First Time: How long to swap intake manifold

fiveoho said:

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*are there any intakes that will cause clearance issues with the strut tower brace?

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• 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.

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...

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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. Although I'm confident if I did it again I could bang it out in like 3-4 hours.

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1TallMF said:

Just about every GT40-based or aftermarket intake is made taller and will not clear the factory STB

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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

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fiveoho said:

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?

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GTJake said:

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

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