cliffyk

Make sure there is no crap pinched between the plenum and manifold, and that the sealing ring is not flattened, torn, or otherwise deformed.

Do not over-tighten the plenum mounting bolts. The spec is 89 lb-in (7.4 lb-ft), that's a bit less than 10 lbs force on an average 3/8" ratchet handle--not very much at all...

bronxbomerss2

ok i already looked at it and it looked fine i let the car sit for about 5 minutes and it idled like normal and then i took it out for a drive and it was good for maybe 2 minutes then it started again, im not sure what it could be? i got a random misfire code also but it went away right away so i disregarded it and let it run for about another 5 minutes and just got the regular codes again P1131 and P0171 both lean codes bank 1, so im not sure, should i put the flange gasket back on, would that make any difference, i can hear the exhaust "sputtering" or flapping kinda of would be the best way to describe it, im just so annoyed and want this to be fixed i don't car what it takes i just want it fixed so tomorrow ill go get a flange gasket and put it on and see if anything changed otherwise i guess ill take a shot in the dark and buy a new manifold but i sprayed a crap load of carb cleaner all around the Plenum when the car was warm and it didn't change anything so i don't know what to think? i called pep boys and the guy said when the mechanic did it the car almost died out so i did it all over and nothing happend, this sucks!

bronxbomerss2

hey cliffyk so i pulled the whole intake since i got bored lol so what should i look for? i didn't notice any cracks anywhere and didn't notice anything inside the intake so should i take it to pepboys and have them look at it or what? also im thinking since i already have the intake off should i get the PP intake manifold since i already have the TB & Plenum and im going to be doing cams during the winter coming shortly? also ill have a supercharger on it eventually, so i could see the most HP gains with the manifold and not worry about having to change it again? lmk what you think! also plz lmk what i should look for or test?? the gaskets btw looked fine the manifold gasket that is so i know i wasn't coming from there, i enjoyed taking the manifold off, super easy!

cliffyk

I don't understand why you pulled the entire intake manifold when after you had removed and remounted the upper plenum you could no longer find any vacuum leaks? It may have been that by simply removing and remounting the plenum it seated properly and was no longer leaking; as was observed by Manny, Moe and Jack.

With that problem apparently fixed you should have moved on to installing the missing exhaust gasket, a known possible cause of the bank 1 lean codes. Now you have another whole source of potential problems, as is always a possibility when "fixing" things that don't need to be fixed.

I thought you wanted to get this car running properly? However instead of fixing known problems it seems you more enjoy taking it apart and spending money. So for now get new manifold gaskets (including the upper plenum seal), clean it all off and reassemble, then install the exhaust gasket and regroup.

Oh, one last comment. The PP intake manifold will be a great big waste of money on an otherwise stock engine, you need to at least do cams (and preferably heads and cams) and of course re-tune, before you will see any added HP from that expense...

bronxbomerss2

i took off the manifold to see if there was any non visable surface leaks i could see, although i can't be for certain there is or is not, and i also took off the plenum and reinstalled it and nothing changed so i just assumed that something with the manifold was wrong, is there anyway to check if i have a bad manifold or should i just assume its ok? and ill go get the exhaust gasket later today, thanks cliffyk

bronxbomerss2

well so far so good cliffyk, put everything back together no problem, i used lunch bags for each individual part so i know what bolts go to what so it made the process a little easier, i put my new manifold gasket on, and new flange gasket, bolted everything up and turned the hot air on max to burp the coolant since i had to drain it, let it idle for 10 minutes and didn't miss a beat, drove it for another 10 minutes and it sounded great throughout the drive and at idle, it made the clutch even feel better without all that vibrating!! i honestly think i can say the car is finally fixed!!! im going to take it out again tomorrow to make 100% certain but i think its over lol, i think the flange gasket was the culprit but the learning experience was something i always look forward to, so hopefully this saga is ova!!