Intake manifold removal

[mgm1986]

Any tips on replacing the intake manifold gasket on a 1968 fury 318? Starting to pull things apart tomorrow and any tips from the experts about the process would be appreciated greatly!

I have the FSM and feel it is a fairly simple process but experience always makes things go smoother. I have never gone this far into an engine.

Thanks all!

 

[mr. fix it]

I, I'm sure you have pulled this apart already by now.

I find the hardest part is the resealing of the end gaskets.

1st I scrape the surfaces then I use brake cleans to remove any oil residue
I then use rubbing alcohol for the final wipe down

I use the Permatex Copper spray gasket on all gaskets as well as using another trick to keep those suckers in place when re-assembling.

I use a center(prick) punch to make a line of punch marks 1/4" apart across the end of the block and the underside of the intake.

This makes it more difficult for the end gaskets to slip in or out.

Works like a charm!

 

[mgm1986]

I got it apart fairly easily. I am afraid a piece of the old gasket may have fallen into the engine when removing the manifold. That's a big concern but I'm not going to worry about it. Worse case I start shopping for that 360 upgrade!

Thanks for the tips about the end gaskets and the brake cleaner, that was a concern I had as well, wasn't sure what I could use to clean up the mating surfaces.

Time to clean up the intake and get it back together!

 

[66SportFury]

Post up some pics after the install..!

 

[mgm1986]

Post up some pics after the install..!

I got the intake back on and torqued down to specs. Only time will tell if I sealed it well enough! Tomorrow I am hoping to get it back together and fire it up but the distributor being pulled might make that tricky without a timing light.

I will try to remember snap some more pics before I put anything else back together.

 

[mgm1986]

What shocked me was how the ports in the middle where completely clogged on both the intake manifold and the head. Before, after and a chunk of the carbon deposit that came out of the intake!

 

[mgm1986]

Here is a shot with the intake manifold removed. Any idea what the scoring on the lobes is from?

 

[1978 NYB]

The real test for leaks will be a couple of hard acceleration runs to see if the seal leaks oil on the rear of the manifold. If it does leak the oil will be running down the txsm and all over the exhaust under hard acceleration runs.

 

[mr. fix it]

Here is a shot with the intake manifold removed. Any idea what the scoring on the lobes is from?
View attachment 30449

Unfortunately that is from a lack of running the engine enough & enough oil changes...

All engines love being run for long periods of time.

A short run to the corner store will do this to an engine.

Raw gas builds carbon then washes into the cylinders then turns into carbon because the engine never gets hot enough to burn it off.

The carbon build up results in scoring of the internals

The recommended frequencies for oils is say about 3500 miles or 3 months on these older engines but I am sure not many here do that.

Change the oil out every 3 months regardless of the mileage and this should slow down further wear & tear.

I also use the Lucas oil treatment as well.

Be careful of any cleaners for oil as this could knock carbon loose and plug up the oil pick

 

[mr. fix it]

Here is a picture of my intake valley on my original 318.. nothing short of ugly!

 

[mr. fix it]

Now, here is a shot of my new to me 318.
Oil change interval between 500 miles to max of 2100 miles. avg 800 miles or 3 months.

sorry no shots of the intake area.. I thought I had some but missed that... it was like new..

These are of the bottom end

Other than cleaning the oil pan gasket off I touched nothing. Didn't even wipe it down...

 

[66SportFury]

I agree with Oil changes every 3 months on matter what the miles are. Also you want to run Racing oil in these motors with Zinc. Most racing oils have the Zinc in them. Just my opinion, I never use the Zinc additive either,..just me. I've always run Brad Penn green 20W 50. If you can get it, it's good oil. You have to remember you need Zinc in the oil. It's very important that the lifters/cam is coated with it due to pressure on the flat tappets."Film Strength" Don't run regular oil in these old motors,.no good. Don't run these oils in your cars or trucks equipt with catalytic converters,.It will be detrimental.

 

[mgm1986]

I agree with Oil changes every 3 months on matter what the miles are. Also you want to run Racing oil in these motors with Zinc. Most racing oils have the Zinc in them. Just my opinion, I never use the Zinc additive either,..just me. I've always run Brad Penn green 20W 50. If you can get it, it's good oil. You have to remember you need Zinc in the oil. It's very important that the lifters/cam is coated with it due to pressure on the flat tappets."Film Strength" Don't run regular oil in these old motors,.no good. Don't run these oils in your cars or trucks equipt with catalytic converters,.It will be detrimental.

Whoa whoa whoa! That is not good news for me as I changed the oil when I got the car in February and just again this morning as I reassembled the intake manifold...son of a biscuit! I did use a quart of Lucas with each change but just regular dino oil.

I will check with the local parts stores for oil with zinc, specifically the brand you mention. Before I do anything, I need to fill it up with coolant again, hoping this time I don't have a leak at the thermostat housing.

Thank you!

 

[mgm1986]

Now, here is a shot of my new to me 318.
Oil change interval between 500 miles to max of 2100 miles. avg 800 miles or 3 months.

sorry no shots of the intake area.. I thought I had some but missed that... it was like new..

These are of the bottom end

Other than cleaning the oil pan gasket off I touched nothing. Didn't even wipe it down...

Great info here, I suspected scoring was bad and now I know what causes it. Also, I do change the oil every 3 months I just didn't realize I needed zinc oil as mentioned above.

Hopefully by days end I will have it running and then try to get the timing set, also a first for me!

thanks again!!

 

[mgm1986]

Here is a picture of my intake valley on my original 318.. nothing short of ugly!

Probably a newbie question, what is ugly about that picture? It looks clean to me!

 

[mr. fix it]

That's an honest question.

It is sludged up.

Maybe not as bad as some engines but sludged up still the same..

If any of that is disturbed it could end up in the oil pick up reducing oil pressure & starvation.

Sludge in an engine will cause all sorts of issues including hot spots in the guts of the beast which shorten engine life..

the examplt I used was not as bad as some. here is another of my old engine in the rocker arms..

this stuff kills engines and you have to be careful how you remove it.

The engine cleaners can kill the engine as well if you are not prepared to remove th oil pan to clean the oil sump pick up after using them.

This of course is dependent on how much sludge has built up in the engine.

 

[mr. fix it]

Here is areally good webarticle on sludge and the dangers of it..

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2001/09/the-story-of-why-engine-oil-becomes-engine-sludge/

 

[mr. fix it]

One last note on oil.

I had a couple of Uncles that used nothing but Quaker State but I stayed away from it for old engines due to the high parifin content. (Cleaning agent..)
I had nothing but old cars at the time & in my experience, QS was famous for killing old engines that had not been properly looked after.

Once I got into the field, I found that using QS on an old engine again would cause us a world of grief if the engine had not been using QS regularly..

Some oils with high cleaning agents would make that fresh oil change look like it hadn't been changed at all after just a few miles because it started cleaning the engine.
It would turn the fresh oil black after just a few miles..

 

[mgm1986]

Well it's possible I knocked something loose when removing the intake manifold or cleaning those carbon blocked holes. It fires right up but I have a wicked tap now. I fear a piece of the old gasket crumbled into the valley when I removed the intake. Honestly don't know for sure but the tap is definitely new.

Any ideas on where to start?

Maybe just the timing is really out of whack? Would that cause a tap?

 

[mgm1986]

The tap has stopped however cylinder one doesn't appear to be firing. Looks like the troubleshooting has shifted to another area. Done for the day, need to research this issue and find out what's causing it.