intake & distributor removal 101
- Thread starter tonyk72
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2002
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- 7,246
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- Washington, Michigan
- Corvette
- '67 Marina Blue Convertible
Tony - just clean it up, don't worry about the staining inside it - that's normal.
TR - Using good RTV (preceded by a thorough cleaning of the mating surfaces) is a much more reliable seal than the front and rear seals that come in the gasket sets; GM finally figured this out too, and quit using the separate seals when they implemented the "dry engine" program in the mid-80's. I detail my engines very carefully when I build them, and I can't STAND oil leaks; wouldn't even think about using the gasket set end seals.
TR - Using good RTV (preceded by a thorough cleaning of the mating surfaces) is a much more reliable seal than the front and rear seals that come in the gasket sets; GM finally figured this out too, and quit using the separate seals when they implemented the "dry engine" program in the mid-80's. I detail my engines very carefully when I build them, and I can't STAND oil leaks; wouldn't even think about using the gasket set end seals.
D
Dream_Driver
Guest
RTV lol this is killing me.
Stallion RTV or Gasket maker. You can purchase it at any auto part supply places. And I would go with Permatex brands. You can get the Ultra blue or the one with Copper in it. It will come in a tube. You just take the cap off and turn the cap over and punch a hole in the tube with the cap. You need to clean all of the mating surfaces well as stated in this thread with either laquer thiner or brake cleaner. So there will be no grease of any kind on the mating surfaces. You take the tube of RTV and put a dot of it at all four corners of the valley. The corners are where the head meets the bock on the front and rear rails. then you set your intake gasket on the head and into the bead. (if you like to hold the gaskets in place better you can put a very thin amount of RTV around all of the ports as well) Then you take the RTV tube again and put a good thick bead about 1/4 in . (just look at how thinck the gasket is for the front and rear of the valley to get an idea of how much RTV.) But do put more. then let it sit a few minutes so it has a bit of a skin to it. Then as nicely as you can place the intake straight down to the block and the heads and with as little movement as possible make sure the bolt holes line up and put the bolts in . then just hmmmmmm how do i say this. titen the bolts as your manual says or you can use a criss cross pattern starting in the center of the manifold. You can get all the bolts about oh two fingers tite as I say. Then just titen all of the bolts in the same criss cross pattern a little at a time until you are at the correct torque and you will be done with the intake installation. If you like you can also pick up some copper coat it comes in a can. And it has like a cotton swab attached to the lid of the can. You can put some of that on each of the intake bolts this will help prevent or it should stop any oil creep that would come from the through bolts on the intake. Hope this helps.
Stallion RTV or Gasket maker. You can purchase it at any auto part supply places. And I would go with Permatex brands. You can get the Ultra blue or the one with Copper in it. It will come in a tube. You just take the cap off and turn the cap over and punch a hole in the tube with the cap. You need to clean all of the mating surfaces well as stated in this thread with either laquer thiner or brake cleaner. So there will be no grease of any kind on the mating surfaces. You take the tube of RTV and put a dot of it at all four corners of the valley. The corners are where the head meets the bock on the front and rear rails. then you set your intake gasket on the head and into the bead. (if you like to hold the gaskets in place better you can put a very thin amount of RTV around all of the ports as well) Then you take the RTV tube again and put a good thick bead about 1/4 in . (just look at how thinck the gasket is for the front and rear of the valley to get an idea of how much RTV.) But do put more. then let it sit a few minutes so it has a bit of a skin to it. Then as nicely as you can place the intake straight down to the block and the heads and with as little movement as possible make sure the bolt holes line up and put the bolts in . then just hmmmmmm how do i say this. titen the bolts as your manual says or you can use a criss cross pattern starting in the center of the manifold. You can get all the bolts about oh two fingers tite as I say. Then just titen all of the bolts in the same criss cross pattern a little at a time until you are at the correct torque and you will be done with the intake installation. If you like you can also pick up some copper coat it comes in a can. And it has like a cotton swab attached to the lid of the can. You can put some of that on each of the intake bolts this will help prevent or it should stop any oil creep that would come from the through bolts on the intake. Hope this helps.
- Thread starter
- #26
distributor install
OK, I'm 1/2 done...the distributor is back in. The only thing is, it doesn't look like the marks I made on the rotor and housing line up EXACTLY like before I pulled it out. At first, I had trouble getting the rotor lined up to anywhere near the way I had it before I pulled it out. I had to spin the rotor around a few times to finally get it to where it is now...it looks close, maybe the camera angles distort things a bit.
Does the distributor have to be put in 100% EXACTLY the same way it left? Will my messing with the rotor give me problems starting? I was careful to to disturb anything on the distributor when I pulled it, so I'm not sure why it gave me problems putting it back in..
OK, I'm 1/2 done...the distributor is back in. The only thing is, it doesn't look like the marks I made on the rotor and housing line up EXACTLY like before I pulled it out. At first, I had trouble getting the rotor lined up to anywhere near the way I had it before I pulled it out. I had to spin the rotor around a few times to finally get it to where it is now...it looks close, maybe the camera angles distort things a bit.
Does the distributor have to be put in 100% EXACTLY the same way it left? Will my messing with the rotor give me problems starting? I was careful to to disturb anything on the distributor when I pulled it, so I'm not sure why it gave me problems putting it back in..
- Thread starter
- #27
D
Dream_Driver
Guest
And away we go as Bro Jackie would say.
Okay let me see how to say this. It looks like you are one tooth off on the distributor drive gear. Reason for this is the gear has like a spiral to it if you look at it. When you pull it out it will change where the oil pump shaft is in relation to where it was. And to change this you can take a long regular screwdriver and put it down where the distributor goes into the top of the oil pump shaft and turn it just a tad where you think it should be then reinstall the distributor. It would be easier if you had another distributor shaft handy but a screw driver works just fine.
Okay let me see how to say this. It looks like you are one tooth off on the distributor drive gear. Reason for this is the gear has like a spiral to it if you look at it. When you pull it out it will change where the oil pump shaft is in relation to where it was. And to change this you can take a long regular screwdriver and put it down where the distributor goes into the top of the oil pump shaft and turn it just a tad where you think it should be then reinstall the distributor. It would be easier if you had another distributor shaft handy but a screw driver works just fine.
andrewcanada
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2003
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- 57
- Location
- Plattsburgh,NY (far NE uppaUS)
- Corvette
- worked on a couple `65`s
Hello, my name is Andrew and I`m the guilty party that`s been cluttering up the garage lifts neighborhood. But I`ve gotten a little bored and thought I`d poke around someone elses hangout. 
I`m in my pj`s, so I can only speak from memory, but I believe that the oil pump groove in the distributor is oriented the same way as the rotor tip. this means that the screwdriver adjustment (which is the way to do it), should have the groove aligned with the eventual desired orientation of the firing tip. If I had a digital camera, and was really ambitious, I`d show a loose distributor and oil pump. I`ve got plenty of those!
. Andrew
I`m in my pj`s, so I can only speak from memory, but I believe that the oil pump groove in the distributor is oriented the same way as the rotor tip. this means that the screwdriver adjustment (which is the way to do it), should have the groove aligned with the eventual desired orientation of the firing tip. If I had a digital camera, and was really ambitious, I`d show a loose distributor and oil pump. I`ve got plenty of those! . Andrew- Thread starter
- #30
The screwdriver trick sounds good and makes sense to me. Will I have any problems though if I didn't bring the motor to TDC?
Also, I might have used a little too much RTV. I can see a "glob" of it on the outside between the block and the manifold. I can imagine if there's a glob outside...theres a glob on the inside. What kind of damage (if any) could a glob of RTV cause if it were to break off on the inside and get mixed up in the engine internals?
Also, I might have used a little too much RTV. I can see a "glob" of it on the outside between the block and the manifold. I can imagine if there's a glob outside...theres a glob on the inside. What kind of damage (if any) could a glob of RTV cause if it were to break off on the inside and get mixed up in the engine internals?
- Thread starter
- #32
who knows? :confused
I didn't bother with that...I just marked the correct position of the distributor...I'm just gonna try to get the oil pump groove properly aligned when I get home to get the distributor back in the correct postion again, finish torquing the manifold down, put the carb and hoses back on...fill it up with coolant and let 'er rip!
Wish me luck and pray that my 'vette don't blow up! This is my 1st major mechanical undertaking.
I didn't bother with that...I just marked the correct position of the distributor...I'm just gonna try to get the oil pump groove properly aligned when I get home to get the distributor back in the correct postion again, finish torquing the manifold down, put the carb and hoses back on...fill it up with coolant and let 'er rip!
Wish me luck and pray that my 'vette don't blow up! This is my 1st major mechanical undertaking.
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2001
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- 3,239
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- Norcross, Georgia, United Stat
- Corvette
- 2017 Arctic White Grand Sport
Tony,
I've been following this and the other threads on replacing the intake manifold. Don't bet your savings on this but I understand that as long as you don't rotate the cam in relation to the distributor there should be no problem. The oil pump is not "timed" as the distributor is.
Bob
I've been following this and the other threads on replacing the intake manifold. Don't bet your savings on this but I understand that as long as you don't rotate the cam in relation to the distributor there should be no problem. The oil pump is not "timed" as the distributor is.
Bob
D
Dave L.
Guest
Tony - By your picture its hard to tell if you are off a tooth or not. Like you said,could be a slight camera angle. My guess is your ok. Those distributor teeth are pretty large and I believe would have your mark off by a bit more. It looks awful close to me. Worse thing is you'd have to start at TDC and go from there,no big deal!
Let us know how you make out.
Dave
Let us know how you make out.
Dave
- Thread starter
- #35
Well, I dunno how I made out yet as my car won't now...I started another thread to get more exposure...battery charged, but I get nothing when I turn the key...everything hooked up as it should be. Would a misaligned distributor cause this?
D
Dave L.
Guest
No. Did you disconnect the battery before you pulled the dist.? I see that you stated you were working around the starter. If the battery was connected perhaps you shorted out a wire down there or inadvertantly blew a fuse. The motor should at least turn over. Check all your fuses and wiring down around the starter first and also the ground cable on the battery where it is grounded to the body.
Dave
Dave
- Thread starter
- #37
Stallion
Well-known member
BURGLAR said:
So you would need to disconnect the battery when you are working with the distributor? I ask because I also have to change my intake gasket and I think I'm going to have to toggle with my distributor.
D
Dave L.
Guest
Tony - It should at least turn over even if the distributor power wire was damaged.
TR - it's a good idea to remove the positive battery cable when doing any engine work.
Dave
TR - it's a good idea to remove the positive battery cable when doing any engine work.
Dave
- Thread starter
- #40
Hmmm, there is wire that attached to what I believe is the idle speed solenoid on the carb that is pretty brittle...it runs along the driver side valve cover and goes soewhere to the firewall. I had to bend it a few times...maybe its broken somewhere...would that cause my problem?
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