HELP! may have installed intake manifold gasket on backwards

[tpivette89]

so as im bolting down the drivers side exhaust manifold, i take a peek down the hole that the EGR either gets exhaust gas from, or dumps it into, and i notice gasket material blocking whatever passege it goes to/from. i stick a small screwdriver in there to see if the hole maybe makes a quick turn somewhere that i cant see... nope. hmmm, so either i installed the intake gasket backwards, or the one i got didnt include provisions for EGR

now then, unless something REALLY BAD can happen, i think the EGR blockage is the only problem ill have from the wrongway gasket. could i just eliminate EGR and not have to take the manifold back off? i REALLY dont feel like pulling it again, so if the only problem is no EGR, ill just take the system off

thanks in advance

 

[Jerryl]

I just looked at a Felpro intake gasket and while it has a directional installation, it does not look like the EGR hole i the head would be "plugged" if installed backwards.

As far as the effect of a blocked EGR hole ….. If you do not have the correct chip, you will get knock issues and your car most may not pass the inspection.

 

[tpivette89]

i odered another intake gasket today (MS96037) to compare to my original. first off, theres NO WAY i could have installed the gasket incorrectly. like you said, its directional

what i did notice is that they have the EGR feed hole in the wrong place on the gasket. it should be about an inch and a half over. so no matter what, the EGR hole would be plugged. seems as though this gasket is listed for other applications, which they probably had EGR feeding from a different location

as for eliminating it, it seems as though thats my only option right now. i may get knock at part throttle when the EGR is supposed to function, but at WOT, EGR is disabled anyway. looks like ill be in the market for a different chip

 

[Jerryl]

Try punching a hole through the gasket ...... first with a long sharp object and then follow up with a large philips head. May be a quick solution (??)

 

[tpivette89]

you and i must think on the same page, cause i just got back on the computer to post that i was going to attempt just that

hopefully the metal gasket isnt to hard to cut/puncture. after some thought i too came to the conclusion that the suggested method would be MUCH easier than trying to delete the EGR system. ill let you know how it turns out

 

[FWD turbo]

It seems very strange to me that you got a gasket that doesn't have the hole in the right place. What brand of gasket is it?

The intake gasket I used when my engine was assembled fit just fine. I hope nothing has changed with the manufacturer. I just finished porting my intake and I will be putting it back on the engine this week. My EGR is welded shut, so that wouldn't be a real problem for me, but if that hole is "off" I guess I may be concerned about what else might be in the wrong spot! Let us know how this turns out for you.

By the way, the last gasket I got fit just fine. I purchased it at Auto Zone, and it was in stock. You may want to try there.