Felpro 1200's what torque for intake bolts??

[jdpolzin]

I need to know what you guys are torquing your intake bolts to? I snapped my last Champion intake and really took it in the shorts on it. I now have a new one and need to know the proper specs. I torqued the last one to 32lbs like it said to do on GNTTYPE.org and at the last bolt on the pass side rear, I cracked the intake. I followed the directions of starting from the middle and even went out and bought a brand new torque wrench to be sure nothing happened, well that didnt get me very far. I will be running up to 30psi if that matters. What do you guys do? What process do you follow? I cant afford to crack this next intake. Thanks guys! -----Jeremy

 

[Just a Six??]

On the intake I go more by feel than numbers but the key is to seal it really well first & then go in order as they say. I am probably around 25-30 but I like to go by feel. Altho??? I dont see it cracking at 30 lbs?? Something was off I think?

 

[Robert Wilson]

What are the details of your combo? Is the deck height stock? Have the heads or intake been milled on the intake gasket side?

 

[Just a Six??]

What are the details of your combo? Is the deck height stock? Have the heads or intake been milled on the intake gasket side?

Something has been done as it shouldnt crack an intake at 30 lbs???

 

[jdpolzin]

I'm going to have to find out about the deck height. The motor is a Stage 2 block that was virgin for this build. I'm not real sure what the decking is.

 

[Robert Wilson]

I'm going to have to find out about the deck height. The motor is a Stage 2 block that was virgin for this build. I'm not real sure what the decking is.

The actual deck height wasn't important other than it is different than that of a 109 block. It may be possible that you had too much "gap" between the intake and the head. How well did the bolt holes line up with the intake just sitting on the gaskets?
I only have experience with one stock style intake on block other than stock. It was a stage 1 block with GN1 heads. I had to cut .060" off each side of the intake to get it to sit down far enough for the ports and bolt holes to line up with a felpro 1200 gasket. I think this is the opposite of what you are having.

 

[jdpolzin]

The intake that I cracked was actually already bolted on the block once but I'm not sure what Mike torqued the bolts to. I'm using GN1 heads as well. How do you know how much to mill? I'm no professional engine builder, more of a bolt on kind of a guy. ------Jeremy

 

[Robert Wilson]

I would recommend you have someone with engine building experience take a look at the intake fit. It may need a thicker gasket rather than milling.

 

[jdpolzin]

I had another guy tell me that I may need to use two Felpro gaskets on it. Has anybody ever done that before??? I would think it would cause leakage???

 

[Robert Wilson]

If you don't like the idea of 2 gaskets, TA Performance sells intake gaskets in various thicknesses from 0.015" up to 0.125" thick.

 

[jdpolzin]

What is the proper way to measure the thickness needed? Ive got feeler gauges I cant use. Also, how do you measure for the amount the gasket is going to crush?

 

[Robert Wilson]

I checked on old 1200 intake gasket I had and it measured .063" in the uncompressed areas and .054" in the compressed areas. So in my case I had .009" of crush.
As far as the "proper way" to measure the gasket needed, I cannot answer that. What I like to do though is put the intake on without the plenum so I can see how the ports line up (just mocking it up first). For example, If your intake port floor is below the port floor of the head, then you need to raise the intake by using a thicker gasket.
With the plenum off, you can also make sure the ports line up front to back. The bolt holes in the intake have a lot of clearance and you can have a large mismatch if you aren't paying attention to this.

 

[jdpolzin]

Ok, good info there. I did check the old intake for alignment and it lined up perfectly when it was originally bolted on. I will do the same with the new one. I'm thinking the casting may have been weak on the old one for some odd reason. I just had bad luck with it. It originally broke at the water fitting that feeds the coolant hardline. I put tape on it and as I tightened it, it literally popped. I thought i may have put too much tape on it but after looking at the fitting I only had a wrap and a half. I know you can snap them by tightening too much but it was pretty easy. I have installed that fitting on other intakes 50 times and never had a problem. Then this one happened and then after spending the time re-welding the crack and powder coating it cracked again at that last bolt hole. We had Felpros on it the first time as well so there were really no different variables, aside from the installer of course!

 

[jdpolzin]

Well, I finally have the new intake back from getting powder coated and I also took the cracked intake off and cleaned the gasket off the heads and the silicon off the block. I set the intake on the motor without a gasket and the holes in the heads were just on the top sides of the intake holes. I'm going to go out there and set the new gaskets on and see where that gets me. The holes are actually still clear in the holes but I'm wondering if my bolt angle is making the bolts hit at the top of the intake???

 

[Robert Wilson]

I set the intake on the motor without a gasket and the holes in the heads were just on the top sides of the intake holes.

Sounds like to me, if your new intake fits the same, you will have good alignment when you add the gasket...
Good luck.

 

[jdpolzin]

I'm wondering if I should get thicker gaskets so the holes line up directly in the middle? I lined up the intake dry with the gaskets and the holes in the head still seem to be at the top sides of the intake holes, not quite as bad as before obviously.