Okay, heres the deal. I was putting my intake back together so I can get my engine back in the car, ect... any ways long story short,the front bolt hole on the passenger side (closest to the front of the car) as I'm tighting down the bold the lower part crumbles off!! SOB! now every other bolt is fine and tight just like it should be, can I run like this?

my wife will throw a gasket if I have to say i've gotta wait on another new part... we just sold our second car to pay for my firebirds resurrection... (it was her first car.. so yea..)

also i noticed that my injectors tips has a small crack in the rubber surround, the o ring, the part right around the very tip should that be an issue? I'm trying to just get the thing on the road again... why couldnt they have just used steel? paint it or powder coat it so it dont rust but why aluminum?!

 

The injector I don't think will matter, but hard to say especially without seeing it. as for the intake manifold, same deal, hard to say without seeing it, but as long as there isn't a vacuum leak because it then it should be ok, also you could try JB welding the piece the broke off back on there. And I'm amazed it did that to begin with...I really don't see what could degrade the integrity of it to do something like that, I could hit mine with a hammer and it wouldn't phase it.

 

beats the hell out of me, as i was doing was tightening the bolt down and it got really loose, so I looked at it and the lower part was dust... there aint nothing left to jb weld back on lol.it seems like the other screws are doing most of the clamping pressure so I think it'll be okay.

I got the belt routed last night as well as the starter put back on, I just need to get an oil filler cap and some random bolts and slap the plugs and wires back in and I should be golden.

 

If you end up needing a new intake pm me I've got an extra one

 

The rubber o-rings should be replaced any time you take the injectors out. If they are cracked, then double yes on replacing them, it will cause a vac leak.

As to why alumn intakes? Heat soak, weight issues, easier to mold, machine. For modding reasons, easier to port as well.

Go look at a ford 5.4l truck motor, the whole intake is plastic.

 

My mom's 2.4 dohc in her grand am has a plastic intake manifold too.

 

the o-rings them selves were not cracked it was the very tip surrounding the injector opening. (I just put it all back together do I really have to redo those o-rings?)

 

While were on the subject, I got the O rings at the top of the injectors(top as looking at them installed) but the others are proving difficult to remove-suggestions?

 

The ones in the fuel rail? Shouldnt need to remove/replace them. But they have c-clips that need to be spun around. Then if they have never been removed, you have to yank them suckers out with about everything you got.

 

The one's near the tips of the injectors, one is orange, the other is a lot like the one at the top.

 

Use oil, put one side in the groove, and roll them into place, kind of like a piston ring.

 

Trying to remove them...getting them on is the easy part...

 

Cut 'em off with a razor, unless you don't have new ones, in which case you'll need a pick or something to get behind them and start getting them off (kind of like a bicycle tire).

 

New O-rings are like $8. Just go pick them up at the AutoZone or Pep Boys. They are cheap insurance against having more problems once you get the car back together.

 

I've always heard that the o-rings should be lubricated with petrolium jelly before installation.

 

if the plenum itself has no structural damage besides just stripped threads, use a heli-coil or time-sert