do you need a valley pan gasket under the manifold if you go to an after market edelbrock manifold>??


thanks!!

 

I'm not sure ,but I don't think so if you are doing away with the emissions stuff.

 

You don't have to have it but it does keep the oil from splashing on the hot exhaust cross over port. If you don't drive it in the winter then I would recomend blocking the cross overs off if you are not going to run the pan.

 

It's been my experience the intake will leak like a sieve unless you have valley pan or use gobs of silicone...plus what mark a. said.

 

Having ran my old 351M with and without a valley pan....I say you should use one. As it was stated in an earlier post, the pan keeps hot oil from splashing the bottom of the manifold and also the sealing issues. There not too expensive nor are they hard to install, just follow the directions that come with the pan.

 

I'm using a Edelbrock intake on a 351M and didn't use a turkey pan, been running this way for over a year with no issues.

 

I replaced my 351M with a 351W, just did an intake and carb swap up on the W...when I pulled my stock intake, I was unaware of the valley pan, when I pulled it off, I was shocked to NOT see any oil, or push rods, etc...then I realized there was a pan...pulled it, and saw what was "supposed" to be there...becareful if you haven't already pulled it off...mine was full of gunk and "stuff"...I ended up using my shopvac to remove all the gunk, then pulled the valley pan...my local parts store didn't have one, but the one up the street did...I like the pan for the reason it provides rubber gaskets, (not cork) and only requires a small bit of sealant in the corners...You will hear yes and no's on whether to use one or not...my thought was, it was on mine, so I went back with one...($32.00 investment)

 

yeah i just threw out the old one when i put the new manifold on cuz it was all beat to crap. i used alot of gasket sealer when i installed the edelbrock one so i hope it wont leak. it hasent so far but i havent had much time to beat on the truck so im not sure how reliable its going to be. id hate to spring a big leak in the middle of a day out or something.

 

I haven't had a chance to make sure mine doesn't leak, still trying to find a Heater Port Hose hookup that will work with the Edelbrock 2181...the old one wont tighten due to the design of the intake...

 

do the directions that come with your intake say? when i got my wieand for my 460 it says NOT to use a valley pan, but the engine shop put one in anyway because it had one with the factory cast inake. I really dont know what it would hurt to use one that is not needed. I think the purpose is to keep oil from splashing up onto the bottom of the hot intake where the exhaust crossover is, but most aftermarket aluminum intakes do not have the exhaust crossover.

 

Agreed!

My understanding is that the valley pan was used on motors that came ORIGINALLY equipped with an exhaust crossover built-in to the manifold. In the case of our beloved M-blocks, this exhaust crossover was also part of the EGR system. If oil from the lifter valley splashed up onto this crossover (which is on the very bottom of the intake), it would actually burn and smoke. No bueno.

However, if you have blocked your exhaust crossovers, went with an intake that doesn't have one, or are REALLY lucky and have some aftermarket alum cyl heads that don't come with one, I just don't think it is necessary. With so many V8 engines out there that NEVER came with a valley pan, I really don't see it being a requirement.

Now, that's not to say you shouldn't use one. I'm sure that they have some heat-insulating properties and would work similar to Edelbrock's "Air-Gap" series intakes. Edelbrock claims the design gives you a denser intake charge because it keeps hot oil from the lifter galley from heating the intake. Sound familiar?

I can't decide when I do my buildup if I am going to use one. I have bought about a dozen damned intake pans over the years and I don't seem to be able to get the things to seal. I figured maybe "conventional" gaskets would be better.

That being said, for those of you that *ARE* running valley pans, could you share some tips on what you do to get a quality seal? RTV? Something else? Do you use the end seals or chuck 'em?

 

Wellcome to F.T.E. This is an old thread but i will still answer. I used the end seals with RTV at there ends on my 460 and was very carefull installing it. I used long guide studs to keep it straight. Carefully bolted it down per instructions that came with the valley pan gasket . It sealed up real good. I have tried leaving them out before ,but end up getting a leak later .The only thing I never liked was it was not included in my full gasket set like I expected and cost me another $35.00.