Intake Swap Starts Tommorow....uh-oh!!!

[extremetrek]

Well you guys have talked me into it and I am going to be doing my own intake swap from the stocker to a Trick Flow Street Heat intake starting tomorrow morning. Can't say I really know what the heck I am doing, beyond what i've spent far too many hours reading on these boards. Anyway, even though none of you really know me, I do blame every penny i've spent on my car on every one of you!!! So I figure maybe you can answer a few questions:

1.) When I take out the distributor does the #1 piston have to be at TDC or do I just have to mark where it is and make sure it gets right back there?

2.) How long do I REALLY have to wait to drive the car after the install?

3.) What are the top five (5) problems faced in this kind of project?

4.) Any other advice?

In either case I will let you all know how it goes, with plenty of pics! Wish me luck, I am a rocket scientist, not a car guy. Maybe tommorow will change that

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

Just mark the distributor's base where it meets the block and mark where the rotor is pointing at on the cap's base. Then simply yank it. You never have to bring the engine to TDC even when installing heads.

I just mark the distributor, yank it, remove all the parts, and then reinstall it before I start turning the engine to put the rockers on.

I like to wait overnight to drive the car just to make sure all the RTV dries well. I use Permatex High Tack sealant on the head side of the lower intake gaskets and then use nothing on the intake side of the gaskets since they have the "Permoseal". Use RTV to make your end seals. I like to lay down a nice thick 1/4" bead.

Cut the heads off of two intake bolts, screw one in the front of one head and the other in rear of the opposite head. Then you can drop the intake down on the heads in perfect alignment.

 

[94gts]

i just had to swap out my lower today for a new piece(dont ask why ). You actually dont have to even take out the distributor, though it does make it easier. i didnt even remove mine when i did my heads. Any more ?, just ask

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

I use a black marker, just put a dot on the base of the dizzy and the block, line em up when you stab it again. Run a bead of RTV on a piece of scrap somewhere and put it in the shade, when it dries up, the RTV you used to install your stuff should be set up too. Top 5, when I put that on my car..1.the little things I broke along the way, but you got a good list, may save you from a panic trip to the store, 2.running out of beers, 3. getting sunburn on my back, 4.worrying cause I never did it before, and 5.being $hi!faced after drinking all my beers/not being able to drive when it was done.
Good luck man, you'll be cruising tonight with a little more ooomph under the hood. Last bit of advice...got a frined who had done it before, or just find someone around your town driving a fast stang, they'll know how to do it, prolly help for a 6 pack or something

 

[brentwoodboy]

DEFINITELY cut the head off of two old intake bolts and use those as studs to drop the lower on the heads. I didn't do that and had to redo everything because of a leak. Have fun with the Egr thing comin up form the header! To loosen that use a big adjustable wrench, put some lube on the bolt or somthing and just YANK. You will probably need new vacuum lines from Pep Boys or Autozone. Also, try installing your elbow and TB while the upper is NOT on the car, it might save you ALOT of hassle.

 

[CManT1914]

Take your time, make sure you MARK EVERYTHING YOU DISCONNECT!! Like vacuum lines, electrical connections etc. Depending on how tall that intake is, your EGR might not fit back on (too short), but it went back on my Cobra intake just fine, so I wouldn't be too worried about it. Make sure your mating surfaces are SPOTLESS. Scrape them with a razor blade or something to get all the old gasket material off, but be careful not to knick the surface. RTV is your friend. You'll need to flush the coolant and oil system, otherwise you're gonna have one HECK of a mess on your hands. So have antifreeze and oil ready for afterwards. When you pull the lower intake off, make sure you plug all the head ports with paper towels to avoid getting any gasket material or other crud in there. It's good to have a shop vac handy to vacuum all the oil, antifreeze, and crap out of the valley. That's about all I can think of. I was driving mine an hour after we got it put back together, so you don't neccessarily have to wait overnight. Good luck, let us know how it goes, or if you need any more info.
-Chris

 

[SMOKEDYA]

here's what i did. mark the dist. like they said TDC dosent matter! BUT MAKE SHURE YOU DONT TURN IT WHEN IT'S OUT OF THE CAR! Mark all plug wire's! Then go get a wire brush wheel for a drill clean all the surface's VERY VERY WELL! The cleaner the better the less leaks!!! Take the old intake bolts to the store to get new one's if the one you are installing dont have them and like they said chop off the head's of 2-4 of them to help reline up the new one. Once everything is clean and dry put a 1/2 bead of sealer on the front and rear where the lower meet's the block, DONT USE THE CORK GASKET IT COMES WITH! Go to the store and pick up some of the RIGHT STUFF sealer made by permatex item number 25224 it's expensive but if ya do it right it's hella good! Put the 1/2" bead on wait like 5 mins. then bolt on the intake tighten the bolt's the first round of tourque sequence 96 IN. LBS.wait 1/2 hour then go to the second step of tourque sequence 16 FT LBS then on to the final step of 25 FT. LBS NOTICE THE FIRST STEP IS INCH LBS THE REST IS FT. LBS!!! After you do the final TQ. sequence i'd go over it again! Then by the time you get all the other stuff hooked up you should be good to drive it, you will also need a thermostat housing gasket make shure you put the stat in the right way! Make shure you get all the stuff out of the galley in the block i used a shop vac to help this. You will also need to get new coolant and new oil and filter as well, if i was you i'd drain the oil after you do the work. If you dont have a manual i'd get one i got a haynes and there very helpfull! Any other help let us know! One more tip you'll need a special tool to take off the fuel line's from the rail's and when you reinstall the injector's in the new intake put a VERY VERY small amount of oil on the rubber o ring's to help them seat better and dont let them get dirt on them. I dont know what the directions say but you will need some plugs and some vac. line plugs as well for the new intake Let me know if ya need anymore help. BTW i just did mine over father's day weekend to go out the following monday to blow up the tranny peace



john

 

[SMOKEDYA]

As far as the EGR tube goes you can cap it off at the header and the EGR get a cap from the bolt/hardware store. peace



john

 

[extremetrek]

Well I just finished removing the stock lower, so I guess its just about time to get all that old gasket crap off of the intake ports and get ready to install the new stuff. Any pics of this egr thing. Everything came off no problem, and I didn't seem to really disconnect very much stuff so maybe this is going to be easier than I thought...maybe...In any case thanks for all the advice...i'll let ya know how it goes.

 

[extremetrek]

Hef where does that spacer go... on the bolt?

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

PM'd ya to. There should be a stud in that location. Kinda looks like a bolt, but has threads coming out the top, too. That get's trq'd down. slide the spacer on, then the heater hard line, then a nut to hold them in place. Just keeps the hard lines from being pulled down when you tighten the nut up. good luck

 

[mytight95]

I like to wait overnight to drive the car just to make sure all the RTV dries well. I use Permatex High Tack sealant on the head side of the lower intake gaskets and then use nothing on the intake side of the gaskets since they have the "Permoseal". Use RTV to make your end seals. I like to lay down a nice thick 1/4" bead.

Cut the heads off of two intake bolts, screw one in the front of one head and the other in rear of the opposite head. Then you can drop the intake down on the heads in perfect alignment.

I would have to agree strongly with both of those statements.....I drove mine a couple hours after the install, and i believe this to be the reason i have to reseal my rear intake to block area.....oil leak.....

and the bolt thingy makes it so much easier, especially since you don't really wanna booger up the RTV>..

Now, should you wait till the next day to start the car, as well as drive it i don't know.... and am curious to know...lol




jason

 

[extremetrek]

Well, I did it, I got it installed, it only took 13 hours of work, but for me, I am impressed. I will post pics in the morning but right now I am off to bed! Thanks for all the help.

 

[mytight95]

good job get some sleep....


jason

 

[extremetrek]

Okay so the car is running now, about to take it out for a spin. I noticed that the engine/exhaust sounds kinda pulse like, which isn't what i remember it sounding like. What are the symptoms of bad timing and how can I correct it?

 

[urban96]

i also let the RTV dry overnight before i drive/started it and i didnt have any leaks

 

[CManT1914]

Okay so the car is running now, about to take it out for a spin. I noticed that the engine/exhaust sounds kinda pulse like, which isn't what i remember it sounding like. What are the symptoms of bad timing and how can I correct it?

If your timing is retarded, it will idle real low. If it is advanced to much, you will have pinging. You'll need a timing light to check/change the timing. It would be a good idea since you probably pulled the distributor when you did the swap right?

 

[extremetrek]

I think the timing is okay, it was pinging before and now its not, the new problem is that its overheating. I don't see any leaks so....I dunno just have to wait to see what happens I guess.

 

[SeventyMach1]

What temp. thermo did U put in it?

 

[extremetrek]

its still the stock 192* I think maybe we had a loose hose sucking air into the cooling system, we fixed that and now I am going to go run it again and see if it solves the problem. My other though was that the thermo was messed up during the install. Would that throw a code on an OBD I? I hooked mine up to it and it didn't come up with anything...