Intake won't bolt on!

-
67cuda360

67cuda360

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
462
Reaction score
24
Location
St.John's NL, Canada
I'm just in the process of replacing a torker 340 with the RPM Air Gap. I removed the old intake, cleaned all the flanges and installed the correct type edelbrock intake gaskets. I put RTV around the end seal flanges and placed the intake on the engine.

The bolt holes seemed to not line up perfectly but I did manage to get all the bolts started. The problem I'm having is that it is really hard to screw the bolts in and I think I'm already over 25 ft pound without the bolt head even being down to the intake. What's going on here?

I forgot to run a tap through the bolt holes when the intake was off. Could this be the issue that there is bolt sealant in the threads that makes it really hard to turn the bolts? Or is something else going on?

If I take the intake off to clean the treads up, can I still use the edelbrock gasket or do I need to buy a new set?

Frustrating how sometimes the easiest jobs seem to give ya a headache LOL
 
Has the block ever been decked or were the heads milled? The old intake could have accounted for this small discrepancy while the new one won't. I'm not sure if you bought this motor built off of somebody, but it's worth looking into.
The bolt going in at a slight angle would cause it to wedge and not want to go all the way in.

-Mike
 
hmmmm, i can run mine all the way down with my fingers. is there locktight on the bolt ends ? maybe dirt and crap in the holes? i have reused my gaskets without a problem, i just used more rtv.
 
Has the heads and intake ever been milled? Sounds like that could be a possibility. If there has been great amount taken off the heads then the intake will also need to be milled. Just a thought
 
If the gasket isn't damaged it will be fine
 
If the bolt holes are not lined up, then the ports aren't lined up either! I've seen people take the easy way out and open up the bolt holes to make clearance for the bolts, but that just isn't right.

Eyeball the "intake hole/intake bolt holes in the head" alignment with the gasket, then without. If the alignment is good without the gasket, mill the intake sides of the manifold the thickness of the intake gaskets. If the alignment is only "1/2 way there" without the gasket, mill the manifold twice the thickness of the gasket.

This may not be completely accurate, but it's the easiest way to fix the issue correctly. The drawback is that the intake will only be good for that block/head combo. Usually the intake side of the head is milled for manifold alignment so other new intakes can be swapped with minimal or no more issues.
 
STOP!!!!!! check for dowels under the end seals...I cracked a iron intake not knowing the new block had dowels and the intake was not drilled for them, or vice versa. Many dont use the supplied end seal gaskets for this reason, just a bead of RTV there.
 
brand new air gap manifold. I'll take a picture of the boltholes and post it. The engine was already in the car when I bought it. Not sure if the heads have been milled to up the compression compression, it isn't off by a lot, just a little bit, but the bolts do seem to go in very hard.
 
Dowl pins still in the block and holding the intake up ?
 
Didn't use the end seals, just RTV like edelbrock requires. The dowels had already been removed. All the flanges are nice and flat, nothing obstructing it.
 
Does the intake lay flat with no gaskets at all? bolts should be UNDER holes with no gaskets. That would tell you if the heads were milled.
 
here is the picture.
I placed the intake on the engine before I put the gaskets on and it seemed to lay flat but I didn't pay a lot of attention to the bolt holes, I think they lined up pretty well...
 

Attachments

  • holes.jpg
    75.7 KB · Views: 568
make sure you can run the bolts down in the holes without an intake on it of course you just took them out so that shouldnt be the problem. you say you tried it with no gaskets?
 
Look a little low to me, ie, milled. you can correct by milling the intake or just using RTV instead of an intake gasket, or use a steel shim intake gasket, those are pretty thin. They are usually in gasket kits or I have some for a 318 if you want them, probably too small though.
 
Dont look to good from what I see.i would want to see the holes like a nice circle, bolt hole and intake hole hard to scribe,i also wonder how well the ports are lining up.
 
so do you guys think the heads have been milled? Could I compare the base of the old intake and the new one to see if there is a difference?
 
73AbodEE said:
make sure you can run the bolts down in the holes without an intake on it of course you just took them out so that shouldnt be the problem. you say you tried it with no gaskets?
Click to expand...

haven't tried bolting the intake down without the gaskets (I probably should have LOL). If I remove the intake can I re-use the gaskets? It has a little bit of RTV around the water ports and it has the gasgacinch (or Canadian equivalent) on the head flange and the head side of the intake gasket.
 
67cuda360 said:
haven't tried bolting the intake down without the gaskets (I probably should have LOL). If I remove the intake can I re-use the gaskets? It has a little bit of RTV around the water ports and it has the gasgacinch (or Canadian equivalent) on the head flange and the head side of the intake gasket.
Click to expand...
i would pull the end seals completely off. set it on there and see how the holes line up. as long as you dont damage the gaskets they can be re used(at least i have with no problems). it would seem to me that if it is going to work, the holes will come 98% into view without the end seals. you should be able to start them with your fingers and work them down a ways with little effort
 
You're gonna have to do some measuring, maybe the intake is tapered or the heads/block, but 'for sure' the intake or intake face of the heads needs to be milled probably .030 a side.
It is not uncommon to find after market aluminum intakes to have some taper in them.fwiw

my LD340 was that way.
 
So, I pulled the intake and cleaned all the surfaces. The gaskets tore so I'll have to get some new ones. Here is a picture of the intake on the engine without the gasket and it still seems a little off.

I measured the difference between the two intakes flange to flange and it seems the old one is 2/16 narrower than the RPM Air Gap so I assume the heads were milled to up compression. Guess I'll have to take it to a machine shop.

Intake was bought at summit racing and is brand new.
 

Attachments

  • hole.jpg
    68.6 KB · Views: 431
  • width.jpg
    84.7 KB · Views: 430
This is how the RPM intake is. They fit perfect with the RPM heads, but run high on the stock heads. The Weiand Stealth fits stock heads better, but you have to use 2 sets of gaskets to get a Stealth to fit with RPM heads. To get it right with stock heads, youll have to mill the intake about .040-.060" on each side. This is a common and ongoing issue with these intakes and Eddy does not care.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top