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Got the intake manifold removed I have a couple of questions

B

bobct

Advanced Contributor
"The H/E and all of the hoses

"The H/E and all of the hoses were already removed. Would you expect any coolant to be inside the intake manifold upon removal?

I didn't drain the block but didn't really think that would do anything since the intake is so high.

If it should be dry it wasn't. There was a lot of coolant (1/2 gallon?). I have my Pela pump handy and captured a lot of it but I'll have to do an oil change or two.

There was coolant on each side of the engine. Where the bolt was in the picture and directly across. I assume that's a coolant crossover on each side.

It was getting dark so I'm still not sure what "failed" and allowed coolant into the bolt holes.

Wouldn't it make sense to have RTV around the bolt holes as well? I'm looking in the manual now and it shows the gasket on each side and a bead of sealant across the engine.

Hopefully some daylight will show what went wrong so I don't do the same thing again. At first glance, the gaskets on each side looked ok.


Bob"
 
"Bob:

Didn't the servic

"Bob:

Didn't the service book suggest removing some of the coolant?

Anyhow, history is past. The coolant flows between the heads thru the fore- and aft-most holes. If the gasket seals, there is no need for the silcone around the bolt holes.

As Dave and Al have indicated, the silicone in lieu of the rubber end pieces is pretty common. You need to run the bead up well onto the gaskets - just read the manual a couple ties before you do it.

The failure could have been due to several issues; hopefully, the inspection in the morning will tell the rest of the story."
 
"Mark,

They did but I assum

"Mark,

They did but I assumed (mistake?) that any coolant at the high point would have drained down. I wasn't expecting any especially since I already had the h/e and hoses removed.

Should I have drained the block first?

ok, I'll check it out this morning. In reading the manual last night, the torque value jumped out at me.

The intake bolts were pretty loose, no where near the 30 lbs specified. I'm wondering if I could have gotten away with re-torquing the bolts first. No way to know that in advance I guess.

I also noticed that the exhaust manifolds were really loose too. Check those bolts!

Bob"
 
"maybe you could have.....but

"maybe you could have.....but now it won't be an issue because you are gonna do it right this time!

You will find it beneficial to re-torque all three manifolds after the engine has been thoroughly warmed up and allowed to cool off.

As far as draining goes, you don't have to take all the coolant out but should have drained some. How much would be determined by the angle of the installation. Even with the block drained, there will always be some residual coolant in the intake. As soon as you move it, it will react to gravity."
 
"Yeah, that darn gravity will

"Yeah, that darn gravity will get you every time. It sure is taking it's toll on me."
 
"Gravity REALLY takes hold whe

"Gravity REALLY takes hold when you try to lift all that old iron over the side. Bob, your bringing back some wicked memories. I drained the coolant from the block but still had a hidden quart in the intakes that drained into the lifter valley when removed. It took 4 oil changes to make me comfortable that it was gone and frankly...I am only confident that it is all out now almost 6 months later. I was advised that the elements in the antifreeze when heated turns into a thickened clotting substance and it was possibly clogging my oil filter as the oil temps went over 220.

Once I changed the filter, the pressure in the engine would return to 40 psi. As I had to install new pushrods, I also put in new lifters. Assembly was really straight forward with no surprises using the engine repair manual for my year, 1992.

Mark's suggestion to re-torque is a good one as things expand and contract we had some big changes in bolt torque readings more so on the intake manifold than anywhere else"
 
"Al, did you actually see cool

"Al, did you actually see coolant in the oil after that happened? I don't but I'm sure some got down there.

I wound up draining at least 2 qts (as it was leaking) with my pump.

I won't mess around, I was going to change it cold before I run it and then maybe again after I get it hot. Maybe do an early change in the spring on this motor too.

I think I might pull the rear plugs too and turn it over just in case more got in there than I was thinking."
 
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