Because Edelbrock recommends it Chris, and won't warranty leaks if you don't.
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_...e_Manifold.pdf
Look at step 5 under gasket surface preparation.

"With Edelbrock manifolds,
you must use RTV High Temp
silicone sealer instead of end
seal gaskets. Apply a 1/4"
thick ribbon of sealant across
each end seal surface. Some
installations will require 02
sensor safe silicone."

 

Yes, it has the Performer 400, non-EGR. But, I wouldn't have thought it was very heavy. However, I'm thinking I'll wait to pull/reinstall it when I have it on the engine stand as I swap engines. That way I can do a good job w/o laying on my stomach to do it.

I use the RTV approach, although the Permatex brand I have is blue - more appropriate for a Ford.

 

I see.

I still wouldn't be surprised if the end gaskets were used, especially considering the way the previous owner swapped the transmission into Rusty.

 

That is a possibility. But, we need to remember that on the M-block it is actually the valley pan that seals the oil in, and not the intake manifold. Or, do I have that wrong?

And, by the way, the example of the tranny swap is no where near all. Just today I'm placing the rear drive shaft in phase, and it has been out for as long as I've had it since I didn't pull the slip-yoke to put the u-joint in, although it would have been easier.

Then there was the front drive shaft that "needed a u-joint". Yebbut, the slip-yoke had worn the shaft's splines and the shaft itself badly. (Luckily that wasn't the case on the rear shaft - I just checked.) So, $150 later Rusty is almost a 4wd truck. Now I'm looking for enough of the right-sized u-bolts with which to secure the shaft to the yokes.

 

The valley pan should provide the seal for the intake to heads. On most, if not all, aftermarket applications they instruct you NOT to use the valley pan. Actually I've never been into an M block so maybe I don't know for sure

I know I keep reading this but I've always had very good luck with the stock end gaskets. I use the rubber ones that have the round tab/pin that insterts down into the block to keep it in place. A dab of RTV at the corners and all set.

When I installed my Weiand, they recommended to use the RTV instead of the end gaskets so I did. The thing leaked like a stuck pig so I had to take it back off. I reinstalled with the rubber end gaskets and haven't seen a drop of oil since.

 

Well, the best laid plans.....

Found the needed u-bolts and installed the front shaft. Nada. Put it back in the air and find that it will hook up the front yoke to the rear yoke, but not in the detents for 4 Hi or 4 Lo, only in between. Unfortunately neither the '81 factory shop manual nor Motor's Domestic Transmission Manual have testing procedures.

Having said that, if feels like a shifting fork problem rather than broken or stripped gears. I say the because I can get it into 4 Hi part way between the 4 Hi and Neutral position on the shifter. And, I can get it into 4 Lo part way between Neutral and 4 Lo on the shifter. But, when fully in the supposed Hi & Lo positions on the shifter all the power goes to the rear. Having said that, there is a bit of slack in the front yoke as opposed to the rear yoke when engaged. But, that makes sense as the front yoke is chain-driven and the rear is gear driven, so the slack must be chain slack.

And, when I get the front and rear hooked up the indicator does show 4WD, although it also shows that when it is in the detented position where there is no front drive.

Anyone have experience working on these t-cases?

 

I know a guy

I will ask in a bit.

 

I thought you might. In fact, now even I know a guy. First name, last name, email address, and the fact he has no cell phone.

Anyway, Bruno called from across the street (until he moves) at James' house. (James, the guy that built Dad's differential inc the Kevlar clutches, rebuilt Rusty's differential and front drive shaft, and diagnosed the rear shaft as being out of phase.) He thinks it sounds like a shift fork problem. (Where did I read that before? ) Maybe the plastic or nylon shoes have worn out or fallen off the shift forks.

I thought about installing the BW1356 t-case that's hanging off the rear of the ZF5, but a few measurements dissuaded me of that. It looks like the new front shaft would work, but the rear shaft won't. The NP208 on Rusty has a fixed yoke output and the drive shaft has a slip-yoke on the front. But the BW1356 has a splined output shaft like a C6. And, while I have two drive shafts for a C6 long box, they are about 10" too long for that monster t-case.

Looks like the NP208 will have to come apart - at some point. Right now it works fine in 2WD, but I'll have to fix it before selling it. Or, strike a deal with someone that knows someone that seems to be able to fix all things pertaining to drivelines. Maybe said expert could make the right drive shaft for a BW1356 and the NO could have a mean t-case!?

 

Hmmm... someone has his wheels turning. Remember nothing is set in stone.

 

As Chris will attest, the wipers on Rusty lacked a lot. So, thinking I might get my bride to ride in Rusty to see Dad tomorrow, I tackled the wipers. (Unfortunately, it was Rusty or Janey, and I chose Janey. But, I'm not sure how to break it to Rusty that he doesn't get to go.)

Thank goodness for factory manuals! Here's the first test in the manual for intermittent wipers:That was a perfect description of the symptoms, so I had expectations that the ground would fix it, especially since the bracket it was grounded to was rusty. But, it didn't fix it so I pulled out the switch and governor that I had on the shelf and began the chore of getting the switch and governor out.

After pulling the instrument bezel, and of course the panel under it, the cover on the steering column, and the headlight and wiper switches I finally got it off. I plugged the "new" governor in place of the original one and that fixed the problem with the exception that the delay setting was erratic. Sure enough, the switch was loose on the back, so I tried the "new" one and that solved all of the problem.

I put it all back together with the exception of the instrument bezel since the tach doesn't work and I'm going to check that out next. But, along the way I noticed that the dome light came on briefly, which was the first I knew that the dome light was even connected. So, I checked out the driver's door switch and it was sticking. A little TV tuner lube and it works fine. But, the passenger's side switch was broken, so I pulled one off of Brownie, lubed it, and installed it. Now Rusty even has dome lights!

Man, I've gotta sell this thing or I'm going to have everything fixed! But, it is satisfying to fix things, especially since it isn't costing anything.

 

Sounds like Rusty is my Truck's twin.

Same happened to me about 10 years ago.

It took me longer to figure it out. No acces to knowledge. But end result was same and still working.

 

And these old trucks will still be going....

So long as we keep them going.

Minor easy stuff and she serves her humble duty. Love it.

 

Note: If you think you've already read this maybe you have 'cause I posted most of this, although not all, on WHYDTYTT. But, since I want to document what I'm doing to Rusty, I'm copying it here as well - and I'm adding to it since I wasn't done when I posted earlier.

I fixed the tach on Rusty. Well, actually, I put a good tach into the instrument cluster in place of the one that doesn't work. I'd checked out the wiring (inc the 8 cyl ground, RW) and all was good. Sure enough, this tach works. But, it goes in Dad's truck when the time comes - just in case some lurker is thinking "Aha! I'll buy Rusty and get a working tach!"

I also popped out the blue filters while I was in there as it was impossible to read the instruments at night, cleaned and checked all the bulbs, and washed off 31 years of grunge. The thing I forgot to do was to install a bulb in the 4x4 indicator, but that's not a problem since this cluster will come out before the transfer case is fixed, so a bulb can go in then.

Speaking of that, I'm thinking the t-case work will wait until I do the transmission & engine swap with Dad's truck. It has to come out then anyway and I don't need 4x4 at the moment, so that would make one less time to pull it. But, I'm making arrangements for that work to be done when the time comes as I'm hoping to trade James' time for some parts.

In addition, I fixed the headlights. I'd noticed that the brights didn't work properly - in fact, they turned off and on every once in a while, like every few seconds. Turns out the switch itself was bad, so I put one in that was on my shelf, tightened up the connections, and lubed them. Problem solved.

Then, having the kick panel off I decided to see if I could clean it up since it was awful. AWFUL! That turned out pretty good so I did the passenger's kick panel and then the passenger's door panel. Before and after shots are below, but let me say a few words about how I did it - abrasion. Lots of it. I had to knock off the badly weathered, dried, mealy, dirty plastic that was showing. The best combination I found was a brass-bristled brush to knock most of it off, followed by 60-grit sandpaper, and then a very coarse abrasive pad. And lots of water to wash the residue away. Lots of it. Then, when it was dry I saturated it with Armor All and then worked that in with the abrasive pad. I think they turned out pretty good. Not perfect, but a lot better than they were. Don't you agree?

 

Wow those look great Gary!! Lot's of hard work paid off

 

Thanks, Kev. Still need to do the driver's side as well as the yukky stuff behind the seat. But, I'm thinking about leaving that for the NO, but point out what the ones I've done used to look like and what the others can look like.



Today we took Rusty to Owasso to take our recycling stuff to their recycle center. I had noticed yesterday that the voltages I was seeing when testing the tach wiring weren't up to snuff, so had put the battery charger on in trickle mode. But, when I started it this morning the ammeter swung half way up the scale, so apparently the trickle wasn't enough. By the time we got home after about 40 miles of driving the ammeter was still showing a charge being thrown, so I started looking for the issue. Pulled the negative cable and it drew a bit of a spark as it came off. And, my DVM showed a bit less than an amp, but then it tapered off. Hmmm, a capacitor. Radio. So I pulled the head unit and sure enough, the spark and in-rush current is gone. I guess in spite of the face plate being off the unit was actually on to some extent.

Then I checked the back of the block and still have a little pool of oil around the sending unit's connection. But, none on the sending unit or its plumbing - just down in the recession. Sure looks like the seal at the back of the vee is leaking, so I'll take care of that when I swap. Oh, you say, you are going to swap? What about the oil usage? I'm glad you asked. To this point I have 465 miles, mostly highway driving, on the oil change. The attached shows where the oil level is, but that measures to be ~.075" down the SAFE range, which is itself .725" long, which means its "used" ~10% of the oil in that range - which I have on good authority is 2 pints. But, as has been said, it is leaking at the top rear of the block. And, it is still dripping a bit out of the bell housing, so it seems to me that could account for a significant part of the few ounces of oil that have been used. Given that, I think the decision has been made - we'll swap engines between Dad's truck and Rusty - hopefully soon.

Oh yes, go try to take a picture like this one and tell me how easy it was. Or, maybe I should say "take a picture like this that shows the oil level" 'cause I have lots of them that have a really good shot of the dip stick, but finally got one that lets you make out where the oil is. Or, maybe I should say "was" since it tends to creep lower after you pull the stick out.

Also, I noticed that the turn signals weren't working. Turned out that the ignition switch wasn't all the way into Run. Obviously it was out of Start and was at least part way into Run as it was running. But it didn't have all of the circuits hot. Guess it is time to check out and maybe lube the ignition switch mechanism. I've read of others doing that, but haven't done it myself - yet. Now's the time.