Cracked Performer upper...what are my options...& (starts-revs-dies)?

5spd GT · Oct 9, 2004

Well it finally happened...I cracked the upper intake (Edelbrock Performer)...the back right corner where it goes on the stud and the nut screws down on it broke off from the rest of the intake when I was tightening down the intake...

What do I need to fix that...I don't know of any aluminum welders...I'll have to ask around...or is their any kind of "filler" you can use that will work?

Next if this wasn't enough...(before we knew it was cracked)...we went to start the car (after readjusting the valves, new valve covers and gaskets, pcv valve, rotor, cap, and plugs and plug wires) the car started up real quick and revved to like 3k (by itself) and killed itself-died...all within about 3 seconds...and it made a high pitch squeel...is that a vaccum leak? It was kind of scary (this being my daily driver)...I don't want to put words in peoples mouth but I'm guessing it is a pretty bad vacuum leak?

I know the upper/lower thin paper gasket was ripped when we put on the upper (I was going to drive it like that for a couple days until I got a new upper/lower gasket) and that coupled with the cracked back right part of the Performer could cause that?

Any help appreciated...

Edit: Here is the gasket I need to replace (the top one in the picture)...
http://store.summitracing.com/defau...p&N=100&Ntk=PartSearch&Ntt=EDL-3832&x=17&y=14

sillyg · Oct 10, 2004

I cracked my upper and when i started it same thing happend.I had NO clue it was cracked I thought my timing was a couple of teeth off then i figured it out. luckily it was the stock upper I was putting on to sell the car. I had another one laying around and put it on. How big is the crack? Does it go all the way down the intake? Or it is a chunk broken off? I am sure if you take it to a good welder they can fix it. Next time make sure you tighten down the bolts the wayedelbrock says to tighten them and also make sure it sits completely flat on the lower. The high pitched noise Is most likely a vaccume leak from the crack

giddyup306 · Oct 10, 2004

Wow you must have torqued the heck out of that intatke. Use JB weld. Yes that is a huge vac leak if your hearing it. Fix the leak and you should be good.

5spd GT · Oct 10, 2004

sillyg said:
I cracked my upper and when i started it same thing happend.I had NO clue it was cracked I thought my timing was a couple of teeth off then i figured it out. luckily it was the stock upper I was putting on to sell the car. I had another one laying around and put it on. How big is the crack? Does it go all the way down the intake? Or it is a chunk broken off? I am sure if you take it to a good welder they can fix it. Next time make sure you tighten down the bolts the wayedelbrock says to tighten them and also make sure it sits completely flat on the lower. The high pitched noise Is most likely a vaccume leak from the crack

Thanks for the reply...

It broke off the chunk (if you got a Performer or similar you would know)...there are pieces of aluminum that stick out with the holes on them to drop over the studs and then you tighten the nuts on the studs to the 'sticking-out' aluminum...I've had the upper off a couple times with no problems and I could have swore it sat flat on there...it didn't take much at all...it just popped off (silently) though I remember feeling something give...

Yeah I'm hoping the vaccum leak made that high pitched squeel...because with that torn gasket and the motor trying to suck in the air around the torn gasket creates the "whistling" effect when a person blows air over a thin sheet of paper...

I wish I knew of some aluminum welders in my area...

I would hope they could weld it so it would be a true surface so I wouldn't have a leak because of that to...

I've got to get this car up and going as soon as possible...I need it to get back and forth to college with...

Oh yeah: The rotor does just sit where it rides right? It doesn't clip in or anything...?

5spd GT · Oct 10, 2004

giddyup306 said:
Wow you must have torqued the heck out of that intatke. Use JB weld. Yes that is a huge vac leak if your hearing it. Fix the leak and you should be good.

Nope...very lightly...JB weld? Would that withstand the temps and handle a torqueing?

If you own a Performer you realize that the back right nut I was tightening has a very close fitting to the side of the upper intake (the socket is almost to thick to fit in there) and I believe as I was turning the nut (the socket came along with it) and pressed against the side trying to pry it apart: And it did...

runningmole · Oct 10, 2004

You should be able to find and aluminum welder. My buddy can tig weld that stuff. Just get an RPM upper now, Summit sells them

autoXr1 · Oct 10, 2004

Find a radiator repair shop. Those folks frequently weld aluminum.

Michael Yount · Oct 10, 2004

Machine shop can do it to. It's gonna require welding - jb weld won't hold it.

ALWAYS use a torque wrench on the aluminum bits to keep from overtightening. If you don't have one, go buy one. The upper bolts should never be tightened past 10 ft-lbs. As for the other trouble shooting on start up, no need to bother with it until you solve the manifold, gasket and related vacuum leak issues.

BTW - if they have to weld the ear back on, be sure they mill a few thousandths off the bottom too to true the mating surface back to flat. If the ear is welded on and it's even a little bit off on alignment, it will likely break again upon tightenting. A competent machine shop should know to do that.

5spd GT · Oct 10, 2004

Well I don't have money for an upper (and I would stick with the Performer upper )...

I guess I'll find out if the small local machine shop can do it...I hope so...so they don't make any kind of bond to hold aluminum?

I'm about to head over to my friends house and tear it off again and see what exactly is cracked...I'll report back...

The gaskets are ordered...should be here Tuesday...

Michael Yount · Oct 10, 2004

"bond to hold aluminum" -- the aluminum to aluminum molecular bond wouldn't hold up under your tightening - you fractured the molecular bond; you think some other substance will?

Rick 91GT · Oct 10, 2004

Michael Yount said:
Machine shop can do it to. It's gonna require welding - jb weld won't hold it.

ALWAYS use a torque wrench on the aluminum bits to keep from overtightening. If you don't have one, go buy one. The upper bolts should never be tightened past 10 ft-lbs. As for the other trouble shooting on start up, no need to bother with it until you solve the manifold, gasket and related vacuum leak issues.

BTW - if they have to weld the ear back on, be sure they mill a few thousandths off the bottom too to true the mating surface back to flat. If the ear is welded on and it's even a little bit off on alignment, it will likely break again upon tightenting. A competent machine shop should know to do that.

I agree 100%....take it have it welded professionally. The cast upper will need to be heated and kept under a heat blanket while welded, you need to find someone that can or has expeirence welding cast.

I use a thin walled socket for the back or even a 1/4" drive socket, you were putting way to mich stress on the nut and ear as you were tighting the bolt.

raykrv6a · Oct 10, 2004

Just take it off and get it welded. Aluminum welding is pretty common these days.

5spd GT · Oct 10, 2004

Well we pulled it off a while ago...it broke the ear off cleanly at an angle...

I didn't tighten it hard at all...it must have not been sitting flush? The other bolts I tightened were fine...that just happened to be the last one I was doing and it broke it off...

I only know of one local machine shop...I'm going to go by their tomorrow and see what they can do...I mention to them to keep it flat true surface, and I'll tell them to heat it up (just the section right) and put it in a heat blanket or what?

So it is Cast Aluminum?

It appears I've got a coolant leak (coming from center of motor by looking at the puddle area or it could be rolling down)...and it looks like power steering fluid is on the ground also...what would cause that?

Also...the rotor just sits down where it rides right? It doesn't clip in or nothing?

Michael Yount · Oct 10, 2004

Just press the rotor down onto the dist. shaft as far as it will go. If the cap goes on ok, you're alright.

Is it possible that something was wedging the manifold up - like one of the vacuum fittings sitting on a valve cover, or something like that? Perhaps the throttle cable bracket touching a valve cover? If anything was holding the upper 'up' or keeping it from sitting completely flush, and you tried to tighten against it, it would definitely break an ear off. So when you get it back, you may want to check the fit. On my Explorer intake with no egr, I had to put a 1" spacer between lower and upper to allow the bottom of the throttle cable bracket to clear the valve cover - or I could've had the same problem you did.

In fact, it's quite a common problem. The guy who I bought my Explorer intake from had broken the front ear off. But he had it professionally welded and trued - and even repainted it --- you have to look inside the number one runner (the upper) to tell that there was anything done to it - very professional repair. So it can be done.

raykrv6a · Oct 10, 2004

I have a Honda 1800 Goldwing and it was recalled due to bad welds on the swingarm. It's all aluminum swingarms and welds. They ground out the bad weld and TIG welded in the new. Look in the Yellow pages under Welding if you aren't happy with the shop you know of.

5spd GT · Oct 10, 2004

Michael Yount said:
Just press the rotor down onto the dist. shaft as far as it will go. If the cap goes on ok, you're alright.

Is it possible that something was wedging the manifold up - like one of the vacuum fittings sitting on a valve cover, or something like that? Perhaps the throttle cable bracket touching a valve cover? If anything was holding the upper 'up' or keeping it from sitting completely flush, and you tried to tighten against it, it would definitely break an ear off. So when you get it back, you may want to check the fit. On my Explorer intake with no egr, I had to put a 1" spacer between lower and upper to allow the bottom of the throttle cable bracket to clear the valve cover - or I could've had the same problem you did.

In fact, it's quite a common problem. The guy who I bought my Explorer intake from had broken the front ear off. But he had it professionally welded and trued - and even repainted it --- you have to look inside the number one runner (the upper) to tell that there was anything done to it - very professional repair. So it can be done.

The rotor pulled up...no catch in it at all...I'll pull the cap and see if I can push it down...

I didn't even think about a vaccum fitting on the valve cover...the side that broke is the side where the pcv valve hose goes underneath the right outside of the intake...I wonder if that was hitting it...? Good point...

I know my throttle bracket doesn't clear the valve covers to well but it wasn't connected at the time of the "crack"...but I'm going to trim the (grind) bracket to clear...

5spd GT · Oct 11, 2004

Dropped it off at the machine shop today...he said he would weld it on and would get it all straight for me...I'll see how good of a job they do on it when I pick up tomorrow...

If the gasket comes in tomorrow on time and I pick up the intake I should get the car up and running...

We were going to change out the balancer today and it would not come off...we broke off an extension trying to get it off...we had the E-brake on, in second gear, and the foot brake on and it still turned the engine over...so were just going to leave it on...I guess I have a spare balancer now...

Anybody know what size belt I need for my car (I have a "smog pump delete") so it will be shorter...

I checked the rotor and it wouldn't push down...it just rests on its "spot"...

BlackFox5.0 · Oct 11, 2004

I bought my intake and the ear was cracked off, and JB welded back on. Soon enough it gave way. I had it welded at a metal fabricator shop. I told him weld all the way around the crack, even on the mounting surface. He did as I told him, and I just smoothed out the weld with a file, no problems or leaks since. He charged me $20 for it.

Michael Yount · Oct 12, 2004

Try your balancer again - this time put the car in 4th or 5th gear; see if that won't do it.

5spd GT · Oct 12, 2004

Michael Yount said:
Try your balancer again - this time put the car in 4th or 5th gear; see if that won't do it.

Will try it today if my gasket comes in...I'm about to leave to pick up the intake...

Cracked Performer upper...what are my options...& (starts-revs-dies)?

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