Sorry this doesn't have any pictures to go along with it, but it's pretty straightforward anyway.

I developed a boost leak on my truck and tracked it to the passenger's side intake plenum. The problem was I overtightened one of the boot clamps, crushing the plenum. This itself did not cause the boost leak, but what happened was it warped the plenum where it sets on the head. There's about a 6" space between bolts where the air enters the plenum, and that's where it warped, lifting off the head and breaking the seal.

To put it simply, the stock intake plenums are not much thicker than a soda can. The new ones I ordered came from WOP, and are the billet aluminum plenums. These are massively thick, and will easily handle constant torque band clamps without bending.

Installation involves removing everything off the top of the engine. Start off by disconnecting the batteries. Remove the intake tube, CAC tubes, intake spider, turbo, turbo pedistal, fuel bowl, GPR/AIH relays and mount, and applicable fuel lines. I did leave the wiring harnesses and HPOP lines in place and never had to remove them. There is enough room under those harnesses and lines to remove the old plenums and install the new ones (even with my Terminator HPOS in there taking up extra space, still plenty of room).

Now, remove the bolts holding the plenums down, but don't remove the plenums yet. Every bolt except for one will come out. On the passenger's side plenum, the front bottom bolt will hit the base of the HPOP reservoir and will not come out. DON'T PANIC (I did ). There is a notch built into the plenum, and you do not have to remove the bolt. Once it's loosened, the plenum will still come right out. Go ahead and clean up the other bolts, since you will be reusing them. Also completely clean around the plenums and ensure nothing will fall into the heads when those bad boys are removed.

Ok, go ahead and remove one plenum, but not both at the same time, otherwise you'll take a greater chance of dropping something in there that you don't want. Once the plenum is off, carefully remove the old RTV and clean the surface area on the head. The WOP plenums come with a new tube of International's rubber RTV. Apply a small, consistent, thorough bead (and I mean small, you don't want that goop spreading too far and falling into the intake) and carefully set the plenum in place. Tighten the bolts finger tight first, then alternate tightening them to 18 ft/lbs. I actually tightened a bit more than that, just because I'm wierd that way. Besides, the new plenums are thicker and can handle it. If you choose to leave the wiring harnesses and HPOP lines in place, you'll have to manuever the plenums in place carefully without disturbing the RTV. I did a test fit first to see how best to do it, and I would recommend that method.

Once you have finished installing both plenums, you can bolt everything back up to the engine. I also recommend trashing the old clamps that were used to hold the CAC boots to the plenums and go instead with some constant torque clamps. I picked up some at the local NAPA here. I would also recommend letting the RTV dry overnight before cranking up your truck.

Several notes about this job:
- There's really nothing technically difficult about it, just remove everthing that's in the way, swap plenums, and re-assemble. The problem is there is a lot to take off the top of the engine, and unless you have a topside creeper you're going to get really sore laying on the engine.
- If you haven't done it in a while, WASH THE ENGINE FIRST!!! You don't want dirt getting into the intake during this job. I usually keep my engine clean, and for good measure washed it again just before doing this job. I didn't have any problem with dirt and grime floating around.
- This is an all day job, plan accordingly (meaning have enough beer handy ).


That's about it. Any questions.... feel free to ask.

Thanks goes out to Zane and the rest of the WOP crew.

 

Reps for the writeup. I'm gonn have to add this to my truck bookmarks.

 

Curtis great write up, but what does WOP stand for, and were did you get the new plenum's

 

Wide Open Performance.net.


Awesome job on the install curtis! I wanna see pics! They are so sexy only to be hidden down in there by alot of junk. Run ya around $500?

 

What Kris said. Zane at WOP currently has the quickest PSD running 10's in the 1/4. His truck also just recently dyno'ed over 870hp.

Nope, they were $300 shipped to my door, and I ordered on Monday - they arrived on Wednesday. Here's the link to them: Product View

 

nice Job Curtis... any power gains or egt change ???

 

Very nice write up. Pics would have been nice. The "dry run" putting the new ones in before applying the RTV is something I would have overlooked. I'd rep ya, but have to spread it around first.

 

probably not, just like a good stock system without any leaks...

 

I think Kris summed it up nicely....

 

Yeah, unfortunately the wife is out of town, and she took the camera with her. So no pics of this one.

 

This may be a dumb question, but at which point boost wise are these manifolds worth the purchase? I am still running the stock manifolds on my transplanted 01 engine and have spun up to 25 and 30 lbs boost with no known issues that these $300 pieces are supposed to eliminate. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are.

Cheers!
Kalsc

 

Stock ones are just fine as long as they don't leak. But mine were damaged from tightening up the boots to keep them on, and instead of going back to the stockers I decided to upgrade. I would say for your boost levels, just keep the ones you have until they give you problems.

 

Makes sense. Curious, what kind of boost levels are you pushing?

 

I am sure these plenums flow better too. Especially to the front and rear cylinders.

 

Just a measly 30 psi.