[galaxiegray]

Hi everyone

It has been forever since I posted-- I was caught up in a mustang restoration and home buying. Damn responsibility. Anyway, I am back to working on the old 63 390 gal. She is leaking a ton of oil, took her to the shop and they said that the intake manifold gasket is blown.

So my questions are: How much time and effort will it take to replace the intake manifold gaskets? Also, how much money for me to do it versus a shop?

I am pretty confident that I have the skills to do it, just wondering if it is worth the time to do it myself.

Thanks for your help, and I am stoked to be back to the galaxie pages!

Geoff

 

[billbailey]

I would first make sure of where the leak is really coming from myself, then I would get to know your car up close and persona. Do it yourself if you have the time and tools and shop manual for that car, ask a buddy who also has experience to coach you a bit if you need a nudge. You will save money and the self satisfaction you gain will enrich your life now and forever. Enjoy!
Bill Bailey

 

[jakengle]

I've done it and it's not a fun job, mostly because the factory FE iron intake is about 75 lbs and you have no leverage to lift when you're leaning over the fender. You really need to have a cherry picker or at least a friend to help lift and replace it. It's really difficult to lower it back onto the engine gently with just one person.

I also recommend that you use the Victor-Reinz gaskets from NAPA instead of Fel-Pro Print-O-Seals. The printoseals are damage prone if you bring the manifold down a little too hard or tighten it too much.

You'll want to use gasket maker to glue the end seals on the block and let them set up, so that they don't squish out of the gap when you tighten the manifold.

When installing the manifold, start all of the bolts, then install the distributor. THEN tighten the intake bolts. This way you ensure that the manifold is aligned correctly. If you skip this you may find you can't get the distributor back in with the manifold already tight.

If you have a factory service manual it will outline this in detail, but I have hit on the main issues. You could also try to download instructions for installing FE intakes from the edelbrock website.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jakengle on 3/9/06 7:57pm ]</font>