Question for those that have done a lower intake gasket

mehedgec · November 19, 2010

I've got the whole thing torn down and am going to clean up the surfaces for the gaskets tomorrow.

The Felpro gasket set I have is a new design, and is a 2 piece lower gasket set instead of the big one that came off of it. Is the RTV sufficient to seal the gap between the 2 front water passages as well as the gap between the 2 rears? Because of the 2 separate gaskets there will be a gap as thick as the gaskets themselves along the front and rear of the manifold.

ragajungle · November 19, 2010

When I did it on my 2.9L a few weeks ago it was a one piece.... Wow I am surprised they went to a 2 piece. hmmm. I would check with another parts house just to compare PN's to be on the safe side. If all checks out then just make sure when you get ready to reinstall that you clean the hell out of your mating surfaces. RTV black should be sufficient.
>Clean with brake cleaner
>clean it again
>clean it again again
>Follow torque specs and tightening sequence to the T
>If you removed Fuel Injectors make sure to clean ports, injectors and lube up both ports and injectors before reinstallation as to not damage o-rings (Like I did by not lubing them [uhhhhg])

mehedgec · November 19, 2010

ragajungle said:
When I did it on my 2.9L a few weeks ago it was a one piece.... Wow I am surprised they went to a 2 piece. hmmm. I would check with another parts house just to compare PN's to be on the safe side. If all checks out then just make sure when you get ready to reinstall that you clean the hell out of your mating surfaces. RTV black should be sufficient.
>Clean with brake cleaner
>clean it again
>clean it again again
>Follow torque specs and tightening sequence to the T
>If you removed Fuel Injectors make sure to clean ports, injectors and lube up both ports and injectors before reinstallation as to not damage o-rings (Like I did by not lubing them [uhhhhg])

I left the fuel rail attached to the lower intake, so I'm good there.

From what I can tell from some research, its a design from the later 4.0 OHV engines. I've seen a few posts on other boards as well as this one where this gasket set is mentioned, but no one had the concerns that I have.

I feel like it will be fine, because that area is not under pressure, but it will come in contact with oil, and am wondering if the RTV is going to work with that.

ragajungle · November 19, 2010

clean surfaces with acetone or brake cleaner and you should be fine.

mehedgec · November 19, 2010

ragajungle said:
clean surfaces with acetone or brake cleaner and you should be fine.

I'll have to pick up another can of that. I used a whole can of brake cleaner AND carb cleaner on the lower intake. That thing was DIRTY.

ragajungle · November 19, 2010

I have a 5 gal pail with gasoline and an old paint brush I use as my redneck parts cleaner -

huntman58 · November 20, 2010

If you’re worried about not having enough RTV you can pick up a tube of the stuff almost any were. Just make sure it says on the label that it is sensor safe as if its not the gas off from it will take out your sensors big time. Most like the high temp copper or the Black. either one will seal it okay after all it can be used by it's self for valve covers and timing covers plus a lot more so using it to fill that gap should not be a problem.

RangerX · November 20, 2010

Here's a real good thread on the subject, don't know if you've seen it or not: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/232373-coolant-loss-4-0l-ohv-lower-intake-gasket.html
They talk about the two piece gasket on page 4.
Halfway down page one is a link to the OP's complete writeup on the whole job. It's what I used to help when we did my lower gasket.

mehedgec · November 20, 2010

RangerX said:
Here's a real good thread on the subject, don't know if you've seen it or not: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/232373-coolant-loss-4-0l-ohv-lower-intake-gasket.html
They talk about the two piece gasket on page 4.
Halfway down page one is a link to the OP's complete writeup on the whole job. It's what I used to help when we did my lower gasket.

Thanks for the link, reading now. It looks like this is guy that wrote the guide I'm using.

Rich52490 · November 20, 2010

Replaced one about a month ago, the RTV held up great with no leaks at all. Just make sure to allow it to dry first (1hr) and then cure (24hrs)

mehedgec · November 20, 2010

Update!

Lower intake and valve covers are back on. I got the lower gasket on and realized I was going to need more RTV than the gasket set gave me and made it to the store and back in 20 minutes.

Tomorrow I'll finish up cleaning the throttle body and putting that back on as well as reassembling the other bits of the cooling system that I took off. Crossing my fingers that this works.

Thanks to all that have given me advice on this repair.

PS: I don't think my fingernails have ever been this dirty.

mehedgec · November 21, 2010

The 'sploder is back to live. Cranked up first time thank god. I was worried I would forget to plug something up.

As I was cleaning up I noticed an extra upper intake gasket in the package. I was like "ohhhhhh no this is not good" Then I realized I had left the fuel rail on the lower intake and that it was supposed to go there. Phew...had me nervous there.

No signs of leaks yet except for a small spot of oil that I'm sure was always dripping.

Spartan · November 21, 2010

I Always use the "Right Stuff" gasket/silicone. That stuff sets up pretty quick, and its a plus to be able to drive the thing right away after re-assembly. It only took me a slow afternoon to replace the lower, upper and valve cover gaskets.

I'm glad that you got it back together! I was pouring nearly an entire quart out of the rear/lower join in 50 miles. Now i only have a leak at the front of the oil pan, and that more like a quart every 3-5K miles

mehedgec · November 21, 2010

Spartan said:
I Always use the "Right Stuff" gasket/silicone. That stuff sets up pretty quick, and its a plus to be able to drive the thing right away after re-assembly. It only took me a slow afternoon to replace the lower, upper and valve cover gaskets.

I'm glad that you got it back together! I was pouring nearly an entire quart out of the rear/lower join in 50 miles. Now i only have a leak at the front of the oil pan, and that more like a quart every 3-5K miles

Mine was the front driver side water passage that was leaking. When I took it apart, the manifold bolts took literally no effort to turn

I drove it up the road and back a few times, then left it sitting in the driveway for an hour or so. Came back to look for leaks and its bone dry underneath aside from the tiny spot of oil that is pretty much normal.

mehedgec · December 3, 2010

Update: After I finished the weather finally started getting very cold at night, and I got a cold leak from the lower radiator hose. This made it tough to tell if my gasket replacement was the solution. I replaced that the other day, and boom, no more leaks at all.

Seems that all of this was triggered by that chemical flush I did a year or so ago. I would fix one leak, and another would pop up.

scsamoyan · December 7, 2010

huntman58 said:
If you’re worried about not having enough RTV you can pick up a tube of the stuff almost any were. Just make sure it says on the label that it is sensor safe as if its not the gas off from it will take out your sensors big time. Most like the high temp copper or the Black. either one will seal it okay after all it can be used by it's self for valve covers and timing covers plus a lot more so using it to fill that gap should not be a problem.

i used the red permatex high temp. rtv silicone gasket maker,dosnt say anything about senor safe,its what the guy at the counter told me to use.i hope it works.

Question for those that have done a lower intake gasket

mehedgec

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