Heat Riser Questions

[midknightc3]

Couple questions relating to this, I'v read all the threads I can find on the subject as I am pretty sure I have a crack in the intake manifold, and a significant leak around the pushing for the butterfly valve in the heat riser. I'm running the Holley Sniper setup, so both leaks are causing issues. My questions are:

How many bananas is this job? , ? I have liquid wrench and Kroil, so will start soaking everything shortly, but is it likely to turn into a rapid downward spiral of add on projects?

For the manifold gasket, currently it has 2 of what looks like the same style Cruiser Outfitters sells and that is working, should I stick with two of those, or go with Remflex?

I do not have to pass smog here (hence the Holley), so I am planning to just pull the flapper and shaft, weld up the hole, and install the Cruiser Outfitters blocking plate. Winter lows here are usually in the teens, so not too crazy cold. If I'm doing the blocking plate, is it worth also welding up the intake, or is that totally unnecessary with the blocking plate?

Sorry for the questions, I got burned the last time I touched a bold on my exhaust so now I am gun shy, and the Goat is my normal DD so minimizing downtime is a factor for me to consider.

Thanks!
Clark

 

[cps432]

Couple questions relating to this, I'v read all the threads I can find on the subject as I am pretty sure I have a crack in the intake manifold, and a significant leak around the pushing for the butterfly valve in the heat riser. I'm running the Holley Sniper setup, so both leaks are causing issues. My questions are:

How many bananas is this job? , ? I have liquid wrench and Kroil, so will start soaking everything shortly, but is it likely to turn into a rapid downward spiral of add on projects?

For the manifold gasket, currently it has 2 of what looks like the same style Cruiser Outfitters sells and that is working, should I stick with two of those, or go with Remflex?

I do not have to pass smog here (hence the Holley), so I am planning to just pull the flapper and shaft, weld up the hole, and install the Cruiser Outfitters blocking plate. Winter lows here are usually in the teens, so not too crazy cold. If I'm doing the blocking plate, is it worth also welding up the intake, or is that totally unnecessary with the blocking plate?

Sorry for the questions, I got burned the last time I touched a bold on my exhaust so now I am gun shy, and the Goat is my normal DD so minimizing downtime is a factor for me to consider.

Thanks!
Clark

I think I saw the pic you posted in an other thread. I would take that intake manifold and have it welded up and inspected for more cracks. If you leave it alone and rely on the block off plate it will only get worse. In that case you probably don’t need the block off plate. Are you running headers? I would defiantly get the remflex gasket. I haven’t started my truck up with it yet but I’m impressed with it so far. It’s beeeeeefy!
I also ordered a fluid heat riser from JTOutfitters and was planning to install it but it’s been in shipping purgatory for almost a month now... either way you go about it you’re gonna have to wrestle with mounting the exhaust and intake to the block and it’s just not fun. Toyotamatt sells a stud set for the intake/exhaust manifold that I was eyeballing. If I ever have to take this apart (which I know I will) I will defiantly spring for the stud kit and ditch the rest of the bolts. The studs will help everything line up.

 

[OSS]

I’ll answer one of your questions:
If the intake manifold is cracked, the crack will be directly in the middle at the bottom - directly under where the carb bolted. The crack can be faint to see, but if you examine it carefully, you’ll see one if it’s there.

 

[OSS]

This is one way to do it

 

[DFXR]

Couple questions relating to this, I'v read all the threads I can find on the subject as I am pretty sure I have a crack in the intake manifold, and a significant leak around the pushing for the butterfly valve in the heat riser. I'm running the Holley Sniper setup, so both leaks are causing issues. My questions are:

How many bananas is this job? , ? I have liquid wrench and Kroil, so will start soaking everything shortly, but is it likely to turn into a rapid downward spiral of add on projects?

For the manifold gasket, currently it has 2 of what looks like the same style Cruiser Outfitters sells and that is working, should I stick with two of those, or go with Remflex?

I do not have to pass smog here (hence the Holley), so I am planning to just pull the flapper and shaft, weld up the hole, and install the Cruiser Outfitters blocking plate. Winter lows here are usually in the teens, so not too crazy cold. If I'm doing the blocking plate, is it worth also welding up the intake, or is that totally unnecessary with the blocking plate?

Sorry for the questions, I got burned the last time I touched a bold on my exhaust so now I am gun shy, and the Goat is my normal DD so minimizing downtime is a factor for me to consider.

Thanks!
Clark

I have replaced the int/ex manifold gasket twice in 13 years on my CA-smogged 2F. For a straight-up gasket replacement, I would say that if you're de-smogged (meaning less emissions stuff in the way), and your bolts and studs let go without much drama, then it's a - 1/2 job. Mostly removing and replacing, with some wrestling involved when you're putting the assembled combo back in. It can be tedious but it's not all that complicated. If you don't have to worry about the EGR j-pipe and gasket anymore, that's just one more thing working in your favor.

BUT, since you are planning to split the intake and exhaust to deal with your cracked intake and flapper bushing, you should also plan to have the complete assembly machined as one piece before it goes back on. That's the general wisdom around here. It just wont go back together flat without intervention.

Finding a competent shop to do the machine work is one part of that process, then having them do it in a timely manner is the other part. For a DD this is obviously a pain. I avoided the machine shop part by spending $$ on a NOS intake/exhaust combo found in the 'Mud classifieds.

Good advice that I got here:

Start hitting those bolts with Kroil now, and keep hitting them while you plan.

Get the new bolt/stud kit as described above, either from Toyota Matt or your preferred vendor. Just having two studs in the center area of the head to hang the assembly on helps a lot when you're re-installing.

Use nickel high-temp anti-seize on all of your fasteners.

I have used both the OEM Toyota gasket and the Remflex and I think I like the Remflex better.

There are some good threads out there for this. Fear of broken bolts is the worst part - once they bust loose it's really not that bad.

 

[midknightc3]

Thank you all for the replies. Remflex it is, @cps432 I am currently running factory int/ex manifolds with no plans to install headers. When I installed the Sniper setup I had looked at the intake where the cracks are known to happen and thought it looked fine, but the more pictures of cracks I see the more I recognize that's the same sort of line I saw on my manifold. Given the driving symptoms (2000rpm hesitation, hard starts), I'm betting that wasn't just an artifact of casting. Welding shouldn't be too big a deal, friend of mine is a damn good welder and has a tig setup capable of this, so I will go through with that. I think I will still run the block off plate just to help protect the intake manifold since the Goat spends most of her time in the desert heat.

Milling the manifolds was something I had assumed was only for mismatched setups, I was hoping I could bolt them up to the engine and then finish tightening the two together and all would be good. @DFXR, I will be doing some research tomorrow on machine shops, all my local favorites have closed unfortunately.

I had not actually appreciated that the copper RTV (I'm assuming that's what is used in your picture @OSS?) would survive the exhaust manifold, even though it's listed as high temp. That would certainly be a whole lot easier than trying to weld that up with a hunk of stele!

Thanks again!
Clark

 

[OSS]

That copper RTV was just a thread sealant for the tapped NPT plug. A machine shop did it for me (they had done several others in the past too)

 

[cps432]

Thank you all for the replies. Remflex it is, @cps432 I am currently running factory int/ex manifolds with no plans to install headers. When I installed the Sniper setup I had looked at the intake where the cracks are known to happen and thought it looked fine, but the more pictures of cracks I see the more I recognize that's the same sort of line I saw on my manifold. Given the driving symptoms (2000rpm hesitation, hard starts), I'm betting that wasn't just an artifact of casting. Welding shouldn't be too big a deal, friend of mine is a damn good welder and has a tig setup capable of this, so I will go through with that. I think I will still run the block off plate just to help protect the intake manifold since the Goat spends most of her time in the desert heat.

Milling the manifolds was something I had assumed was only for mismatched setups, I was hoping I could bolt them up to the engine and then finish tightening the two together and all would be good. @DFXR, I will be doing some research tomorrow on machine shops, all my local favorites have closed unfortunately.

I had not actually appreciated that the copper RTV (I'm assuming that's what is used in your picture @OSS?) would survive the exhaust manifold, even though it's listed as high temp. That would certainly be a whole lot easier than trying to weld that up with a hunk of stele!

Thanks again!
Clark

Depending on how out of planar your intake and exhaust flanges are you may be able to get by without machining them. The remflex gaskets are said and designed to compensate for up to a 1/16” difference. I’ve not machined my surfaces and it seems that the remflex is doing its job. We will see in a week when I get to fire this baby up! In the middle of a sniper install / steering upgrade.
As an aside, you can get the full remflex gasket kit or just the manifold gasket depending on your needs. It’s also recommended NOT to use any sealant on the remflex gaskets. Install them DRY. As for the high temp RTV for a thread sealer, it’s pretty good stuff and will withstand a lot of heat. But it is rubber. They make a compound that is even tougher and hardens like a rock which may function better in the long run. If you’re taking things so far as to machine the flanges you ought to just weld that bad boy up and forget about it.