Engine and Transmission Tech

Sorry Rob,
I should have mentioned that a little dab of silicone at the interface of the intake gasket and the valley seals is proper procedure.
I guess I was too busy frothing at the mouth to notice.
Also please note that all RTV silicone's are not the same.
They have grown from a one size fits all into very specialized applications.
Make sure that you are using the correct product.
Cheers
Fred

I like the "new and improved Kryptonite Fortified". This stuff would break Superman's ba$#@^'S ! Previous owner of my "Huff" car used enough on intake manifold to create "stallagmites" in the inlet ports. This was beneficial in helping the car get , off the turns, by not slipping the rear tires soo easy. More is always better. Cheers, roverman.

Thanks again guys. New gaskets are on the way; haven't come in yet. Did re-torque the intake bolts in the meantime, they were all loose. Also swapped out my header bolts for locking ones - guess I should say started to. Right side had burned through the front most portion of #1 sealing surface (remember header bolts had worked loose) so will pick up new exhaust gaskets tomorrow & retest once back together.

My experience with header bolts is that they require periodic tightening for a few weeks until the gasket 'settles in' - after that, bolts retain their torque.

If you run EFI with oxygen sensors or have a A/F ratio meter, be very careful about using silicone around the induction system as it could ruin your expensive sensors; food for though........

Pulled the intake; no sign of a gasket problem. Ran out of time between church & the Superbowl and flying out in the morning so won't get to reassemble till Friday. Had planned to do it Saturday afternoon, but of 14 people who signed up to help replace soffit and facia wood on a deserving lady's house, only two of us showed up. What was supposed to be a few hrs was an all day job & I was worn out by the time I got home!

Anyway, before I pulled the intake I re-torqued the intake and exhaust & ran the engine for a while. Runs the same but noticed 2 things this time...
1. Pops every now & then thru exhaust when turning btwn about 2k and about 3.5k (didn't rev it more than that).
2. Checked temps on header primaries and they weren't as consistent as I remembered from before. No's 5 & 6 down in the 150 - 180 range. 7 up around 300 and #8 a bit over 400. #1 was also down around 170. Don't recall 2-4 but pattern was same in that forward cylinders were cooler than rear ones. I'm wondering if the ceramic coating might not be even thickness?

Rob, Another idea. Valve adjustment (rocker arms actually). If adjusted too tight and valve barely seating could cause a miss. I adjust mine in the normal manor initially but ,after breakin put the little clips on the rockers to prevent oil spraying everywhere,with the engine warmed up and running. Loosen until slight clatter,tighten slowly until no more clatter and tighten another 1/2 turn.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2012 02:38AM by mgb260.

Quote:

...Loosen until slight clatter,tighten slowly until no more clatter and tighten another 1/2 turn.

That method works great for a Chevy, but the std Ford 302 valvetrain is not adjustable. It relies on achieving a lifter preload range while the rocker nut is torqued to value (18-20 ft.lb). If the preload falls out of range either longer pushrods or pedestal shims are required.
It's unfortunate that Ford hasn't caught up to GM with their adjustable rocker assemblies - they sure make life easy!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2012 09:44AM by ex-tyke.

I am using an aluminum exhaust gasket. It stays soft and will reseal even if reused many times. It solved my exhaust leak problems.

Graham, I had assumed Rob had upgraded to adjustable rockers. I always do,same adjustment as with Chevy.

Replacing the intake gasket today & noticed something I hadn't when I first put it on... Don't think it has anything to do with the #5 fouling issue, but this center port is a water port, right? My old gasket had the cut-out for it so it never occurred to me to compare it to the intake. The new gaskets (Fel-Pro 1262S3) don't have a cut-out for it so I looked @ my intake and sure enough, there's no port there. What's the implication of having it on the heads but not on the intake?

That might be an exhaust crossover port.

Jim

Turns out it's an EGR port. Still not sure if I should cut the gasket there. May not matter but seems like it might seal better with the exhaust gasses hitting the edge of the gasket vs that whole area?

that is an exhaust crossover and the gasket you have is correct dont cut it

As usual, there are arguments both ways to retain or eliminate the exhaust crossover...keep in mind that this feature was designed to improve the driveability of carburetted engines operating in colder climates .
PRO: Cooler intake manifold allowing a denser intake charge and more power
Mitigates vapor lock in Summer

CON: Less fuel vaporization resulting in poorer distribution to cylinders
Increased air density changes A/F ratio, possibly requiring a jet/rod change

Since Rob is domociled in Houston, blocking the exhaust ports shouldn't create a problem (mine are blocked off, BTW)

The heads (X-303 Ford Racing heads) have one crossover only, I cked this very closely and used the blocking plate on my install also. The EFI is not effected since the EGR is behind the T/B. I agree with Graham, the X-over is for cold weather driveability only. The 1862s3 were the Spec gaskets listed in their cat.
SAFETY FASTER!

Graham, how does the crossover reduce intake temps? Seems like routing some of the exhaust gasses through the intake would transfer heat to the intake?

Kelly, what do you mean by "the blocking plate"? I've already re-installed my intake -- there's no blocking plate; just the head (with port on each head) to the intake gaskets (no cut-out on the gaskets) to the intake (no port)... so the exhaust cross-over ports on the heads (one on each head). are "open" to the back side of the intake gasket. Also, is 1862s3 the gasket set for the EFI intake? The ones I got for my carb intake were 1262s3.

Quote:

Graham, how does the crossover reduce intake temps? Seems like routing some of the exhaust gasses through the intake would transfer heat to the intake?

You've got it right Rob, eliminating the crossover feature keeps intake temps down.The PROS & CONS that I listed above are for crossover elimination.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2012 04:46PM by ex-tyke.

Rob, my 1st gasket set came with 2 SS block off plates that fit over the X-over port and block the gases. my intake had only one opening and I used the SS plate to block it. Originally the X-over was to warm the intake and carb to prevent icing in cool damp weather and promote better driveability. You are OK w/o it.

I blocked the cross-over ports in my manifold. Even in winter weather, with no choke, the car runs fine. The only differencve is full warm-up, in terms of acheiving perfect throttle response, takes slightly longer,