intake gaskets

mexicanzero · Post by **mexicanzero** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:02 pm

so i've got an intake gasket leak
went and got a couple from the dealer and brought all the tools i THINK i'll need from work.

easiest way to do this would be undoing all the bolts and basically prying the manifold up to change the gaskets now these are sortof metallic ish type gaskets so if i do it this way will they come off in one piece? like say a head gasket or will it be like the paper throttle body and water pump gaskets where you have to scrape it off both surfaces the whole way around. cuz then i'd have to actually remove the manifold completely from the car.

and should the new ones go on dry like a headgasket or put a bit of high temp silicone like with a water pump gasket.

any other tips would be great
thanks!
-Alex

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:47 pm

I thought they used paper ones. I know the ones I got my my DOHC motor are paper gaskets. I too was wondering if I was supposed to add a sealant to them but I just installed mine dry.

mexicanzero · Post by **mexicanzero** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:34 pm

nope the ones that came off were identical to the new ones and they look to be sortof like a metalic composite type gasket not the same as a head gasket but much tougher and durable looking than the paper ones.

i ended up taking the manifold right off, i figured i might as well do it right and clean both surfaces up really good.

it was a slight pain in the ass but i have to say i've done alternators on hondas that were more of a pain in the ass. this car was very VERY well engineered. there were plugs by the battery! so the wiring harness stayed with teh manifold andi didnt have to unplug everything and snake out the harness. when i did an engine swap on a cadillac i had to cut something like 30 wires cuz the entire cars harness was one piece... as in there were things plugged in the trunk that were one piece wire alll the way to the engine. GAY!

took me all of 4 hours which isnt bad considering it was in my driveway and i've never touched a subaru manifold.

the gaskets did come off in one piece so it would have been ok if i didnt actually pull the manifold but its always good to make sure both the mani and head contact surfaces are ok and really clean.
i did re&re the alternator and p.s. pump to make things a lot easier but techinically i didnt have to.

basically i had to undo the fuel lines the canister vac lines and the booster vac line, a couple coolant lines and i unbolted the res. spark plug wires, the breather lines or wtvr for the crankcase and the valve covers also had to be removed. the t.b. and iac coolant lines were a bitch, unplug the oil press switch and both coolant temp sensors, intake plumbing (tmic for me) and unbolt the manifold! it has to be twisted up at the front a bit but it came out easily. i think that was it...

final impression... my car idles and runs great even right on startup whereas it used to not idle under 900 rpm and for the first 5 mins of driving it would run extremely lean and bog wildly.

i have like 4 pics but i lost my cameras cord so once i get a card reader i'll post them.

if you got questions i'll provide answers

-Alex

mexicanzero · Post by **mexicanzero** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:39 pm

oh and to find an intake gasket leak if you suspect one spray carb cleaner around the gasket area with the engine running and listen to the engine, if theres a leak it'll suck in carb cleaner and the rpms will drop and it will bog and stumble, it may even die if the leak is big enough.

dont use brake clean it works great maybe even better than carb cleaner but i've seen a car go up in flames cuz someone used a bit too much brake clean near hot engine parts

-Alex

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:20 am

Cool, but did you use a sealant or just bare gaskets?

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:22 am

I think I was about to buy some carb cleaner at walmart but it said on the can not to spray it around electrical if I remember correctly and that kind of freaked me out so I didn't want to risk it. This was for my metro because it sounds like there's a vacuum leak somewhere.

mexicanzero · Post by **mexicanzero** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:39 am

i just used bare gaskets as per my boss's recommendation

and i'm not sure if my can said anything about electrical stuff but as long as you dont submerge a battery in it it'll be fine

i use this stuff almost daily to clean electrical connectors from corrosion.

oh and if you can find combustion chamber cleaner it does basically the same as carb cleaner but imo better.

-Alex

mexicanzero · Post by **mexicanzero** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 1:57 am

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A forum for 89-94 BC-BF(BJ) Legacy Owners and Fans

intake gaskets

intake gaskets