or sealer debris in the valley near the lifters. Dirt / sealer / gunk tend to collect near the lifters themselves and you don't want that to get into the engine internals somehow.

Those pipe fittings near the back of the intake that hook up to the heater hose (5/16" steel lines with fittings) are no longer available as OEM spares, so be careful with them and clean/reuse as needed.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info, it really helps. I am going to use the Right Stuff on both the china walls, it is on order along with the gaskets. I do not have a torch to expand the metal around the bolts, but I will give them a good tap to try to loosen any gunk that may have formed around the threads. Hopefully that will prevent me from stripping the screw heads. I will keep you updated on the process when I start it in April. I still have two more car show left this spring.

Would anti-seize work on the manifold bolts instead of RTV? Wouldn't RTV harden the bolts and make them harder to remove in the future? Good suggestion on using a tap chaser on the head holes and thanks for mentioning the size. I also plan to use a 3/8" die to clean the bolts.

 

I also put a little RTV between the intake manifold gasket and the head. After that, I left to dry overnight.

 

Although that would seem to make sense, I think with repeated heat cycles the anti-seize would not seal well enough. FSM says to use RTV, but I understand about your concern re: hardening sealer around the threads. It means once you're torqued down after the first RTV application you can't really re-torque without disturbing that seal. For this reason, I tend to use Permatex Thread Sealer since it stays soft and flexible even through a future re-torque if needed.

I can tell you that when I took my manifold off last month to replace the gaskets and re-seal from work that the dealership did under warranty (my car had a manifold coolant leak at 10k miles in first year) the bolts had RTV on them, as did the OEM intake manifold gaskets. I just did this recently and switched to the Fel Pro blue gasket kit using GaskaCinch on the water jackets only. Fel Pro directs that these gaskets be installed dry; I was not totally comfortable with that and used the GaskaCinch on the water ports to be safe. Hylomar Blue will be what I use next time as it's more soft / easier on the gasket.

 

Thanks ajp01 about anti-seize not working. My Haynes Repair Manual mentions using Permatex 2 Non-hardening sealant so I will try that. It is strange that Fel-Pro says not to use anything on the gaskets. How would you hold them in position when setting the intake in place as the gaskets like to slide down? I'll look into that Hylomar Blue you suggested.

 

Various tricks can hold the intake gaskets in place while you set the intake manifold into position. I bought some hardware store Allen-head set screws which are 3/8" x 16tpi thread (about 1" length) and use those sort of like studs (or alignment pegs) on the 4 corners of the heads front and back; that way the intake manifold slides into position over the gaskets and studs, and you can remove the studs afterward to put in the bolts. The GaskaCinch also works nicely to hold things in place - make sure to follow the instructions and let it dry first before sticking the gaskets into their positions.

 

That is really a good idea using set screws as guide pegs. It addresses multiple issues.

It will keep the gasket in place.
It will help align the intake when putting it back on.
And it will help keep the "Right Stuff" bead on the China walls from getting all over the place because you do not have to slide the intake around when making those final slight positioning adjustments.

Thanks ajp01.

 

Yes, that's exactly right, it will do all those things. Just remember that the allen set screws can't be sticking up too far from the head mounting face (maybe 1/2" max) since they are at different angles and the manifold won't go down over the pegs if they stick up too far. Try a test fit first to make sure that you can get the manifold down on the pegs safely and then back up off the motor, then you're free to do your RTV and gasket set into place.

If you get set screws that are long enough (1" should do it), when you loosen them up from the head the end will be high enough that you can just grab them with your fingers and pull them all the way out. Just be careful not to drop them into the valley or the intake port by accident. If that does happen it's not a tragedy, you can get them out using a trick I figured out once.