[Archimedes]

I just purchased a Weiand high-rise intake (7282) for my 1966 390 FE engine. I purchased intake manifold gaskets which were stock gaskets they were the gray color and were flat no raised parts around the ports. I put everything together and when I ran the engine, water leaked from the coolant ports into the internals of the engine, and also leaked out where the front of the head/intake is. Torques were all correct, it seems the gaskets aren't tight between the intake and the head toward the front of the engine-(im talking about the intake gaskets, not the cork intake gaskets- there were no problmes with those). This never happened with the stock intake, no problems at all with the stock one. The Weiand hi-rise is rated for my engine, i know its the right part. Would you say this part is defected, or should i try some performance gaskets? If i try performance gaskets I believe there will still be a space between the intake and head unless they are thicker then those gray gaskets-but maybe the raised parts of the gaskets around the ports will hold? Will there be a problem if they hold but there is still a gap in the front head/intake line? Is this intake definitly defective and i should just send it back? Thank you all for your help

 

[302xm]

Is the manifold new and has the block ,heads been machined this can affect allignment (more than 20thou i think you need to machine the inlet to correct).I had the same problem on my windsor with a elderbrock manifold and was told that cork gaskets were preventing the manifold from sealing on the heads with the correct torque settings and to use a bead of silicon instead of cork ,worked for me.
not to sure on fe motors as intakes sit under the the valve covers dont they

 

[Archimedes]

I just built this block it has less then 500 miles on it, it has not been milled at all. The intake is also brand new from summit racing. What you say about removing the cork gaskets seem to be a rational idea, would it do any damage to the intake itself by just using RTV silicone instead of cork? Would using a rubber gasket help instead of cork? Or perhaps I should just use a very thin piece of cork...

 

[302xm]

RTV wont do any damage to the intake but you could try thinner cork or rubber . When you torque the manifold down you want to compress the inlet gasket and the cork or RTV at the front and rear of the manifold is only there to prevent oil from escaping .Run a 6mm (1/4") bead of RTV where the cork goes install manifold and let it cure

 

[Archimedes]

Today I installed the intake with no cork gaskets. The passenger side of the intake is tight agains the gaskets like it should be-but while inspecting the drivers side I was able to slide a 006 micrometer down the gasket in between the intake and head. This does not apply to where the ridge is on the gasket around the ports-the smallest mic i had was 002 and it didn't go past the ridge but i didn't try to force it down. 007 is too wide to fit down. I am positive my heads and stock intake were not milled, i have 2 sets of heads and 2 intakes that i could compare to. So should i try running it or will the seal between ports blow out for sure- or send the intake back? All the bolts are torqued 15ft lbs, and 25ft lbs on the corner bolts, as weiand instructs, any more-and i could risk cracking the intake. Used 10, 15, and 25 on corner torque steps, im positive of the order torqued as well.

 

[302xm]

Thats definitly not a good sign as the ridge your talking about should be compressed flat with the rest of the gasket to provide an extra strong seal.
Is there any gap between the manifold and the block at the front/ and rear where the cork gaskets would normaly go ? as there should be quite a large gap.If the block was decked it would actually be the opposite problem your having (manifold to wide).
Considering that you have had no issues running the motor with the original manifold i would think it was the new intake that was at fault and has been machined wrong (rare) . Compare the 2 manifolds to each other and see whats different with the machined surfaces.
Good luck ! this kind of shit can drive you nuts.

 

[Archimedes]

Measuring the bottom-front of the intakes where the cork gaskets usually set shows a 1/16 difference from stock to the aftermarket-aftermarket being the one thats short. I suppose this is my problem after all. Boxing the Weiand and shipping it back to summit tomorrow- Thank you for your help

 

[82 Boss]

Other thoughts / considerations:

Did you use the stock splash shield that goes inside the galley beneath the manifold?

Did you use sealant on the surfaces of gaskets?

Does it matter which side the gaskets face?

If you first installed the intake manifold using the cork end seals, you may have warped the intake. Check the sufaces of the intake using a straight edge. Then check the space between the block and intake manifold at the ends. A good RTV may suffice if the gap is small.