SDS Photography

Ok this intake has been on and off 4 times. When I finally got tired of it and gave it to my mechanic #8 cylinder was full of coolant. He tore it back down, pumped it all out, put it back together with all new gaskets again, and filled it back up. He then called me and said that when he tried to crank it, it would not start. So he pulled the #8 plug again and all he got was water out of the hole.

What in the hell is wrong with my BRAND NEW ACCEL lower intake? I am pumping coolant into my #8 every time I get it back together.

I NEED HELP ON THIS GUYS.

Pete K

Pull the intake and check it for straight. I have seen MANY severely warped out of the box. Edelbrock is the worst. Otherwise, inspect carefully. A crack or hole in the runner could cause the coolant in #8

SDS Photography

it looked fine when i installed it, and he did not notice anything abnormal about it

could those big plugs in the bottom of the intake have something to do with it?

Runum

Have you had the heads off of it? I ran into this same problem with the #7 cylinder. The coolant passages in the heads had eroded larger where the block and cylinder heads go together. The passages had enlarged into the head gasket cylinder sealing ring and then allowed the coolant to fill the #7 cylinder. I can email pics if you don't understand. Good luck with your problem.

SDS Photography

no he asked that too, the heads should be fine, they have never been hot

it ran fine before this, i just had an oil leak from the intake gasket

Pete K

Did the mechanic check it with a machinests straight edge and a flashlight? 4 or 5 thousanths of an inch is all it takes to have problems.

SDS Photography

i dont know, i would assume not

**** this is going to cost me 11 billiondy dollars

anyone know the Accel guy on here's name?

86PACER

Red Tornado

if straightness/trueness of the manifold checks out ok, there could be another possibility......did you or the mechanic apply the correct torque sequence on the manifold bolts? it should be a criss-cross pattern, similar to a set of cylinder heads. in my '90 helms manual, the bolt torque sequence is like this:

12-11-4-1-5-6 front of intake
10-9-3-2-7-8 front of intake

did you follow the procedure outlined in your helms manual? i'm not sure about '89, but i've heard the helms was incorrect for the earlier C4's, GM recommended torquing all the bolts on one side, then the other......which is very wrong.

SDS Photography

yeah i assume he did

with the amount of times this has been done I would think something is wrong with the intake

Red Tornado

well then, it has to be a physical problem with the intake itself......have him do another inspection. i'll bet there's warpage that wasn't measured/picked up on.

SDS Photography

so I am out $500 bucks?

there is really no chance that something is not screwed in correctly or something?

Red Tornado

based on your last reply, i can only go back to the previous one where you "assumed" your mechanic followed the correct torque sequence......you need to talk to him to make sure he used the criss-cross pattern and NOT the side to side method. get this out of the way first.

as far as being out $500, contact Mr. Gasket and get the number to the Accel/DFI folks.....you might be in for a refund, if the problem cannot be solved.

the intake may be milled to correct any warpage problem, but your mechanic will have to make sure too much isn't removed that the manifold won't seat correctly to the heads.

edit: if you or yor mechanic needs to talk to Accel/DFI, their tech line is: (248) 380-2780.....8:30-5:30 EST, M-F.

SDS Photography

I will ask him tommorow, thanks guys

so this sequence could cause this kind of leak?

Red Tornado

in a nutshell, quite possibly.....if he followed in the incorrect (bonehead) sequence in the Helms manuals of earlier years, which was to torque the bolts on one side of the manifold....then proceed to rest on the other side. The sequence I posted is the correct one. I don't know what your '89 Helms says though.

artvette

Agree. And with aluminum intakes it's even more critical.

Morley

Your Accel manifold should have come with a couple of papers (install instructions) one of them has their torquing sequence on it. I ran into the same problem a couple weeks ago putting mine on, except that it dumped water into the block and out the back edge. I was using Mr Gasket Ulter seal gaskets...garbage. I then used a set of Rol TPI gaskets and all went well.

SDS Photography

Ok guys I called him today and I think we are talking more water then yall are thinking. Last night with the plug out it flowed over 1 gal of coolant. You can pour water into the rad. and watch it flow out the hole. I think this is more than a sequence problem.

0ski_dwn_it

Sounds to me like something is majory screwed up (obviously).

What might have happen is he may have had a leak the first time, which put coolant into the cylinder. If he tried to start it with this coolant in there, you could have REAL BIG problems. Coolant/water does NOT compress like air, and you may have done some serious damage (hope not) to the motor. If your starter is real strong, its possible that you could have blown out your head gasket, or even cracked the cylinder wall if enough pressure was introduced to the cylinder. Its also possible that you bend the connecting rod. I know this happens with guys all the time, with gasoline if a valve in the carb goes and dumps fuel into the manifold and then into the cylinder.

I don't mean to make you feel bad - or worse. Just trying to explain what might have happen.

What I would do is the following.

1. Take the intake off again. Clean it up real good. Check it for straightness. IF it checks out, check the mating surface of the heads. Proceed if that is all good.

2. Apply a liberal amount of "The Right Stuff" RTV to the heads around EVERY port and especially around the water ports. Then place your intake gasket over this rtv. At this point you want to again apply more RTV to now the gasket itseft, in the same locations. ALL ports and water passages. At this time both sides of the gasket should have plenty of this RTV on it to glue it to the surfaces and to fill any inperfections.

3. Lower the intake onto the gaskets and try not to slide them around. What I do is eye up the bolt hole in the head through one of the intake clearance holes and line them up so I come down perfectly aligned.

4. Install your bolts and follow the sequence.

5. Let it set overnight.

6. Fill it with coolant and see if it holds. If it still leaks, then you have internal damage, and your up the creek. With that Right stuff no liquid is going to pass and it will fill up any voids up to several 10s of thousands of an inch. Not to mention the gasket should conform to any abnormal surfaces with no problem.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

PS: In your inspection, you should also look for hairline cracks.
Also do NOT try to start the motor until your absolutely sure there is no coolant in the cylinder.

Wish you the best!

tomcat-pilot

Instead of going high and right, try this, because my accel manifold did the same thing on the first install. Check the holes on the manifold where the intake manifold bolts pass through to the heads. If they are a little small or slightly misaligned and are catching the threads on your manifold bolts, the manifold can "walk up" the bolts slightly and prevent the manifold fron resting completely on the heads. If there are any thread marks in the manifold bolt holes, this is happening.
I used a die grinder to slightly enlarge the manifold bolt holes and had no further problems. You should not have to use an excessive amount of RTV. I also recommend pressure testing your coolant system before firing up the motor. It will save you headaches and you will know you have a good seal.