5.2 Magnum into a '72 Scamp-tips?

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So, after looking at the pulley alignment for 20 minutes this morning, I decided to pull my Powermaster alternator off it's pivot and try the stock reman 60A alternator...didn't really notice how much larger the Powermaster is compared to stock. But, everything fits now. So, I got it cranked up and looked for the usual leaks and what-have-you. I had good oil pressure, I only spied a couple little coolant leaks, so I figured, well, I'll take it around the block. I got it back in the driveway and took a look underneath only to detect coolant dripping from the back of the block on both sides. Just for grins, I pulled the dipstick and saw the dreaded milky oil.

Great...my intake gaskets are leaking. Big sigh....such is life I guess. I'm not messing with it anymore today though-I just got off work a while ago, and after finally getting it all squared away this morning only to see this ****, I believe I'll hit it again after I wake up this evening.
 
That suck's! Times like this I call pushing against the wind,lol..Seems like your making headway but then WAMMO!!!

Time to step back,rest,think about how to redo the intake the correct way..
 
needsaresto said:
That suck's! Times like this I call pushing against the wind,lol..Seems like your making headway but then WAMMO!!!

Time to step back,rest,think about how to redo the intake the correct way..
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll get it done-FWIW, the intake was installed correctly the first time...sometimes circumstances don't cooperate.


That blows! Hope it's just an intake gasket and nothing more serious.
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If it's anything other than the gaskets, it would be the intake itself...I'll look into that as well. Otherwise, the intake went on without any issues, but it wouldn't surprise me that either the gaskets aren't thick enough or the intake is at fault.
 
I don't know if anyone noticed in my other thread from pics of the engine, but it's one of the cheap intakes...(flamesuit on). I still stand by my statement the intake was installed correctly IAW with available standards and with new hardware; but hell, even if you install something broken/inadequate correctly, you'll still have a broken/inadequate system.

After doing a little bit of research, here and elsewhere, I believe I'll pony up for the Edelbrock Magnum AirGap. If I had to base this decision on anything, it would be past experiences-from which one would think I'd learn...my first encounter with leaking intakes came from a 350 in a friend's Camaro...same type of situation. He had a small coolant leak and because the heads were angle milled, we just thought the gaskets were at fault. But after about four times pulling the damn thing apart, he noticed a small inconsistency in the way it sat on the block dry. R2d the intake, problem solved. Every time thereafter this type of issue reared it's ugly head, the intake was either warped or cracked.

Hell of an expensive and time-consuming risk I elected to take using one of those Professional Products intakes. Same lesson-reassured. Man, Summit is makin' some money off me :D
 
Ok, so I tried to seal it a second time with Fel Pro stock gaskets for a '98 Dakota...same story-I poured in coolant up to the top of the radiator and left the oil drain plug out. After about two hours, I noticed it started dripping out of the pan again...nice clean coolant. :banghead:

Weird thing is, this time when I get the manifold off, I inspect all the water ports and everything looks fine, but it still had a trail of seepage out of the driver side corner where the intake, block, and head all meet...kinda the tri-mating area if you will. Then, I look closer inside the lifter valley...now, a tiny bit of background detail: when I cleaned out the engine the first time this crap happened, I made damn sure to wipe out every single bit of coolant from every surface for this exact reason-to find a culprit if it recurred. Sure enough, both sides where the heads meet the block, coolant seepage...all the way up and down those mating surfaces from the gasket area. If I didn't know any better, I'd think my head gaskets were leaking coolant on the inside...and I don't want to pull the heads, but if I gotta...

Is there a shelf life for head gaskets?? Thinking back, they sat in the package for probably a year or so out in the garage...any likelihood of these going "bad"?
 
Yay! It's running! I think there's still something wrong with either the heads or the head gaskets as it was drinking coolant while I did some iniital run in stuff. But, after I let it run with the rad cap off, it all but cleared up...so I decided hell with it and drove it around some. It's no longer burning coolant and the oil's clean-works for me!

Thanks to all those who offered assistance-it's greatly appreciated!
 
Remember - when you are running a Magnum style intake manifold (bolts go straight down into the head) the torque for the intake bolts are only 12ft-lbs. It is actually a sequence, tighten from middle-out to 72in-lbs (6ft-lbs), then back around to 144in-lbs (12ft-lbs). This is important because you are putting a very heavy "lifting" stress on the heads when you bolt an intake like this down. It's acting as a "wedge" being stuffed between the components. Most times you will get coolant seepage from over-torquing the intake, worst case you will ruin the head gaskets. Just a thought.
 
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