Hello all,
For those of you who were/are following my LS-5 leaky intake manifold gasket saga, I just spoke to my mechanic. Earlier this afternoon, my engine rebuilder met at my mechanic's shop and tried to pull a vacuum on the intake with the carburetor removed and blocked off and the valve covers removed and intake rocker arms removed as well. Well, they could not pull a vacuum and the diagnosis was leaking intake gasket. Good, they confirmed what they and many including myself, had thought.
Now, as you will recall, I replaced the gasket myself on Memorial weekend with a NAPA gasket that was thicker than the original gasket. (I am not sure what the thickness of the gasket used after the rebuild.) My engine builder suggested that a thinner gasket should be used because, in general, warpage of the intake manifold raises the inner portion away from the head and a thicker gasket works to separate the intake further from the head in that portion and the gasket still has a harder time sealing than with a thinner gasket. Originally, my intuition was to use a thicker gasket, but I guess thinner one may have a better chance of curing the problem. Regardless, the intake has to come off. It will be taken to my engine rebuilder for measurement and likely be machined straight.
Hopefully, I will have some more (good) news to report later in the week or next week regarding the intake manifold leak. If all goes well, I will be back on the road again soon.
For those of you who were/are following my LS-5 leaky intake manifold gasket saga, I just spoke to my mechanic. Earlier this afternoon, my engine rebuilder met at my mechanic's shop and tried to pull a vacuum on the intake with the carburetor removed and blocked off and the valve covers removed and intake rocker arms removed as well. Well, they could not pull a vacuum and the diagnosis was leaking intake gasket. Good, they confirmed what they and many including myself, had thought.
Now, as you will recall, I replaced the gasket myself on Memorial weekend with a NAPA gasket that was thicker than the original gasket. (I am not sure what the thickness of the gasket used after the rebuild.) My engine builder suggested that a thinner gasket should be used because, in general, warpage of the intake manifold raises the inner portion away from the head and a thicker gasket works to separate the intake further from the head in that portion and the gasket still has a harder time sealing than with a thinner gasket. Originally, my intuition was to use a thicker gasket, but I guess thinner one may have a better chance of curing the problem. Regardless, the intake has to come off. It will be taken to my engine rebuilder for measurement and likely be machined straight.
Hopefully, I will have some more (good) news to report later in the week or next week regarding the intake manifold leak. If all goes well, I will be back on the road again soon.
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