ok so i finally got a cobra r upper and lower for my car....well im trying to save myself $150.00 labor, so im going to tackle it myself....the only thing ive ever installed myself is a 70mm TB, 76mm MAF and some underdrive pulleys...this is going to be much harder i think...? alot of stuff i have to take off...its kinda got me worried...lol...so how long do you think it will take me and a buddy to do?? and is there any step by step guides out there with PICS that would help me out? all i need now is some heads and a cam!
installing a upper and lower intake
- Thread starter projectfiveo
- Start date
The only issues I had were disconnecting the fuel lines and physically lifting the lower intake out by myself. The thermostat housing wouldn't clear the AC line so I suggest taking the thermostat housing off prior. And with the fuel lines, you need a special tool to disconnect them. Mine were really tight. Also some of the vacuum lines break and electrical connectors break but you can get all that stuff at junkyards. Hope this helps.
BlooDReigN
Member
Yeah, the fuel lines are kinda a bitch. You need to get a special tool for them from the part store. They are about 10-15 dollars. Other than that, everything is pretty straight forward and simple. Just take your time with it.
modusmortis
Member
- Aug 3, 2006
- 54
- 0
- 6
Are you starting with a used cobra or a new one?
You will need:
A torque wrench
4 5/16 x 1.75 to 2" studs for the throttle body(the intake side has fine threads, i think)
a good gasket scraper/razor blades
a lower intake manifold gasket set.
a egr valve gasket
rtv sealant for the lower intake manifold gasket
something to hold the lower gaskets in place when you lower in the new lower manifold ( some people recommend weatherstrip adhesive, i used rtv silicone
about two feet of 5/16 rubber hose to extend the pcv tubing
about two feet of 3/8 rubber hose to extend the vaccuum line that goes under the manifold
<1 gal coolant
a thermostat housing gasket
shop rags
a timing light (or you can use masking tape to mark where the distributor is, you will still need to get the timing adjusted with a timing light though)
fuel line disconnecting tool
vaccuum caps to block off the coolant lines that went through the egr spacer, and also to block off the vaccuum fitting just behind the throttle body mounting plate
a multimeter to adjust the tps voltage setting
things I you will probably need:
new pintle caps for the injectors (these always seem to break)
hard emissions tubing for the tree next to the throttle body (again always seem to break)
a new thermostat (a good idea)
a new pcv filter screen (this is just below the pcv valve grommet and is recommended to be replaced, you can reuse your old one but if it gets clogged you will have problems)
i'm sure i'll remember more but this is all i have for now.
Good luck!
You will need:
A torque wrench
4 5/16 x 1.75 to 2" studs for the throttle body(the intake side has fine threads, i think)
a good gasket scraper/razor blades
a lower intake manifold gasket set.
a egr valve gasket
rtv sealant for the lower intake manifold gasket
something to hold the lower gaskets in place when you lower in the new lower manifold ( some people recommend weatherstrip adhesive, i used rtv silicone
about two feet of 5/16 rubber hose to extend the pcv tubing
about two feet of 3/8 rubber hose to extend the vaccuum line that goes under the manifold
<1 gal coolant
a thermostat housing gasket
shop rags
a timing light (or you can use masking tape to mark where the distributor is, you will still need to get the timing adjusted with a timing light though)
fuel line disconnecting tool
vaccuum caps to block off the coolant lines that went through the egr spacer, and also to block off the vaccuum fitting just behind the throttle body mounting plate
a multimeter to adjust the tps voltage setting
things I you will probably need:
new pintle caps for the injectors (these always seem to break)
hard emissions tubing for the tree next to the throttle body (again always seem to break)
a new thermostat (a good idea)
a new pcv filter screen (this is just below the pcv valve grommet and is recommended to be replaced, you can reuse your old one but if it gets clogged you will have problems)
i'm sure i'll remember more but this is all i have for now.
Good luck!
Its a piece of cake. Plan a whole day for the first time. First time I did it, took me a while, just because its something new, takes time to figure stuff out. But I can have my lower intake ripped off my car in 10 minutes. Make sure to get a normal torque wrench, and do the torque sequence.
The throttle body linkage is easy stuff, im sure youve done that. Take out these 2 bolts, they should be 10mm, its connected to the egr spacer, thatll get all the t/b stuff out of the way. Id leave the egr spacer and t/b one while you take it off just so its easier.
heres the pic of the two bolts before we get ahead of ourselves.
After that, disconnect the 2 hoses going to the egr, the iac connection, the tps connection, and the egr connection, and the egr vacuum hose. You may want to mark the vacuum lines, I didnt have a smog pump so I only had to connect like 5 vacuum lines but it can get confusing if you have more. After that, take off the upper intake plaque, theres 2 long bolts, take those out with a 1/2" socket, and get an extension and get the two smaller bolts, one in the front and on in the back. Then lift up the upper intake alittle and disconnect all the vacuum lines, and pull the pcv hose out of the lower intake. Remeber to label all the lines.
Once you get the upper intake off, now is a good time to drain the coolant, unscrew the plug at the passenger side of the radiator, and take off the cap, MAKE SURE the car is cold. get a pretty big bucket under there and itll all drain out.
If you take out the distributor it makes it ALOT easier, im sure youve done this eailer but take out all the spark plug wires and the cap. Then mark the rotor where it is on the dizzy and mark the dizzy where it is to the block. Tkae out the hold down bolt and wiggle it around alittle till it comes out. Dont take out the spout connector.
Now comes the lower intake. This thing right here is a pain in the ass, youll have to take a big open end wrench and just turn the part that you see the arrow. Theres a pefect angle to get it off youll have to find it.
Also go ahead and take out the act sensor (number 2) becareful when you take it out, mine broke, its an $18 part but its a pain in the ass breaking stuff and having to go buy it. Then pull off number 3, there is also another little connection down under the p/s pump that is the oil sending unit or something for the oil pressure gauge. Take that out. And for number one, like said before the fuel rail can be a pain, but there is four bolts (two of them are being pointed to with arrow number 1, and 2 more on the other side) take those out, wiggle the fuel injectors out, and push it a side, if you dont have the fuel discconect tool dont worry about it, it can be done by just pushing it out of the way and is really easy if you have a freidn holding it. Also take out the two water pump, hoses, they can be a pain but some wd40 and a screw driver will evntually get them. Also get the two heatercore hoses at the back passegner side of the intake, where the two hoses go to the firewall, and of course the radiator hose, to the t-stat housing. Now its time to start taking off the lower intake. Take a normal socket wrench and use a 1/2 socket, may need an extension so you dont beat up your knuckle and just take them out, MAKE SURE you get them all out, you can easily miss one and youll spend hours wondering why the lower wont come off. Once their out, give it a little tug up and it should break loose, maybe jam a screwdriver or crowbar and use a hammer but I dont think thatll be necessary.
Be careful when taking off the intake, not to let too much coolant spill, and DEFINATLY DO NOT let anything fall into the heads. Go ahead and take a razor and clean all the surfaces on the heads, try not to get too much stuff in the lifter valley or in the heads.
Something Jrichker taught me with the lower intake gaskets is to take weather stripping adhesive, it comes in a spray can, and spray it on the lower intake gaskets, the side thats going on the head. When it becomes tacky, put it on the head and line it up with the ports, let it sit for like a minute. Then take blue RTV sealant and put it around the coolant passages on both sides of the gaskets, itll be good to lay it on pretty heavy. For the front and back of the intake, I used the cork gaskets, Jrichker says they work fine so I trust him. The ones that come in the felpro1250 gasket kit have a sticky adhesive that you peel off and you can stick it to the block so it stay in position, VERY nice to have, and you dont have to worry if it moved when you put the intake on. Once the gaskets are on, and the cork gaskets are in place, put some heavy RTV at the ends of the cork gaskets where it meets the intake gasket. And also spread it ontop of the cork gasket.
Before you drop the intake in and do all that, id go ahead and swap all the stuff from the stock intake to the lower, like the egr lines, the act sensor, the pcv gromet, tstat housing, etc.
Making sure the cobra intake is ready to go on, and you have RTV on the gasket around the coolant passages have a friend move all the fuel lines, and harnesses out of the way, and drop the intake into position. Make sure to do it slowly so none of the gaskets move out of position. It would be nice to have studs that screw into the heads so when you put the intake on itll be perfectly lined up and when you have the intake on you can just screw the studs out but if you dont have that it should be fine, you can use pencils or something long and straight, thats what I do. Then put antisieze on the lower intake thread bolts and start putting them on all to hand tight. Take your torque wrench and follow the torque sequence and torque specs, itll take a while to get it, and your arm and back will probably be tired by the end of it, but DO NOT skip this, make sure its done right, and torque wrench costs 20 bucks at autozone and you can find the specs and sequence anywhere. Start connecting all the stuff you took off before. Take pictures so you dont miss anything. This is a pretty detailed write up for an easy job. I may have missed a few things, this whole write up is just in my memory, and also i did this with no a/c so you may have to do some extra work with the a/c compressor, etc. And like I said I may have missed a few things but youll catch it and itll be simple. Good luck. I should probably save this write up lol..
The throttle body linkage is easy stuff, im sure youve done that. Take out these 2 bolts, they should be 10mm, its connected to the egr spacer, thatll get all the t/b stuff out of the way. Id leave the egr spacer and t/b one while you take it off just so its easier.
heres the pic of the two bolts before we get ahead of ourselves.
After that, disconnect the 2 hoses going to the egr, the iac connection, the tps connection, and the egr connection, and the egr vacuum hose. You may want to mark the vacuum lines, I didnt have a smog pump so I only had to connect like 5 vacuum lines but it can get confusing if you have more. After that, take off the upper intake plaque, theres 2 long bolts, take those out with a 1/2" socket, and get an extension and get the two smaller bolts, one in the front and on in the back. Then lift up the upper intake alittle and disconnect all the vacuum lines, and pull the pcv hose out of the lower intake. Remeber to label all the lines.
Once you get the upper intake off, now is a good time to drain the coolant, unscrew the plug at the passenger side of the radiator, and take off the cap, MAKE SURE the car is cold. get a pretty big bucket under there and itll all drain out.
If you take out the distributor it makes it ALOT easier, im sure youve done this eailer but take out all the spark plug wires and the cap. Then mark the rotor where it is on the dizzy and mark the dizzy where it is to the block. Tkae out the hold down bolt and wiggle it around alittle till it comes out. Dont take out the spout connector.
Now comes the lower intake. This thing right here is a pain in the ass, youll have to take a big open end wrench and just turn the part that you see the arrow. Theres a pefect angle to get it off youll have to find it.
Also go ahead and take out the act sensor (number 2) becareful when you take it out, mine broke, its an $18 part but its a pain in the ass breaking stuff and having to go buy it. Then pull off number 3, there is also another little connection down under the p/s pump that is the oil sending unit or something for the oil pressure gauge. Take that out. And for number one, like said before the fuel rail can be a pain, but there is four bolts (two of them are being pointed to with arrow number 1, and 2 more on the other side) take those out, wiggle the fuel injectors out, and push it a side, if you dont have the fuel discconect tool dont worry about it, it can be done by just pushing it out of the way and is really easy if you have a freidn holding it. Also take out the two water pump, hoses, they can be a pain but some wd40 and a screw driver will evntually get them. Also get the two heatercore hoses at the back passegner side of the intake, where the two hoses go to the firewall, and of course the radiator hose, to the t-stat housing. Now its time to start taking off the lower intake. Take a normal socket wrench and use a 1/2 socket, may need an extension so you dont beat up your knuckle and just take them out, MAKE SURE you get them all out, you can easily miss one and youll spend hours wondering why the lower wont come off. Once their out, give it a little tug up and it should break loose, maybe jam a screwdriver or crowbar and use a hammer but I dont think thatll be necessary.
Be careful when taking off the intake, not to let too much coolant spill, and DEFINATLY DO NOT let anything fall into the heads. Go ahead and take a razor and clean all the surfaces on the heads, try not to get too much stuff in the lifter valley or in the heads.
Something Jrichker taught me with the lower intake gaskets is to take weather stripping adhesive, it comes in a spray can, and spray it on the lower intake gaskets, the side thats going on the head. When it becomes tacky, put it on the head and line it up with the ports, let it sit for like a minute. Then take blue RTV sealant and put it around the coolant passages on both sides of the gaskets, itll be good to lay it on pretty heavy. For the front and back of the intake, I used the cork gaskets, Jrichker says they work fine so I trust him. The ones that come in the felpro1250 gasket kit have a sticky adhesive that you peel off and you can stick it to the block so it stay in position, VERY nice to have, and you dont have to worry if it moved when you put the intake on. Once the gaskets are on, and the cork gaskets are in place, put some heavy RTV at the ends of the cork gaskets where it meets the intake gasket. And also spread it ontop of the cork gasket.
Before you drop the intake in and do all that, id go ahead and swap all the stuff from the stock intake to the lower, like the egr lines, the act sensor, the pcv gromet, tstat housing, etc.
Making sure the cobra intake is ready to go on, and you have RTV on the gasket around the coolant passages have a friend move all the fuel lines, and harnesses out of the way, and drop the intake into position. Make sure to do it slowly so none of the gaskets move out of position. It would be nice to have studs that screw into the heads so when you put the intake on itll be perfectly lined up and when you have the intake on you can just screw the studs out but if you dont have that it should be fine, you can use pencils or something long and straight, thats what I do. Then put antisieze on the lower intake thread bolts and start putting them on all to hand tight. Take your torque wrench and follow the torque sequence and torque specs, itll take a while to get it, and your arm and back will probably be tired by the end of it, but DO NOT skip this, make sure its done right, and torque wrench costs 20 bucks at autozone and you can find the specs and sequence anywhere. Start connecting all the stuff you took off before. Take pictures so you dont miss anything. This is a pretty detailed write up for an easy job. I may have missed a few things, this whole write up is just in my memory, and also i did this with no a/c so you may have to do some extra work with the a/c compressor, etc. And like I said I may have missed a few things but youll catch it and itll be simple. Good luck. I should probably save this write up lol..
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TheBocSez
New Member
8950HO said:
This is an excellent idea. Thats how I did mine and it works like a charm. I also then use 2 of them in the corners to lower the upper onto the lower to keep the plenum gasket from shifting.
88Stang331
New Member
- Mar 30, 2006
- 239
- 0
- 0
RsStanG1987 said:
where exactly is this at? I have to replace head gaskets and have never done it before.
Curse
Member
Using guides is a great idea. I now use them for headers, vavle covers and anything else I can.
Remember on the last torque sequence to redo it a few times. I usually do it 5 times to get all the bolts reading @ 20 ft lbs, then after a few heat cycles check them.
Remember on the last torque sequence to redo it a few times. I usually do it 5 times to get all the bolts reading @ 20 ft lbs, then after a few heat cycles check them.
88Stang331 said:
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=664308
Theres my head swap thread.
And to the thread starter, like said before, after a few heat cycles take off the upper and retorque the lower intake.
bottlfed92
New Member
When it comes to reattaching this fitting (picture below), should the top (large black nut shaped) part be 'loose' from the actual fitting you are tightening arrow pointing to it)?
I am in the process of swapping all of my fittings and such, over to my new lower. The fitting seems to be extremely tight. However the top 'wobbles' a bit. It just seems a little loose where the blue sealant (?) is in the pic.
~Jeff
I am in the process of swapping all of my fittings and such, over to my new lower. The fitting seems to be extremely tight. However the top 'wobbles' a bit. It just seems a little loose where the blue sealant (?) is in the pic.
~Jeff
Attachments
bottlfed92 said:When it comes to reattaching this fitting (picture below), should the top (large black nut shaped) part be 'loose' from the actual fitting you are tightening arrow pointing to it)?
I am in the process of swapping all of my fittings and such, over to my new lower. The fitting seems to be extremely tight. However the top 'wobbles' a bit. It just seems a little loose where the blue sealant (?) is in the pic.
~Jeff
The lower nut is designed to turn in the upper part.There will be some movement.
Put some liquid pipe thread sealer on the threads and don`t overtighten.
You would not want to crack the intake.
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bottlfed92
New Member
8950HO said:
Sorry if I'm being a pain, here. LOL. So, even after the fitting is tightened to the point where I don't feel it should be tightened any more, there should still be some side to side and a tiny bit of 'wobble' (I know....that's a pretty weak word
)?
Id rather make sure its tight then have coolant spraying out everywhere, mine came out like 89 said it turns in the upper part and comes out, but I tightened mine till it was tight, i didnt try to tighten it more once it was tight but it shouldnt wobble around.
bottlfed92 said:Sorry if I'm being a pain, here. LOL. So, even after the fitting is tightened to the point where I don't feel it should be tightened any more, there should still be some side to side and a tiny bit of 'wobble' (I know....that's a pretty weak word
Yes,when tightened down it will still move/wobble a bit,if you try to move it by hand.
Probably some type of flexable rubber bushing in there.
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