How hard and time consuming is replacing intake manifold gaskets

[SlowGear]

Engine hoist was the only way I could get that heavy monster in. There was just enough clearance without removing the hood.

[Geminiroq]

what city are you in? I might be able to come down there...

I wont be able to until about late Dec though, if you can wait that long.

I am in Santa Monica...

[lycanthrope]

Wrenchathon?

about time for a visit anyway......

I am considering pulling the heads on my '76 for a refresh soon.

[rang-a-stang]

I can't commit to a specific day yet but I'd be willing to pack up and come down there sometime in late Dec.

Before starting, you will need:
1) new intake manifold gasket set
2) a gallon of coolant
3) I would get a 195 degree Tstat since we will be in there (I have a couple extra gaskets so don't worry about getting a Tstat gasket)
4) a Carb to intake gasket
5) I will bring some extra vacuum lines and fittings (I am SURE we will find some cracked hoses and we might brake a fitting)
6) It would be a good time to do your fuel filter (I have an extra brand new AC Delco one still in the box I'll sell you for what I paid for it, i think about $4)
7) LOTS of rags and a shop vac to clean whatever you need to clean while we are in there.
8) I put a super thin layer of black Permatex on my sealing surface last time and it worked well. I am not sure it is "needed" but it might be good to have.
9) probably be good to replace the PCV while we are in there too, so I would recommend ordering that
10) Last thing to buy would be a EGR Gasket if you have an EGR valve.
11) Shop manual page with all the torque specs. I have my shop manual in soft copy (79) and have a hard copy of the 82 Manual. What year is yours?

I'll bring all the tools I think we need.

Anyone else want to chime in?

Wrenchathon sounds good to me but doing 2 intakes will take most of a day. Getting the heads swapped might be a tall order for one day unless your are trailer'ing it...

[gpcl16]

I worked many years at a repair shop that worked on vintage vehicles. Do not, I repeat, do not use the rubber end seals. My old-timer boss warned me against it and I didn't listen. Every time I used one of those rubber end seals it has blown out causing a massive oil leak. Do yourself a favor and get a tube of "the right stuff" RTV sealant and run a fat bead in place of the rubber end seals front and rear. Make sure you set it straight down without any back and forth movement. Set the manifold on dry first just so you can see the gap and how thick the bead needs to be to seal.

The other comments are no joke. The AMC V8 intake is inexplicably the absolute heaviest intake manifold I've ever encountered. Did intake gaskets on a Ford 352, Chevy 454 and 350, small block Ford, Buick Nailhead 425, even a Ford 460. Somehow the AMC one is heaviest. I just about destroyed my back removing mine by myself. When I put it back in, I had two other people helping me. Later on I switched to an Edelbrock Aluminum intake. Wish I had just done that to begin with.

[J20 project]

This kind of shows one of the greatest challenges for folks who own these rigs. It has been 14 days since the original post. Has any work occurred on it yet?
Probably the single greatest lesson I learned about these rigs is that if you own one...you are going to have to wrench on it. You just will have to.
This means that at some point you have to just dive in and learn.

My sig used to be that "Someone is gonna have to crawl under the rig"...instead of discussing it.

Last thing, not sure why you are discussing gaskets...should be a one piece valley pan gasket, made of tin..large, etc.
As stated, forget about the front and rear rubber gaskets. Lay a large bead of RTV black(approx. 1/4in plus) down the middle of each spot, overlapping onto the ramped area. Only thing different is this, once the RTV is laid down...GO AWAY for about 30 plus minutes and let it set up well.......

There, I added info on how to and hopefully inspiration in terms of get it done already.



J20

[Tanker]

One other thing to remember is the metal gasket can be sharper then a dull knife. It will cut. Use a wooden blank to push the dimples in the hole. We have used a come-a-long to change one. I have even used a back hoe to change a intake.

[Geminiroq]

I can't commit to a specific day yet but I'd be willing to pack up and come down there sometime in late Dec.

Before starting, you will need:
1) new intake manifold gasket set
2) a gallon of coolant
3) I would get a 195 degree Tstat since we will be in there (I have a couple extra gaskets so don't worry about getting a Tstat gasket)
4) a Carb to intake gasket
5) I will bring some extra vacuum lines and fittings (I am SURE we will find some cracked hoses and we might brake a fitting)
6) It would be a good time to do your fuel filter (I have an extra brand new AC Delco one still in the box I'll sell you for what I paid for it, i think about $4)
7) LOTS of rags and a shop vac to clean whatever you need to clean while we are in there.
8) I put a super thin layer of black Permatex on my sealing surface last time and it worked well. I am not sure it is "needed" but it might be good to have.
9) probably be good to replace the PCV while we are in there too, so I would recommend ordering that
10) Last thing to buy would be a EGR Gasket if you have an EGR valve.
11) Shop manual page with all the torque specs. I have my shop manual in soft copy (79) and have a hard copy of the 82 Manual. What year is yours?

I'll bring all the tools I think we need.

Anyone else want to chime in?

Wrenchathon sounds good to me but doing 2 intakes will take most of a day. Getting the heads swapped might be a tall order for one day unless your are trailer'ing it...

That would be awesome and very much appreciated

Lets set this up!!

Thank you....Thank you....Thank you!

Pizza and chicken wings are on me

[Geminiroq]

That would be awesome and very much appreciated

Lets set this up!!

Thank you....Thank you....Thank you!

Pizza and chicken wings are on me

Hi guys....I wanted to see if we could set a date to wrench

[rang-a-stang]

Ok, back on dry land! Just sent a PM.

[Geminiroq]

I wanted to give an update and a "BIG" shout out to rang-a-stang for coming out to help me wrench on the intake.

Thanks to him and his expertise, we got it all sorted out!

I learned a TON and am extremely appreciative of his time and teachings.

I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks again Marc!!

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

I wanted to give an update and a "BIG" shout out to rang-a-stang for coming out to help me wrench on the intake.

Thanks to him and his expertise, we got it all sorted out!

I learned a TON and am extremely appreciative of his time and teachings.

I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks again Marc!!

[rang-a-stang]

Hopefully one more FSJ back on the road in the next few weeks! Geminiroq's rig is SOLID! 79 Cherokee Chief, factory brush guard, about a brown sugar brown, almost no rust (seriously, practically rust free). I'll be stoked to see more pics and videos on here as he gets it going.

[TexasJ10]

I've got to ask. Did you guys muscle it out or use some sort of mechanical lift?

Rang a Stang you are the man for helping out a fellow fsj owner and giving freely of your time. My hats off.

[rang-a-stang]

I've got to ask. Did you guys muscle it out or use some sort of mechanical lift?

Rang a Stang you are the man for helping out a fellow fsj owner and giving freely of your time. My hats off.

We man handled it. That's how I did mine and it worked well so we did it again.

I appreciate the kind words but I helped him because there have been so many other folks on this forum that have helped me, I feel like I owe the community. Plus it's wrenching on a FSJ; it doesn't get much more rewarding than that! Good people (Geminiroq) + good rigs=good times!