Cobra Intake Questions/Help

Ford? You kidding? Bean counting is Job#1.

actually yes, they did use grade 8 bolts; however, if you guys have ever heard of "Totally Stainless" fastener kits, they even tell you that their stainless fasteners are basically equivalent to grade 5. The point is, the ones used from the factory are NOT stainless bolts, and they are subject to corrosion.

There are two reasons I can think of off the top of my head that these bolts will corrode.

First, the obvious; whenever you have to top off or flush your coolant, many people will use tap water instead of distilled as is recommended...four of those bolts are close to water passages. It only takes one or two times to get enough calcium deposits in the coolant to get crusties on hardware, or anywhere else in the cooling system.

Second, believe it or not, there are acidic compounds in your oil which can cause corrosion-sounds crazy right? Oil? corrosive? But, whenever the oil gets hot enough to vaporize in the crankcase, there are a tons of nasty byproduts from when the oil turns into a vapor, and they cling to anything they can.

In a nutshell, if the engine has never been apart, and there has ever been any neglect since it's original assembly, there will be corrosion. Even the black oxided ARP intake bolts I used on my last engine had some trash on them from where I was in a pinch and needed to fill the radiator...

Whenever you get to the point of getting new fasteners, just buy quality components, install them properly and you'll have much better results.

And follow the tips jrichker has to offer-he's got his head glued on straighter than most of us I think...

A big can of high quality antiseize is your best friend when it comes to engine assembly. The last 1 pound can of Never Seez I bought cost $24: it will last a long time . You can't beat the stuff when it comes to keeping exhaust bolts from corroding so badly you can't wrench them off.

The coolant passage/distributor housing on yours is different from mine. I was talking about the part opposite where you circled, where the t-stat sits. On mine, there was no cut out for the distributor module to turn. You should be safe there. You have the same baffle set-up mine came with that caused the oil consumption problem. I wonder though, since you appear to have a different lower casting than I do, if you'll have the oil consumption problem I did?

I'd call the tech line and see what they say about that.