Air leak SBC inlet manifold

Air leak SBC inlet manifold

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Discussion

tuxman

Original Poster:

9,011 posts

245 months

Tuesday 19th October 2004
quotequote all
i have built a SBC for my ultima and it has covered 2500 miles without any problems apart from a air leak on the inlet manifold into the valee ,this creates a jump on rundown at low RPM ,has anybody any ideas how to fix this , have refitted it with new gaskets but it still has only 9inches of vacume at idle ,could there be a fault on manifold its a edelbrock air-gap

steve_D

13,796 posts

265 months

Tuesday 19th October 2004
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Try posting this on Chevytalk.com
They have seen it all.

Steve

eliot

11,728 posts

261 months

Wednesday 20th October 2004
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Has the top of the block been machined (decked), this changes the angle of the heads in relation to the manifold.
Are you using fel-pro gaskets ?(the best in my opinion)

Eliot.

>> Edited by eliot on Wednesday 20th October 08:54

tuxman

Original Poster:

9,011 posts

245 months

Friday 22nd October 2004
quotequote all
hi eliot yes the block has been decked and we are using felpro gaskets p/no 1205 do you know if they do a better gasket ?

steve_D

13,796 posts

265 months

Friday 22nd October 2004
quotequote all
[quote=eliot]Has the top of the block been machined (decked), this changes the angle of the heads in relation to the manifold.
Are you using fel-pro gaskets ?(the best in my opinion)

Eliot. quote]

The angle does not change but the inlet faces of the heads are closer together which forces the inlet manifold to sit higher so the ports may not line up.
A normal skim even to zero deck should not prevent the inlet from sealing but the port match may not be ideal.
The Felpro gaskets are the best. The 1205 is a common choice but may not be the ideal for your head and manifold combination.

Put a couple of spots of bluetac on the gasket and place it on the head with a couple of bolts to align it, does it seal all around each port? Remove the bolts leaving the gasket in place. Now put many more spots of bluetac on the gasket top face. Carefully place the manifold in position and press it down. When you take it off again you want the gasket to come with it so you can see if the gasket also aligns properly and seals the ports on the manifold.

Good luck. I've only just managed to stop the oil coming out of mine.
Steve

Boosted Ls1

21,198 posts

267 months

Friday 22nd October 2004
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You haven't said how you know it's an air leak ??

If air is getting in then wouldn't the revs rise, do the revs rise? Are you running a holley by any chance?