Gun Jam

Hello

A few years or so ago I replaced my intake gasket to stop an oil leak.

I used the felpro 1250s

I did not use the cork end cap crap that came with them. I used a bead of "right stuff" to take the place of the cork gaskets.

I used no sealant anywhere else.


It had been all sunshine and bunnies until about a week or 2 ago im noticing a water leak on the right side that is very small and appears to originate between the union of the intake and front of the head (on the vertical plane. (face of engine)) There is also water just above this location on the top (horizontal plane) that collects just below the valve cover in the small groove formed by the intake and the head.

This time I plan to do everything the same PLUS use a thin layer of grey sealant called honda bond (I know right but its basically the same as motorcrap grey sealant and seems to work well) on the HEAD TO GASKET mating surface. On the INTAKE TO GASKET surface I plan to use RTV ULTRA BLACK. and of course on the end seals in place of the cork ill use permatex "right stuff" again.

Does anyone have any suggestions so i dont end up doing this a 3rd time??

Thanks

-Gun

2+2GT

I use Permatex Aviation lacquer-style gasket sealer. Old school. Works great.

Starfury

Don't use any sealer around the intake ports themselves. Those 1250 gaskets should seal up just fine there.

That Honda-bond stuff is actually pretty slick and not the same as Ultra Grey RTV at all. It's a non-hardening, reusable sealant designed for case halves, but it should work ok in your application. It's also sold as Moto-seal and Hylomar. Permatex aviation sealant, as mentioned, is another option. But again, only around the cooling ports.

Gun Jam

I dont know why it started leaking in the first place..the bolts seem tight still.

I'll avoid any sealant around the intakes and place it only around cooling ports.

Good info about the honda bond sealant...I knew it was for case halves but figured it might work better than ultra black...maybe ill just use the ultra black around the cooling ports instead of the honda bond...

Thanks Ill let you guys know what I find,

Iskwezm

i use the orange RTV on the ends and Gaskacinch around the water ports on mine so the intake gaskets dont shift..As you torque the makifold it shifts.After i put mine on, i retorque every other day for about a week.

Gun Jam

when I set the intake down I use the 4 bolt studs to line it up before it touches. Worked well last time.

Im thinking maybe the edge of one of the water ports is rough due to use and maybe that let water by over time...I dont know yet.

Gun Jam

okay so after removing the intake the old gasket (felpro 1250) looks crushed at the source of the leak. I dont think I damaged it much during intake removal. The gasket has multiple cracks and rips on the lower front left corner of the water port. The same is true for the lower right side of the water port. At this lower right corner the gasket was deformed enough to intrude into the intake port.

It looks like way too much force was used to tighten the intake bolts which deformed the gasket to the point that it ripped. I used torque wrench @ 15ftlbs if I recall correct.

Pictures coming soon.

Gun Jam

As you can see it looks like a huge amount of torque was applied to the intake bolts...But the wrench indicated 15 ftlbs... a torque pattern was also followed..This is also the only port that was severely crushed. The other side was about half as bad. all the other water and intake ports showed very slight to no distortion.

racer_dave

I always use a tiny bit of red permatex around the water passages on the intake and never have leaks. For the ends of the intake, I've used the cork, rubber and just the RTV and haven't had leaks there either no matter which way I go. Make sure everything is clean and free of old gasket material. Last don't use too much RTV, many people do.

Gun Jam

I'm sure it would have never leaked if the gasket didn't get destroyed. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid squishing the gasket to bits...my plan now is to use 11 ftlbs as indicated by the wrench.

unless I hear a better idea.