89 F250 7.5/460, EFI, C6 auto, 4x4, long bed, reg cab.

Okay, so I bought a 'project truck' last fall. I'm in the process of fixing leaks and doing a self-paced shade tree mechanic overhaul.

I'm about to start the removal of my lower intake manifold to put in a new gasket. I have oil leaking BEHIND my bell housing at a pretty good rate. Every time I drive I literally 'change my oil' no matter if I want to or not. I had oil on the front of the bell housing so I did the rear seal last December (new oil pump too), and it appears that leak has been fixed. I've checked my oil sending unit as best I can (it's back in there pretty good) and can't see any leakage there.

Are there any hints/tricks/lessons learned on putting in a new lower intake manifold gasket? I'll end up putting in a new upper intake gasket too of course. Also, I need to do the valve cover gaskets as well, so that's already in the plan (leak from the front of the right cover)

I have a engine picker shipping to me as I type. I'd rather not pull the whole engine with the picker, just the manifolds. I need to make sure I have this beast back up and running before the next snow since I use it to plow my way out of the property.

Thanks in advance for all your tidbits. You guys rock.
Eric

 

No real tricks that I can think off, it's pretty straight forward, I found you can actually leave your fuel rails attached as well as all the electronics and some of the vacuum lines and just pull the whole assambly off to the driver's side. I used a bungee cord to hold it in place. The only other thing I've read, and done myself, is not to use the rubber 'seals' provided for the front and back of the lifter valley. The consensus is they don't seal as well. Most recommend a thick bead of sealer. Some even run one bead, let it set up a bit, then a second bead ontop of that. Other then that, you could always port match your intake to your gasket, while it is out. Just a thought.

MoMo

 

what smooth said, dump the rubber end seals and just use a good quality sealer like ultra blue/black/red. Just make sure you get enough sealer to fill the gap completely, from corner to corner, but don't put SO much that it squishes everywhere when you reinstall. Look at the old rubber seals when you pull them, that will give you a good reference to how big a gap you are filling. I always had the best luck installing immediately after putting the silicon down, and not letting it set up at all, and be sure you drop the manifold straight down and don't slide it around. Only other thing I can say is make the sealing surfaces are CLEANCLEANCLEAN before you put it together.