I have to pull the intake on my car for a broken bolt in the thermostat housing. Did some searches and it seems that this is a common problem with TPI intakes. Intake gaskets also has a small leak too.
So, I did some searches and I am pretty confident on pulling the distributor. It will be my first time, but I should be alright if I just mark everything. I figure it will also be a good time to port some stuff out like the plenum and maybe a little on the runners. I want to do the intake ports for the runners, but I read that if down wrong you could damage your engine in no time?
Will I be able to keep the fuel rail and injectors in place when I pull the intake off?
Is this a good gasket set? Price seems decent. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TPI-I...QQcmdZViewItem
What is everyone running for a fuel pressure gauge? I am looking for a cheap one.
-TIA, Nick.

 

If your pulling the intake off, I would pull the fuel rail and the injectors out. Its always nice to put new orings on and all. If your going to do it. Do it right. That way you know you wont have any issues later down the road. Any gasket kit is good, but check the prices at the autoparts store. Sometimes there cheaper. Or will price match.
Porting....just take the gaskets and match them, That will give you better flow. Try to make everythign smooth. The biggest thing to port is on the plenum just behind the throttle body.
Its alot of fun, I enjoyed taking mine apart. There are 2 bolts on the back side of the runners....dont forget about those. So get the throttle body off, plenum, runners, and then you can get to the intake.
Just make sure you mark where your Dist. is so you know how to put it back in.

 

Do you have to mark where the cap is at? Or just the rotor to the inside of the distrubuter? And were the rotor moves to once lifted off the cam.
What is the best way for installing the intake gaskets? I am use to the valley pan gaskets that somewhat clip into place and there is no messing around. Just use RV on the front and back of the block?
Thanks, Nick.

 

For the distributor, you can use a stabilo or grease pencil to make a mark on the manifold in line with the rotor.

Remember to disconnect the vaccum line directly under the TB too. I didn't do that the first time I removed the TB and I broke it.

Also clean everything up. It's SO easy to clean it all when it's apart. I cleaned and painted just about everything when I did my cam swap.

 

Ok forgive me stupidness, but is it going to hurt anything to have the engine sit in my un-heated garage with no anitfreeze or very little in the heads/block? Also is a good idea to put everything back together is cold weather? Should I wait to throw it all back together once spring is nearly here? I am not affraid of the cold, but I just thinking the gaskets won't seal right? Thanks for the help guy, much appreciated. Nick.

 

All you have to do is pop off the cap, and bump the engine until the rotor points straight to the front of the vehicle. Silicone will seal in colder weather, but it will take longer, thats all.

 

I wanted to give you a tip about the distributor. Mark the cap for the cylinder # of the spark wires (so that the wires go back on correctly). Next remove the spark wires and cap. Crank the engine over by hand to firing TDC. When at firing TDC, the rotor tip will be pointing toward cylinders 3/5 roughly and you will be at 0 degrees on the damper. Now, Mark the location of the rotor tip on the plenum or intake.
Un-tighten the dizzy hold down bolt and slide the hold down plate aside. Now, as you start to lift on the dizzy, notice how the rotor tip rotates backwards a significant amount. When the dizzy comes free, mark the position of the rotor tip.

When you reinstall the dizzy, start the rotor tip at the position that it released at, as the dizzy drops into place engaging the cam gear, it should rotate forward and end up at your first mark.

 

If you are only removing the intake to remove the stuck thermostat housing bolt, you may only need to remove the plenum. In that case, the runners, fuel rails and everything else can be left in place. Removing the TB and plenum will provide adequate space and a straight access to drill the broken bolt while the intake base is still bolted to the heads. The gaskets will seal just fine if assembled cold. The temperature span difference between 20ºF to 250ºF and 65ºF and 250ºF is not that significant. Once the engine reaches that operating temperature, it's not going to care how cold the gaskets were when installed and torqued to final thickness.

Now if you were rebuilding the rotating assembly or machining the block, that would be a different story altogether, and many people ignore the dimensional differences due to that, too.

 

My intake has to come off as it is leaking coolant by the front water passage, I also found a couple nice poodles of oil in the middle of the intake. So, I just want to pull it take the bolt out and reseal it without any leaks. I was under the impression it doesn't matter where I take the distributor out at. I just need to mark the rotor where its at and where it ends up once I start pulling it out.
I got the tb, plenum, runners all off so far. I busted my EGR temp sensor wire too.
Thanks guys, Nick.

 

Make sure you have some anti-seize compound for all the fasteners threading into the aluminum parts (like the runner and plenum bolts, thermostat housing, distributor clamp, etc.) and an anerobic thread sealant for the intake bolts threading into the heads. That will solve the coolant and oil wicking/leaking problems from those bolts. Of course, new intake gaskets and China wall seals and their required sealants will be necessary. The FelPro intake gasket set usually includes the black RTV necessary for the seals.

 

Thanks guys, Nick.