Hi,
I recently started my car when the floormat got pushed onto the gas pedal, when I started it raced.. shut it off...then restart...it backfired, SO i GOT THE FLOORMAT OUT, and restart, ran fine except idle was not right, took it to my mechanic who rebuilt my carb, and he found that the intake gasket had a small hole in the front. He adjusted the carb to richer to compensate for the more air, and it runs better than it ever has run in idle, everything else is great. Here is my question...he said I could try and put some silicone and try to plug the very small hole or he would be glad to put a new gasked on for me...here is the problem...he is the best mechanic in town, he told me it would cost $1.000., that also includes putting all new small hoses for vacumn on the engine...my car is not new, but none of the vacumn hoses are broke, hate to just replace...but here is my real question......I got some high temp silicone from NAPA, AND CLEANED THE MOTOR AROUND WHERE HE SAID IT LEAKED, i SQUEEZED AS MUCH AS i COULD GET WHERE HE SAID IT LEAKED....there is the A/C bracket bolted onto the motor and it is hard to see where the edge of the intake manifold edges are to put the silicone...so I squeezed as much down there as I could, I have run the car since after it sat overnight to dry, and it idles better than ever....
!. How can I tell if I plugged the hole?
2. If I did not plug it, will it get worse or offset the calibrations enough to not be able to pass smog in Cal. It has always passed with no problem.
3. Is there any chance if I did not plug the hole, that it could cause a fire?

Most car guys I talked to say just leave it if it is running better than normal....I do not have a garage where I could replace myself, and I do not look forward to a $1,000 bill, I just had the clutch replaced and it runs great. Appreciate any thoughts out there.
Thanks, Dennis

you can email me at : dennisgramm@verizon.net

 

A failing intake gasket is not going to get any better, and will likely get worse. that may lead to coolant leaks in addition to the vacuum leak.

The silicone patch should be considered a temporary repair only, until a proper repair can be performed. Perhaps you should start looking for the "second best mechanic in town" who may not be quite so proud of his work. An intake R&R should not cost anywhere near that much.

 

$1000 for an intake gasket replacement, you must be joking... I bet if you look hard enough you would be looking at $100. Any shade tree can do this, it isnt rocket science... but then again I am not a very competent mechanic myself.

 

$1000 huh? Doubt he's the best in town, but the richest in town I can believe! Anyone can do an intake gasket, do it yourself, or have ANYONE ELSE do it. I wouldn't pay over $100 personally - and that's giving someone 2 hours labor for 1 hour job.

 

Haynes and Chilton Manuals $40
Stanley/China/Walmart or -gasp- a small craftsman brand tool set $100
Intake gaskets $25
Silicone for china walls $3

Say $200 and you get to keep the tools, have reference material for the futeure and get to learn how to do something properly and gain some confidence.

 

The hardest part of the whole thing is stabbing in the distributer. It isn't hard either.

 

I changed out an intake manifold gasket in less than a half hour... the intake gasket is only $8 at autozone and sealant is only $3.... If you are carbed like me it is cake..

 

No WAY I would pay $1000 for something that is as simple as that. I also know that replacement vacuum lines do not run an extra $900 either. I replaced my intake manifold gasket in a matter of a couple of hours, stabbed the dist. myself and it didnt cost me more than the gaskets themself. Better to get wrench time under your belt than pay someone else for their insane pride. Do it yourself and save some $$