I'm going out tomorrow morning to help replace the LIM after test driving it to see exactly what it's doing.

 

Well I am completely moved to My new house in CA. Mike was going to come help me in PA but with flooding there and cutting it close on the move I decided not to do it.
I am going to start on it today. I was just curious if someone knew the step by step of doing it and also if I have to remove the plenum or can I take it all out as one with the lower intake?

 

Okay so I got my intake off an I can see "clean" spots in all the cylinder ports. From what I have read that common with a leaking intake. I will post a pic when I get a chance. What do you think of how my spider is run? I know thereis supposed to be a certain way. Does this look correct?




Oh yeah. Also. The bracket is loose that holds spider plug. Is that normal? Should it be replaced? Where do I get another if needed?

 

The ports are numbered on the LIM and should also be numbered on the spider itself. The bracket the spider mounts in should be loose where it bolts to the LIM since it is the upper plenum that centers/holds it in place.

The pictures you posted do not really indicate that you have a fuel leak at the typical locations (FPR or body) inside the intake itself, but I don't think that is the problem anyway...

 

Yeah I also do not think there is a fuel leak. Everything has been replaced and tested with that. Here is a shot of what I was talking about with the port being clean in some spots. Also take note of the gunk. The intake bolts were so loose from the dealer who replaced the gaskets before.




I was more referring to the routing of the lines for the injectors. They are all plugged into the appropriate holes. I thought someone had mentioned something with two lines needing to be tucked under or around something. Oh well. I haven't had any issues with them. Thanks for the info about the bracket.

 

That looks like a typical buildup pattern in the intake ports.

And remember, the LIM bolts only get torqued to a maximum of 11 ftlbs. That's not a lot.

As far as the routing of the lines, it looks ok. I seem to recall either the #2 line running over the #4 line or perhaps it was the #1 over the #3, can't remember exactly since it's been over 3 years since I've opened one of these up.

 

After scraping it clean with a razor should I clean the surface with a thinner or acetone? The Felpro gasket set came with a small tube of the black rtv. I know I need the for the front and rear of the manifold but shouldn't I also smear a little around the water ports? What is the best way to insure proper seal? I will be using a torque wrench when tightening the bolts. I def do not want to break one off or crack my manifold. Should I clean my manifold with anything?

 

You can use acetone to clean the surface.

If you have pitting around the coolant ports, I would smear a thin layer of RTV around the ports on both the heads & the LIM, but let it setup a bit before reassembling things.

There is a link in the Tech Article (DIY) Index to a D-Tips article that will have more tips.

 

Hey justin. Sorry i didn't get ahold of you been crazy busy. I called twice but i'm guessing it wasn't a good time.

I used indian head gasket shellac on mine, but i didn't have any pitting. i cleaned it all up in a parts bath (minus the sensors and spider). How bad was it getting it apart for you? mine took me ~9 hours i think total

 

Thanks swartlkk

I'll look into that. I cleaned it all up on the ports and engine surface. The rtv at the front of the intake nearest the waterpump was not even sticking there. It looks like there has been a leak there for a while. That would only allow acess to the valley area though right? So would a leak there cause a misfire perhaps?

Mike,
My phone was on silent and I missed your calls. Sorry about that. Glad we finally caught up to each other. The tear down was not all that bad. I labeled all bolts and everything in little ziploc bags so that took a little extra time. I have a total of about two hours in tear down time so far and cleaning the surface. I'm looking for something to clean out my intake really well. If anyone has a suggestion feel free to advise.