Opinions Needed: Intake Manifold Gasket Installation

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WSUTARD

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I am about to do my first ever intake gasket replacement. I am looking for some opinions and tips from the experienced out there. Looking to make this install last as long as possible.

I have an Edelbrock Performer Intake and have Fel-Pro 1213 gaskets on the way to me now.

Based on my research here is what I was going to do.
  1. Mark distributor location reletive to the engine bay (added)
  2. Mark cap location reletive to the distributor (added)
  3. plug up all the holes with paper towel
  4. remove old gasket
  5. remove the locating pins front and rear (added)
  6. clean all surfaces with something like acetone
  7. use shop vac to remove paper towels and dirt (added)
  8. test fit the gaskets to the block and intake, trim as needed
  9. throw away the front and back rail gaskets
  10. RTV around the water jacket ports on the gasket, both sides
  11. RTV in the corners where the block and heads meet
  12. Place the gaskets
  13. Put a thick bead of RTV on front and rear rails
  14. Place the intake
  15. Tighten in proper order, 3 stages till max torque 20ftlb
Thoughts, comments? I will update with pics once I start.
 
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you will need to remove the locating pins on front and rear rails.
 
the four bolts under the plenum are tough to get at and impossible to use a torque wrench on - experiment on something else to get a feel for what the correct torque feels like - what are you using for hardware? The mounting flange on that intake is thick - make sure (before you install gaskets) that all the hardware fits where you expect to use it. I had to cut down two bolts to fit under the plenum and I had initially purchased an installation kit and NONE of them fit - I ended up at the local hardware store buying all new.
 
All the above. Don't forget to remove the paper towels, or you will have a bad day. All mating surfaces need to be spotless. If there's some corrosion around the water jackets, rtv will fill any pits. Cheap carb cleaner and a razor blade are good to have. Mark where the distributor is in relation to the engine. Mark rotor location in relation to the distributor body before you remove them.i like a thin amount of rtv around the intake ports. Drain coolant first. Wouldn't hurt to change the oil after you get it running, in case any junk got in the engine.
 
Torque spec on aluminum intakes is generally no more than around 20 LB FT. They are easy to over torque.
 
It not a Chevy.... The distributor may not have to be pulled....
 
ScampMike said:
the four bolts under the plenum are tough to get at and impossible to use a torque wrench on - experiment on something else to get a feel for what the correct torque feels like - what are you using for hardware? The mounting flange on that intake is thick - make sure (before you install gaskets) that all the hardware fits where you expect to use it. I had to cut down two bolts to fit under the plenum and I had initially purchased an installation kit and NONE of them fit - I ended up at the local hardware store buying all new.
Click to expand...
The intake is already on the motor right now. I'm assuming I can reuse all the hardware that is currently on there.
furyus2 said:
All the above. Don't forget to remove the paper towels, or you will have a bad day. All mating surfaces need to be spotless. If there's some corrosion around the water jackets, rtv will fill any pits. Cheap carb cleaner and a razor blade are good to have. Mark where the distributor is in relation to the engine. Mark rotor location in relation to the distributor body before you remove them.i like a thin amount of rtv around the intake ports. Drain coolant first. Wouldn't hurt to change the oil after you get it running, in case any junk got in the engine.
Click to expand...
Adding this to my list.
 
Is any ol RTV going to cut it? Or should I use a certain kind? Do I clean up the RTV after it squishes out the front rail?
 
mguner said:
Because the aftermarket intakes are not drilled for them. You should be able to pull them out with a pair of dikes and a screwdriver.
Click to expand...
Got it. I'm reusing the intake on there right now. So this should have already been done.

Has anyone used and can recommend this stuff? Gaskacinch
 
Don't forget to use some thread sealer on the intake bolts. They have a tendency to leak oil threw them.
 
the factory torque with an iron intake is 35, I do not see why thick aluminum should be way less, so I go 25. Gasgasinch is great for some places, but not on a 1213 intake gasket job, I use high temp hemi orange silicone. I do not wipe any extra silicone off. do not need to remove distrib. do use thread sealant on 8 central intake bolts
 
WSUTARD said:
The intake is already on the motor right now. I'm assuming I can reuse all the hardware that is currently on there.
Click to expand...
oh - so this the same intake back on - got ya, yea - you should be able to reuse what you have... some may be shorter than others so pay attention to what comes out of where. Buy a new hoses - it's worth it. oh - don't forget to get a t-stat gasket. Clean clean CLEAN. Carb cleaner is essentially a must have - I buy a case at a time! And a box of those paper wipes too - in fact - three of them left together and folded once at the middle of the 2nd one will fit quite nicely in the lifter valley..
 
ScampMike said:
oh - so this the same intake back on - got ya, yea - you should be able to reuse what you have... some may be shorter than others so pay attention to what comes out of where. Buy a new hoses - it's worth it. oh - don't forget to get a t-stat gasket. Clean clean CLEAN. Carb cleaner is essentially a must have - I buy a case at a time! And a box of those paper wipes too - in fact - three of them left together and folded once at the middle of the 2nd one will fit quite nicely in the lifter valley..
Click to expand...
Already picked up a new thermostat, 180, and a gasket! Will add hoses to my list, plus lots of carb cleaner.
 
I just installed aluminum intake on my 318 on the weekend. pretty much what you have listed. I used black RTV . a small tube came in fel-pro kit. I used the vacuum as I scrapped the gasket. wiped everything out with lint free cloth. I Had to remove one valve cover. after market covers I have protrude over the flange of intake and would not allow me to left intake up. also I removed the dissy cap with all wires still connected to cap and plugs, just hung it from the hood with a bungee cord. then all you need to do is mark rotor to dissy body. so when you reinstall dissy just turn rotor to the mark on body. slip it into the slot and install cap. . if you don't remove the dissy you will have a hard time with the two back bolts on drivers side that hold your throttle linkage. plus you want to tie that up out of the way also. if you a have a set of crow foot wrenches you can torque the middle bolts with that.
 
I figured out that my swivel joint will fit in there with a socket. But I need some crows feet anyway.
 
I have installed intake manifolds a few times, but I always go back to my" How to rebuild small block mopar"rebuild book to make sure I don't forget anything
 
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