77 Ranchero 400 - bought a weiand intake - bought the fel pro valley pan & intake gasket (metal) (all one piece). I only put RTV on the two ends - paying attention to the 4 corners. Put it together and it leaks in the back. Spent another 30 bucks - cleaned everything up - installed same way and it leaks again in the back by the oil pressure switch. Is there a trick to this or what.

 

Just install mine and i don't use the 2 rubber end. Just a good bead of silicone front & back.

 

thats exactly what I did - no joy.

 

The metal intake pan was not used during my build. We just used a Felpro gasket between the heads and intake with just a small amount of The Right Stuff to hold it in place and a 3/8" bead of black RTV on the front and rear of block. It's been over two years since the build. There have been no issues with heat or leaks. I don't think these aluminum intakes have the heat sink like the cast-iron.

 

Had the same problem .... do not use the 2 rubber ends.

I solved the problem by laying a thick bead of RTV on both sides block and intake, waited 15 min. until you can touch the surface of the bead, then fit together.

Be sure to have enough RTV on the 4 corners to manifolds, it may ooze a bit out there while fitting.

 

funny you say that about the rubber ends. I rebuilt my 400 last year and The rebuild manual I was using (tom munroes excellent one) suggested to only use the cork not the rubber. WELL I knew better, and I did use the rubber and it leaked as they had split. I had another drama with a head gasket pretty much straight away so when I replaced the manifold I used the cork gaskets that had come with the new set. I had to tighten the bolts a little more than standard as I had a leak at the rear but it did stop. I had a new pan gasket there to use but didnt and I dont know why as they are meant to help keep the intake somewhat cooler and I am all for that.

 

There is nothing wrong with using the rubber end seals if you dry fit them first and measure the gap to make sure they have the right amount of crush, most of the time they fit ok. IMO up to .030 is ok, anymore than that and I use silicone.

 

That sounds logical. it is probably why the cork always works as it just keeps squeezing up and not failing if the gap isn't big enough.

 

So got it to quit leaking oil. Motor has a lope in it that it didn't have with the stock intake. Only did the intake and carb. Motor is a rebuilt with 20,000 miles on it - don't know what cam it has, but do remember they said it would be 9:1 when i got it back after the rebuild. Have played with the timing and it runs good - just not sure about the timing. Have an actual 1977 Chiltons and 1978 Chiltons. 77 Chilton says 6 btdc. 78 one says to check engine decal due to changing production, but the decal on the engine compartment is long gone and interestingly the 78 has the timing for that year at 14 btdc - any idea where i should be with this and could the lope just be because of the intake? Currently have it set at 8 btdc

 

Timing is something you have to play with to get it right. I try to advance the timing until it pings at full throttle up a steep grade, then start backing down at 2deg. increments until the pinging stops. From there I adjust the air/fuel mixtures on the carb and run test vehicle again. You may have to do this a few times until you think it's right. Also pull the plugs after each timing and air/fuel adjustment to see if the engine is running to lean or rich. It's going to be a trial and error thing.
I hope this gets you going in the right direction.

 

Will try working that action to get it set. Why is it never as easy as it sounds on paper.

 

Ditto on the trial and error. A rule of thumb given to me was that if it starts easy and no pinging you're pretty close so if it does every thing you want is it too bad? A couple of guys I've asked for advice don't even use the timing light and haven't for years. Now i've played with my 400 a bit and I can get it running easy as long as I set the base timing before start to 10deg BTDC.
I've tried advancing the timing while running until the revs stop increasing and backed off a little, I always found it wouldn't start and kicked back against the starter so that idea definitely didn't fly (that was meant to be for power and max advance) and I would always wind back the timing until it started ok and take it for a drive to check for pinging. It went well when running though. Just make sure the vac line to the distributor is disconnected (and plugged) if adjusting using the timing light.

 

X3 on the trial and error method on your timing. with non stock compression and a different cam the stock timing specs are only a guess in the dark.

 

MY 78 F150 400M 4X4 DECAL SAYS 4 DEGREES BTDC IF THAT HELPS, NOW IF ONLY I COULD BUDGE THE DIST TO GET IT THERE!!!!

 

I busted a tab on my distributor cap trying to move it one day. If I got it to lift a little it could be rotated ok, but once the clamp was done up for operation it locked solid again. After I rebuilt the engine for some reason it stopped doing that. Maybe I took a burr off somewhere I can't remember