Edelbrock RPM Airgap Bolt Hole

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1badfish67

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Not sure where to post this question, if this isn't the spot. My apologies up front.

I was wondering if anyone else has purchased one of the Edelbrock 7576 SB LA intake manifolds recently and found that the 3rd bolt hole from the front passengers side has either been recess ground with a Die grinder or recess milled?


I ordered one of these from Summit a few weeks ago and noticed the Die grinder looking recess job on the above mentioned bolt hole. Called Summit and they shipped me out another manifold on the spot and gave me a shipping paid RA number for the first manifold. Great service on their part there.

The plot thickens. The next intake came in in a few days from Summit. Yep you guessed it. Same exact bole hole was recessed ground down about 0.057" deep and 0.759" diameter using possibly a Die grinder. We were 2 for 2. I called Summit and spoke to a different person. This guy I think ran the warehouse down in Arlington Tx. He said he thought he had a few extras out on the shelf. I asked him if he wouldn't mind having someone check one for me to see if the same bolt hole was ground down prior to shipping to me. I got a call back in the next day or two and was told that I would have to wait to get a new replacement manifold straight from Edelbrock. The replacement manifold ship date from Edelbrock was pushed back twice but finally came in today, with that same 3rd bolt hole recessed. Now this time it was actually machined down with what I suspect may be a mill as the recess was at least smooth, flat and uniform on the bottom.

Edelbrock had asked me to ship one of the first manifolds to them, at my expense though and I had already paid for shipping once from Summit. So since Summits RA was postage paid I just sent it back to them thinking they would complain to Edelbrock about the Quality Control??? Spoke to Edelbrock Technical Support again earlier today and told them what was still happening and was told that I should have paid the shipping to them so they could see the manifold and the problem could have been addressed as they were unaware of any issues. Technically that wasn't true because I had been in contact with there main Warranty Manager on the first two intakes and actually sent him photos of the first two manifolds as shown in attached photo below, so they were aware of the issue. Also gave the manager the LOT Date numbers on the first two (07/23/22) and gave the tech today the number on this one. Not decided if going to keep it or just send it back and go with a Wiend Stealth. I know it's a cosmetic thing but shoot for almost $500.00 it should be right.

Edelbrock-7576.gif
 
Yeah that sucks. I would have contacted edelbrock right away. You would think they would be able to give you an answer from pictures.
 
I'm gonna guess.....that looks like a mark from a nut without a washer power torqued down. Perhaps somebody tightens that corner down in a jig of some sort on the line and runs a grinder along all the surfaces to remove slag. Maybe its a machine and it's all cnc controlled. Sucks for you though. Get a clean used one. I recently sold a.sb holley strip dominator and regret it but there are great intakes out there for less than 500 bucks. Good luck.Lets see if Edelbrock actually gets back to you.
 
Regardless if it was $500 or $50.00 that is a “crown jewel” part on your engine that everyone looks at. I wonder if something else is going on like poor quality control or even Summit is buying a “Mexican copy”
I could be wrong on that level but again good for you for bringing it up.
 
Never seen something like that. I’d be angling hard for Summit to offer you a “blemished” discount/refund of some sort. A lot of back and forth, money being spent on shipping etc. See what they say. I wouldn’t consider the Stealth an equal to the AG, and I’d angle for some money back, just dress it up, bolt it down and roll.
 
I'm gonna guess.....that looks like a mark from a nut without a washer power torqued down. Perhaps somebody tightens that corner down in a jig of some sort on the line and runs a grinder along all the surfaces to remove slag. Maybe its a machine and it's all cnc controlled. Sucks for you though. Get a clean used one. I recently sold a.sb holley strip dominator and regret it but there are great intakes out there for less than 500 bucks. Good luck.Lets see if Edelbrock actually gets back to you.

Yeah that sucks. I would have contacted edelbrock right away. You would think they would be able to give you an answer from pictures.
THis same picture is one that I sent to their Warranty Manager.
 
Regardless if it was $500 or $50.00 that is a “crown jewel” part on your engine that everyone looks at. I wonder if something else is going on like poor quality control or even Summit is buying a “Mexican copy”
I could be wrong on that level but again good for you for bringing it up.
Manifold I got today was supposed to have come straight from Edelbrock. Don't have a pic of it to post. Manifold still in wifes vehicle and she is out. Will post a pic of it when she gets home for comparison. One other thing the Edelbrock tech support guy told me today was "We don't sell very many mopar intake manifolds compared to chevy and fords".
 
Manifold I got today was supposed to have come straight from Edelbrock. Don't have a pic of it to post. Manifold still in wifes vehicle and she is out. Will post a pic of it when she gets home for comparison. One other thing the Edelbrock tech support guy told me today was "We don't sell very many mopar intake manifolds compared to chevy and fords".
That’s why the quality should be better, but probably is not.
 
Manifold I got today was supposed to have come straight from Edelbrock. Don't have a pic of it to post. Manifold still in wifes vehicle and she is out. Will post a pic of it when she gets home for comparison. One other thing the Edelbrock tech support guy told me today was "We don't sell very many mopar intake manifolds compared to chevy and fords".
I can believe that
 
I did not see that on mine... wonder if they are working them to make the bolts easier to install without cutting them down??

20220725_101407.jpg
 
I did not see that on mine... wonder if they are working them to make the bolts easier to install without cutting them down??

View attachment 1716017078
See what you mean. So the intake runners are too wide/thick in this area for the bolt hole location. I would have maybe opted to 1) Enlarge that hole a little but not so much that a washer wouldn't cover it 2) Recess all of the holes with same mill bit and depth so they all look the same or 3) Adjust the casting mold template to adjust the runner thickness here. Cheaper/faster to do what they did. Especially if you sell very few mopar LA manifolds.

May not be enough area left there for those washers to enlarge the hole enough to get the bolt down. I might would settle for option (2) if the mill recesses fit those washers you have there. Ahhh Symmetry. Looks like it may be tough to get a 12pt socket in there, is it?
 
See what you mean. So the intake runners are too wide/thick in this area for the bolt hole location. I would have maybe opted to 1) Enlarge that hole a little but not so much that a washer wouldn't cover it 2) Recess all of the holes with same mill bit and depth so they all look the same or 3) Adjust the casting mold template to adjust the runner thickness here. Cheaper/faster to do what they did. Especially if you sell very few mopar LA manifolds.

May not be enough area left there for those washers to enlarge the hole enough to get the bolt down. I might would settle for option (2) if the mill recesses fit those washers you have there. Ahhh Symmetry. Looks like it may be tough to get a 12pt socket in there, is it?
Option (1) might not be desireable anyway as may not leave enough surface area for the washer and good clamp load.
 
Anyone know if these manifolds are pure aluminum or some kind of alloy or compound mixture?
Mine does look like it might be troublesome for the bolt. Use away. If you need any other pics, let me know.
Thanks. Appreciate it.
 
Anyone know if Edelbrock uses pure aluminum or some kind of aluminum allow or compound mixture?
 
Send it back for a new one that’s right and do it until they get it right.
 
I did not see that on mine... wonder if they are working them to make the bolts easier to install without cutting them down??

View attachment 1716017078

Kind of seems like all of those holes would be “massaged” if that was the reason. Maybe not, just tossing it out there.

I bet they have some kind of a jig failure or some guy is being heavy handed when bolting it to a fixture.
 
Wow, if they know what that is all about they aren't telling.
 
If you watch the edelbrock tour thats on youtube you will see they hand finish the intakes with a die grinder. I have a couple air gaps and there is one bolt hole that a stock length bolt wont fit in because the runner is too close. Maybe this was done to address that.
My new RB six pack intakes has all kinds of dings inside the runners and in the plenum. I assume its from an air hammer used to knock out casting sand. Not a great thing to see inside your new intake.
 
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