Waiting on the UPS man

[StangLou]

Just ordered my Cobra upper and lower intake. Hoping to have it mid next week. Anything tricky to look for when installing it? Anyone know of a good write up by chance? Also, do I need to find TDC before I get going with the install, Ive heard people say yay and nay.

 

[1990Coupe]

:OT: Kinda off topic but did you order the new chinese intake? or a used one?

 

[BaXTeR3221]

Intake install is pretty straight forward. I had the upper off this past weekend along with the fuel rails. The only thing left w. the lower would have been some bolts and the dizzy. I'm sure there is a right up on here somewhere. Best advice is take pictures or label the vacum lines to make sure they go back to the right place.

 

[StangLou]

Its from GEFRacing.com. They normally only sell FRPP and legit parts, so I hope its the real thing.
So no one found TDC before installing their intakes???

 

[1990Coupe]

No u dont need TDC to do the intake install..... The chinese intake is a FRPP but the plant that makes them is in china now.. I read that somewhere in a past thread, and id quote it if the thread wasnt gone!!

 

[StangLou]

As long as its FRPP Im good . Sucks its overseas though . So much for made in America...

 

[StangLou]

I figured as long as I dont have to remove the distributor I dont need to worry about TDC. It should be possible to do the install without taking off the distributor right???

 

[2002BLGT]

you should only need to find TDC if you pull the distributor and dont mark where you pulled it .....its easier to pull it anyway though IMO......

 

[2002BLGT]

you should order a stage 1 trickflow cam and install both at the same time .... you will see a much better gain ......

 

[tunedin302]

I would suggest you find TDC of the #1 piston when doing the install. Take out your spark plugs. Crank the motor with a socket on the crank shaft until you can feel the #1 piston coming to the top of the cylinder. Look at the timing marks and if it is near the "TDC" mark on the dampner then it is on the correct stroke, but it will also be at the top of the cyclinder on the exhaust stroke and that is the wrong stroke. Get the timing marks on the damper to TDC. Look at where the rotor is and make sure it is at the #1 position in relation to the cap. Make note of exactly where it is in relation to the cap. I usually use a marker to mark the exactly where on the cap the rotor is lined up. If you reinstall the distributor one tooth off it will run like crap. Make sure to use some RTV on the front and rear seals of the lower intake when you do the swap. Follow the torque sequence as outlined in the Haynes manual. Also a good time to change your thermostat, PCV, screen, grommet, rotor and spark plugs. Good luck.
Good luck.

 

[Daggar]

you should only need to find TDC if you pull the distributor and dont mark where you pulled it .....its easier to pull it anyway though IMO......

I'm going to hazard a guess that you might need a littlel more explanation than that. Before you pull the dizzy... Take the cap off and mark the location that rotor is pointing to inside of the distributor. Also... mark both the distributor and mounting port where it goes into the block. When you put the dizzy back in, all you gotta do is line up your marks. You won't even have to set your timing. It'll already be set (unless you want to check it afterwards).

Pick up a few cans of brake cleaner and a good scraper for cleaning up the old gasket for the lower intake (I use a one inch wide wood chizel). Have a shp vac standing up for sucking up the mess that's going to be made by scraping up the gaskets (a good, powerful one because you'll need to suck out the shavings that fall into the intake and exhaust ports as well). Good Luck!

 

[04sleeper]

I'm going to hazard a guess that you might need a littlel more explanation than that. Before you pull the dizzy... Take the cap off and mark the location that rotor is pointing to inside of the distributor. Also... mark both the distributor and mounting port where it goes into the block. When you put the dizzy back in, all you gotta do is line up your marks. You won't even have to set your timing. It'll already be set (unless you want to check it afterwards).

I would suggest to check it afterwards. It will get you close this way Dagg, but not exact. Maybe upto a couple of degrees off.

Pick up a few cans of brake cleaner and a good scraper for cleaning up the old gasket for the lower intake (I use a one inch wide wood chizel). Have a shp vac standing up for sucking up the mess that's going to be made by scraping up the gaskets (a good, powerful one because you'll need to suck out the shavings that fall into the intake and exhaust ports as well). Good Luck!

I usually lay a rag in the lifter valley and stuff paper towels down each port so nothing goes down into them. If you are careful enough when lifting out the paper towels and then the rag there will not be much shavings in the engine.

 

[StangLou]

awesome guys, thanks
This is my first major wrenching exercise lol. Ive had the upper off before, but never the lower.
I just want to do as much work as I can on my 5.0. They are a bit easier to work on than the modulars imo.
I plan on taking it up to the shop after the install and have them dyno it. Its never had a baseline, but its not capable of making it before the install due to a coolant leak in the egr. Ill see what they can do with the timing to squeak out whatever I can.
Im hoping this will go well, and Ill give the K member and coilover kit install a shot next!!!

 

[TheUser]

A lot of guys like to use RTV for the front and rear lower seals - if you do that, make sure you let it set up and get a little stiff before you install the lower. Either go that way, or I got the intake-to-head gasket kit w/ the rubber end seals instead of cork. Most of us agree the cork gaskets don't work very well.

Michael Yount once posted this to help me and I try to post it in threads like these:

To get the lower lined up correctly, which can be difficult at times, get some bolts the same size as the lower intake bolts (should be 7/16) about 2 inches long, cut (or grind) the heads of the bolts off, slot them and use them as dowels or studs to help line up and properly install the lower. One on each corner should be fine - so 4 total. Once installed and you get a few bolts in, remove the dowels w/ a flat head screwdriver and put your bolts in. Remember to follow your torque sequences and amounts in your manual.

I don't know if it comes w/ gaskets or not, but a stock uppper-to-lower gasket will not work because the ports are different. You can get the gaskets from summitracing.com (about $20 for 5 gaskets) or an auto parts store. If they don't have 93 cobra gaskets, you could probably get one for a 96 explorer and it should work I believe.

 

[StangLou]

The kit comes with all gaskets/hoses except the ones for the heads. I ordered those as well.
thats a good idea about the bolts to hold the gaskets in place. I was going to put beads here and there of sealant to hold them in place while I put on the lower, but your idea sounds more sturdy