I have an oil leak at the top of my engine block, passenger side. I find oil in a "puddle" in one of the dips on top of the intake manifold, right below the throttlebody. Where exactly is this oil coming from? I dont think its from the valve cover, so what are the other options? I could get some pics up if it would help.

 

Do you think it is comming from the base of the TBI unit. A PVC can suck oil into the TBI unit and leak it out of a bad gasket. Got that pic?

 

I had the same exact problem and i never really understood where it was coming from but since i changed the intake manifold gaskets and went with the edelbrock tbi intake i have yet to see any more oil. It is possibly coming from the intake gaskets, or maybe the intake bolts.

 

Yup you may still see it. It will be easier to see with the new intake on there. It is most likely comming up from the bolts like you described. Some people use a dab of RTV on the bolts or others just use a good ol' heap of anti sieze. That seems to keep the oil from working its way up.

 

would a bad headgasket maybe cause this? Im just asking cause I have no idea, I really hope it's not since I heard they're a pain to change. I'll get a pic for you all tomorrow, I have a feeling it is something with the intake manifold gasket. Is it pretty hard to change out? I've never done that kind of job before, but I'm good at taking things apart and putting them back together.

 

im pretty sure a bad head gasket could not cause this, not sure how the oil would get from the head gasket to the intake manifold.

 

ok sounds good. Im still unsure of how oil can leak from the throttlebody, is there a way to check for sure?

I guess I'll just wait till u guys see the pics tomorrow, but does anyone have a writeup on changing the intake manifold gasket? Im pretty sure I'd have to pull the fuel pump fuse and run the car dry, undo the gas cap, drain the coolant (which its due for a flush anyways) and then unbolt everything(fuel lines too?). Anyone have experiance with that? thx for your help

 

Chaning the intake gasket is much easier than that. I bet the oil is comming up from the intake bolts. I would unbolt a few of them and look at them. If there is oil on the threads that is your problem.

 

ok, im gonna pull some of the bolts tomorrow and take pics, thx a lot guys, IDK what I would do witout this place :hail: BTW anyone know the torque specs of the intake bolts offhand so I can put them back on right?

 

What they said!
If i recall, when i took my TB apart and cleaned it there was plenty of unburned fuel in it as well as lots of oil in the ports, the bolts holes in the intake where the TBI mount had oil in the threads too.

theres torque spec and intake manifold bolt sequences to follow.

Chilton: TQ specs 25-45ft. lbs. (34-61 Nm)

torque sequence

5 6 4 1 7 8

FRONT(of engine)

9 10 3 2 11 12

 

I torque my intake to 30lb ft. 20 is the min and 40 is the max. You will find that anywhere between 25 and 40 will suffice. I go 10lb ft at first and then make a second pass.

 

Last time I blew my intake gasket, I had coolant puddling on top of the intake, so that could very well be your problem. I changed mine in about a day (first time I did it). Its really pretty straight forward, you can pretty much tell how to do it from just looking as you go. Only annoying part was all the hard vacuum lines that I kept breaking...just replaced them with flexable stuff from autozone. If that's your problem, the gaskets are about $15.

Oh and if you do replace your intake gaskets, note that the intake doesnt actually touch the block when you bolt it down (it leave a small gap) so you have to put down a pretty good bead, or else you will be pulling it off again about a month later

 

I do line work at a gm dealer and the 305 and 350's are bad about leaking oil and coolant from the back of the intake, the only thing i will use is isuzu sealer on the intake, you can get it from any isuzu dealer. expensive but the best aroubd, the lt1's leaked oil in the show room floor untill we used this sealer. word of warning is if you use it pray it doent have to come back off cause it is like super glue

 

89BlueCamarO where are you located around Chicago? What suburbs? Depending on where you are at least I could probably get over there to help, and maybe a friend of mine too. PM me or IM me on AOL Instant Messenger at deanh87 or email me at dean@xibase.com I'm pretty easy to get a hold of

 

Yeah I was wondering where you two were from too. Let me know in a PM or something and go check out the Chicago and NW Indiana boards, there's a big gathering coming up as well as a track day where a guy rented out a drag strip.

 

I'm about 30 miles NW of Chicago, and he's like 40-45 miles SW of Chicago, near Joliet. I don't even have an F-body yet, but as I keep saying, hopefully by the end of this weekend if all goes to plan, I will. I've worked on plenty of 'em though So has my buddy Steve.

 

thanks a lot guys. Sorry i havent been on here recently, been busy with a lot of things. I'm going to take a look at everything when it gets warmer out and there's time.

Im located around schaumburg.... I'll go checkout the local boards