Lower intake torque sequence

[stx4.0]

Ok this is an ongoing issue i've had.Does anyone know for sure the proper sequence for the lower intake manifold on the 4.0?All the books show you go outside-in which goes against everything when torqueing something down.I asked the guys at ford service about it and they said the books are wrong and said you always go inside out.So i asked another guy Ive known for years and has alot of experience with ranger and explorers (as do I) and he laughed at me and said "whats the books say,well thats how you do it then"..There seems to be no clear cut answer here other than to follow conventional wisdom and do it the way its always been done but it would be great to know if ford did it the way the books show because if thats the case then there is a reason for it.So far I have went inside out when doing this but I have yet to see any retractions from any of the books regarding the sequence being printed wrong and I am getting ready to do it again so of course would like to do it the way its supposed to be done.Does anyone have the "right" answer here??

 

[natenkiki2004]

Check this, page 7:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/vehicles/1991 Explorer/40LIntakeGasketReplacement.pdf

It describes doing it on opposite ends. Passenger rear, driver's front, etc. Much like lug nuts. The guy that wrote that article took information from a lot of sources, including the dealership, and actually did the repair himself. I haven't gone as deep as the LIM but everything else in there was spot-on as far as I'm concerned.

 

[stx4.0]

And that is why I always questioned the manuals as being wrong..when everything else is spot on how can that sequence be wrong but then you have all these people saying thats a no no,do it from middle out and that is what is common sense to me so I dont know.None of the ones I have done have ever went bad but as I said before I feel there is a reason they do it that way if that is correct and you feel like your taking a chance at something not sealing right if in fact your not torqueing them down correctly.

 

[jd4242]

Technically the lower should be tightened in sequence with the heads..felpro use to give you a tq spec and sequence sheet with the gaskets but believe they stopped now..I have one somewhere. ...they also changed valve covers and lower intake gaskets. ..I just wished they gave you the super duty head gaskets in their kits..

Ps I always suggest checking as many of the lower bolts tq after some miles or heat cycles, they have a tendency to loosen up after everything settles

 

[stx4.0]

Right but when the heads are not coming off as in my case you just do the intake.I always do the same on checking them after a few heat cycles.They have always seemed to hold there torque but Ive always heard that was an issue with them especially on 93/94 model years.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I don't know how much it might help but I'm going to put blue loctite on my LIM bolts when I install new gaskets.

There's probably several right ways to do it but many more wrong ways. As long as you have a tried-and-true method from a consensus of people that seems right to you, go for it.

 

[jd4242]

I don't know how much it might help but I'm going to put blue loctite on my LIM bolts when I install new gaskets.

There's probably several right ways to do it but many more wrong ways. As long as you have a tried-and-true method from a consensus of people that seems right to you, go for it.

I wouldnt..those bolts are long and prone to break, might get away with it on the outer nuts..

 

[malohnes]

I wouldnt..those bolts are long and prone to break, might get away with it on the outer nuts..

I second JD's advice. This happened to me...it was a ***** to get the broken bolts out.

 

[natenkiki2004]

I figured they would be short due to the backing out. What about replacing them with stronger bolts, grade 8? I wouldn't use the super strong loctite, just the weaker blue stuff.