Pulled the intake on my son's carbed '86 Firebird because of evidence of coolant leaks at the driver's side front and pass side rear. I was expecting some corrosion but once I got it cleaned up, things look worse than what I was expecting. My gut says to ditch this manifold and source a replacement, but I wanted to get some additional opinions first. I know it can be hard to tell from a picture, but this is the pass side rear...



I was planning to supplement the new gasket with a little RTV, but I think this one is just too far gone...and I don't want to risk having to do this job twice. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

I think that could be sealed effectivly,but if a better condition intake is handy,use the better one which engine BTW?

 

Sorry. 305 w/ Quadrajet.

 

That should seal up with RTV. I would use enough that it squeezes out a little when you tighten, then wipe excess off with towel. There are purists on here that despise such things, but I guess they are rich.

 

That looks bad, and it's apart because it was already leaking......

Weigh the time and effort involved in doing the job twice with sourcing a replacement and doing it once.

 

IMO: Toss it and buy a new (- or a good / quality used ) intake.

Sure; I’m betting you’ll get it to seal, but when it leaks it will leak there first and the more it runs the sooner it will leak. Coolant in the crankcase is a bitch,…. Why risk it when a cheap replacement intake installed now completely avoids the problem.

just my

 

It COULD seal if a lot of cleaning is done. It's difficult to determine from the photo, but the depth of the corrosion might even require machining. I've had the same condition on some 60° V-6 engines with aluminum heads and intakes, and managed to make then seal. Some have needed etching, epoxy filler, then machining flat. At that point, a different intake may be more economical.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. Decided to ditch it and was able to source an Edelbrock 3701 locally.