intake manifold on, or off when doing engine back in?

[Saskatoon Subaru]

Should i install the intake manifold before or after the engine is in the car? It look tough to get to the driveplate/torque converter access hole with it on, any suggest ens?

[Arctic Assassian]

In. I hate those bolts.

[TheSubaruJunkie]

I removed the intake manifold before I removed the engine and it was simple to get to the flex plate bolts.

Now that im ready to put the motor back in, I decided to bolt the manifold onto the block before putting it into the car. Yes, it does look like a pain in the ass to get the flex plate bolts with the manifold on... but my back cant take trying to install the manifold on a bare block inside the car.

We'll see tomorrow when i drop the motor back in the car.
-Brian

[Saskatoon Subaru]

yea i'm thinking it would be easier to put the manifold on before too, let me know how it goes.

[douglas vincent]

For installation, I prefer to leave the manifold off. I do this about 75% of the time.

[Matt Monson]

I'm with Douglas and usually do it with it in the car whether or not it's an auto tranny. I just find it a lot easier to find the balance point on the swinging engine and get the studs aligned more easily...