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79 CJ5 304 V8 Intake

1K views 9 replies 2 participants last post by  Nor Cal CJ5 
#1 ·
The Edelbrock S.P.2-P intake on my '79 CJ5 had oil pooling around the low areas near the intake bolts and a mangled NPT plug.
I pulled the intake and found no valley pan, just gaskets and only the OEM cover riveted to the underside of the Edelbrock intake.

The intake and carb are about 25+ years old.

I plan to order a new Edelbrock 3731 Performer intake with an Edelbrock 1901 AVS2 500 cfm carb and keep the Holley 4160 4-Barrel (re-build it).
My old carb had an automatic choke.

My question(s) are:

Shouldn't I use a Valley Pan Gasket along with the cover attached to the underside of the Edelbrock intake? I've read many do not have good
luck using the end seals that come with the Valley Pan Gasket and use RTV. What is recommended?

I thought the Valley Pan Gasket was a factory installed item. Don't know why PO didn't install a new one when the S.P.2-P intake was installed.

Edelbrock's instructions say: "Do not use competition-style intake gaskets for this street manifold. Due to material deterioration over time,
internal leakage of vacuum, oil, and coolant may occur. NOTE: YOU MUST USE a factory metal valley tray gasket. If your stock valley tray
is in good condition, it may be re-used." They recommend Fel-Pro MS96011.

Also any recommendations as to brand/type of RTV or something else to use? Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Use the Metal Pan Gasket. It fits well with stock heads and has oil drain back provisions. I don't know about your Edelbrock SP2P manifold but it really shouldn't be too different from original regarding attachment surfaces and locations.

If excessive milling has been done to the block and heads, you may end up with using RTV instead of end gaskets. You will just have to dry fit and check.

If you end up using the stock end gaskets, I would clip the dowel part (by half? leave some for sure) that goes into the block to make sure the end gasket sits flat on the block surface and the dowel part doesn't bottom out in the block dowel hole or lift due to debris in the hole.

Only use the sealant as recommended by the manufacturer. I recently installed a Mahle Valley Pan Gasket (Mahle MS15922) dry with the end seals that come with the gasket set. Mahle provides sealant and instructs on the use - if required. I think my Mahle gasket set came with JV7 sealant.

I would never reuse a Valley Pan Gasket. My Mahle gasket had a Fel-Pro MS96011 stamp on it.

Toughest part of the intake manifold assembly is allowing the intake bolts to line up properly. Especially the center intake bolts. It seems that you can get one side started and will have difficulty with the other side. The intake manifold has "buttons on it and a lip at the valve cover area of the heads. Place a large screw driver in-between the button and the lip on the head to push the intake down and you will be able to start the intake bolts on the "other" side.

There are some manifolds (racing) that have slotted intake manifold bolt holes. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are able to control proper alignment.
 
#3 ·
OK - Thank You!
 
#4 ·
Nor Cal - One Question - You installed your intake pan gasket dry. So I take this to mean you did not apply any sealant to the valley pan gasket - only sealant around the ports in the heads and around the ports on the intake - Correct?
 
#5 ·
Zero sealant. The directions specifically said to install dry.

Original intake gasket had no sealant either. The valley pan snaps into place with the front and back (all four corner) bolt holes. The gasket is very stable when set in place. When torqued down, it flattens the gasket rim seal around the ports.
 
#6 ·
Thanks. One last question: Should I use the cover on the bottom of the intake or is the Valley Pan Gasket by itself good enough?
 
#8 ·
I will check with Edelbrock tomorrow to see if the 3731 intake has the crossover.

I can't tell for certain from the photos online.
 
#9 ·
The Performer Intake #3731 has the intake crossover - the RPM Air Gap #7531 does not.

I am going with the 3731.
 
#10 ·
Make sure you follow Edelbrock's installation instructions for your intake. They have tested and I'm sure they have figured out all the issues as far as being different from stock for their specific manifold.

Note that instructions I gave above refer to the original OEM intake and while these instructions given will work for you, the difference is the sealing requirements indicated by Edelbrock.
 
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