First Time: How long to swap intake manifold

94-302-vert

94-302-vert

Active Member
Aug 16, 2004
1,947
2
36
NE CT
#1
Picked up a Cobra intake from inphiniti (sorry if I spelled wrong) and now I am VERY anxious to get it under the hood. How long did it take each of you for your first time doing this... Realistically... don't fluff it.. from the time you opened the hood to when you closed it and started the engine... how many hours?

Thanks Guys...
 
#4
3-4 hours for your first time. Scraping gaskets and keeping the lifter valley clean is the most time consuming part.

Intake tips I've gatherd after doing this a LOT of times on various 5.0s...
  • Drain all the radiator fluid out - use this opportunity to flush your system and also think about a 180degree thermostat
  • Use brake cleaner on a rag to remove oil/grime from all the surfaces before laying down gaskets/RTV.
  • This is a great time to replace all your vacuum lines.
  • Plan on an oil change to get the stray coolant out of the engine.
  • Use two thick beads of RTV on the front and back of the intake - the cork pieces are very easy to install incorrectly - let the beads of RTV sit 15mins before dropping the intake.
  • Use two long bolts as guides when dropping the intake so that it goes straight down.
  • When refilling your system with coolant it is important to remove the air pockets that get trapped around the upper radiator hose. I like to jack up the car under the radiator neck (making it the highest point), get the car running and up to temp and then carefully squeeze the upper radiator hose.

The cobra and probably almost all the after market intakes will cause clearance issues with the stock strut tower brace. I got a MM strut tower brace and it clears well.

Wes
 
#5
94-302-vert said:
Picked up a Cobra intake from inphiniti (sorry if I spelled wrong) and now I am VERY anxious to get it under the hood. How long did it take each of you for your first time doing this... Realistically... don't fluff it.. from the time you opened the hood to when you closed it and started the engine... how many hours?

Thanks Guys...
Click to expand...

LOL, please don't make me answer this question honestly. It took me two days. :(
But I broke injector caps, had to get different bolts, etc.
I'm just not that mechanically inclined. :D Although I'm confident if I did it again I could bang it out in like 3-4 hours.
 
#6
Unless you've done alot of teardowns before you're not going to finish an intake in 3-4 hrs, especially if it's your first time doing it. There's always the small stuff that comes up. Just budget a weekend you'll be happy if you finish it in a day. That's just me, but it sure gets alot faster the more times you do it.

I have no idea how long it took me to do my first heads/cam/intake by myself, but I remember the second time I tore it down to the short block in about 2.5 hrs.

Jake
 
#8
Synned said:
LOL, please don't make me answer this question honestly. It took me two days. :(
But I broke injector caps, had to get different bolts, etc.
I'm just not that mechanically inclined. :D Although I'm confident if I did it again I could bang it out in like 3-4 hours.
Click to expand...

Joe

I gotta say ... stuff like that can happen to the best of those who
might undertake a project like the above :crazy:

Stuff can happen when working with hot rod parts like

They don't fit well with each other
Something goes wrong and replacement parts take a day or two to find
or ... other things along those lines

It's not always just about :nono:
The ability of the person turning the wrenches :D

Grady
 
#9
The first time I did a swap it took me a whole weekend from start to finish. I took my time and went pretty slow cause I was really afraid of screwing something up.
That was a couple of years ago, and the frist time I did something more involved than a cold air intake or an oil change.
 
#11
Stanger007 said:
3-4 hours for your first time. Scraping gaskets and keeping the lifter valley clean is the most time consuming part.

Intake tips I've gatherd after doing this a LOT of times on various 5.0s...
  • Drain all the radiator fluid out - use this opportunity to flush your system and also think about a 180degree thermostat
  • Use brake cleaner on a rag to remove oil/grime from all the surfaces before laying down gaskets/RTV.
  • This is a great time to replace all your vacuum lines.
  • Plan on an oil change to get the stray coolant out of the engine.
  • Use two thick beads of RTV on the front and back of the intake - the cork pieces are very easy to install incorrectly - let the beads of RTV sit 15mins before dropping the intake.
  • Use two long bolts as guides when dropping the intake so that it goes straight down.
  • When refilling your system with coolant it is important to remove the air pockets that get trapped around the upper radiator hose. I like to jack up the car under the radiator neck (making it the highest point), get the car running and up to temp and then carefully squeeze the upper radiator hose.

The cobra and probably almost all the after market intakes will cause clearance issues with the stock strut tower brace. I got a MM strut tower brace and it clears well.

Wes
Click to expand...


good write up

lots of guys run a intake without the STB. i want mine back in place but is it a have to? also, where and how much were the MM one?
 
#14
It took me a bit longer than a full weekend to do my intake, but I was also doing a Fox TB swap and running mechanical oil pressure and water temp gauges so I had to pull the driver's side fender and put on the Fox cruise cable and cut the holes for the gauge lines.

BTW, also a good time to check the condition of the radiator hoses.
 
#17
YES...the stb's were only Gt pieces. Supposedlu the cobras have a slightly stiffer k-member to compensate for the lack of it. As far as how long the intake takes...I would say about a day. Expect to spend about 8-9 hrs by yourself (and some back pain). THis included trips to the auto parts store for possible vac. fittings and plugs (for under new intake) and various other knick knacks. I believe there is a good write up on this forum in the sticky. I would recommend noting where all the vaccum lines go (there arent many but some can be reversed upon install, etc.). Also, I recommend sandwich bags....Put all the bolts for one thing in each bag...eg. 1 bag for stb bolts, 1 bag for upper manifold bolts, 1 bag for lower bolts, etc, etc. That way things dont get mixed up or lost. Theres lots of 1/2" bolts and nuts there and there of different grades (5 and 8 I believe) so you dont wanna mix those up.
 
#18
A note on the STB...

I will be getting the MM unit as soon as funds allow, along with the full length SFCs. I have some annoying rattles and such that I'm hoping the added rigidity will take care of. Specifically, a hard right turn causes my tire to rub on the sway bar, however this is not the case for a hard left turn. It makes me think the front suspension is flexing more than it should be.
 
#19
Yeah, let the RTV dry over night. This is one reason I got so good at taking my intake off....right after I got it assembled I took it for a spin and hammered on it and blew the front and rear seals between the intake and block right out.

Jake
 
#20
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