plenum/upper intake help... please.

[Xplorer82]

plenum/upper intake help... please... New question Post #15

i feel dumb, but......... i am in the middle of taking off the upper intake on my 97 SOHC 4.0L and i am stuck now. i can not get this thing disconnected from the plenum for the life of me. how do i get it disconnected?

TIA.

 

[Xplorer82]

omfg that was a ***** to get out.

it just takes some patience and elbow grease (no rubber mallet or anything here ) but eventually it will come off. took about 45 minutes all together (trying not to be too rough i was afraid of breaking something), no lie. hope it goes back on easier haha

but anyway sorry for the thread, i got it off.

 

[CDW6212R]

Don't touch that connection, leave it alone. Unbolt the three bolts to the right of that and take the short length of pipe with it.

I gather from a Ford tech that there is a seal under there, and it's not easy to deal with. Leaks are common if that joint comes apart, so leave it together.

 

[inh]

...too late man

 

[Xplorer82]

F_ck, really man? well this might put a damper on the situation.

is the seal accessibly(sp) (im not sure if i saw a seal or not) or able to change if it does leak?

 

[CDW6212R]

My Ford tech mentioned how they would replace the seal if a customer had a leak there. After I heard that I stopped thinking of trying to mess with that. The point is that it does not save time, it's far harder to deal with that seal. I had tugged on mine a good bit before stopping and waiting to talk to my friend, I was going to Ford anyway. I added a layer of Ultra Copper around my seal there, in case I had opened up anything.

Just pull the three bolts next to that and it's easy.

 

[Xplorer82]

My Ford tech mentioned how they would replace the seal if a customer had a leak there. After I heard that I stopped thinking of trying to mess with that. The point is that it does not save time, it's far harder to deal with that seal. I had tugged on mine a good bit before stopping and waiting to talk to my friend, I was going to Ford anyway. I added a layer of Ultra Copper around my seal there, in case I had opened up anything.

Just pull the three bolts next to that and it's easy.

well we'll see what happens tomorrow hopefully. i got the upper & lower intake back on but i dont have a torque wrench so till i get one i got my fingers crossed.

the EGR tube(?) went back on okay and i believe i felt the seal lock in, but who knows.


thanks for the advice (even though it was a little too late ) hopefully others will see this before they take theirs off.

 

[chance942]

You're not going to have any problems with that seal. It's just a green o ring.

 

[CDW6212R]

You're not going to have any problems with that seal. It's just a green o ring.

Yes, an o-ring which is how old and hard? Over time when you deal with o-rings which are crushed in service, they do not seal 100% of the time like a new o-ring. They can and do roll over, and not being round any longer that doesn't work well.

The best answer is to not mess with them, and if you do replace the seal. Or lastly you can do nothing and hope.

I hope no one has any trouble with that joint, including the member here. For anyone else, don't tell them not to worry about it, tell them to leave that connection alone.

 

[Xplorer82]

Yes, an o-ring which is how old and hard? Over time when you deal with o-rings which are crushed in service, they do not seal 100% of the time like a new o-ring. They can and do roll over, and not being round any longer that doesn't work well.

The best answer is to not mess with them, and if you do replace the seal. Or lastly you can do nothing and hope.

I hope no one has any trouble with that joint, including the member here. For anyone else, don't tell them not to worry about it, tell them to leave that connection alone.

thanks man. hopefully i will not have any troubles. Today is the day to find out i just got all the vac lines, ect connected (slacker ), so wish me luck (haha)

 

[Xplorer82]

all seems to be well. dont think there is any leaks but i am going to check for sure later on, but as far as i can tell by driving and sitting at idle it all seems fine. idle is steady, no jumping RPM or wanting to die..

just figured i would update.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good, the intake gaskets will last a long time from now, keep it going.

 

[chance942]

Yes Don is right. It isn't a conventional "o ring" however,it's more of a seal,flat. It won't "rollover" or crush. I've never had trouble with it. Just disconnect it from the EGR. Again though Don's idea is better.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes Chance it's not round, I said that so people would visualize the rubber part. I haven't seen one, but hearing the story of them not always sealing when new makes the idea of avoiding them good. I didn't have to take mine apart, so I left it in place. Regards,

 

[Xplorer82]

ok, one final question. bare w/me.

when i took the lower intake off i forgot to label it/mark it "front of engine/back of engine"... when i was putting it back in after i cleaned it and installed the new gaskets i found that it(lower intake) lines up both ways.

Does it matter which way it goes on? that might sound like a really dumb question i guess, but i was a dummy for forgetting to label it so the question needs to be asked.

 

[CDW6212R]

There should be some kind of difference, the sensors up the middle there might make a difference. It is common for base intakes to be symmetrical on Fords.

 

[chance942]

ok, one final question. bare w/me.

when i took the lower intake off i forgot to label it/mark it "front of engine/back of engine"... when i was putting it back in after i cleaned it and installed the new gaskets i found that it(lower intake) lines up both ways.

Does it matter which way it goes on? that might sound like a really dumb question i guess, but i was a dummy for forgetting to label it so the question needs to be asked.

Think really hard there are a few markings on both sides of that lower. Visualize when you were cleaning it,taking it off. Think real hard and I bet it'll hit you. As long as the top lines up though don't guess it matters.

 

[chance942]

There should be some kind of difference, the sensors up the middle there might make a difference. It is common for base intakes to be symmetrical on Fords.

What sensors are there in the middle there?

 

[gijoecam]

The vacuum lines and the afore-pictured EGR connector will be in the wrong spot if you try and install it backwards... And, of course, the inlet is facing the wrong side of the motor...

 

[chance942]

none of that has anything to do with the lower "runners". that all goes to the plenum.