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Cracked my intake manifold bolt hole. What should I do?!!

6447 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  tonydaman04, 
T
Oh man am I really losing my mind. I was torqueing down the upper intake manifold to 216 inch pounds, which is 18 ft lbs, because I do not have a lb-ft torque wrench that goes that low only down to 26 lb-ft. So therefore I had to use my recently bought Craftsman 3/8 drive lb-in torque wrench. So I tighten my upper intake plenum still it snug on with my ratchet then give it another 20 degrees turn. Then I proceed to torque the other bolts to specs, according to AllData is 18 lb-ft. Sad to say, i cracked my intake bolt hole. My heart sank immediately. All the hard work that I spent 3 days on came to untimely halt.

I know most of y'all would suggest replacing it with a new parts, but my money is really tight. I done spent close to $500 on parts and necessary supples.

I also happened to crack my lower intake manifold bolt hole as well :( after cracking the upper.

I saw on the internet there are repair methods, but I don't know if that is really feasible.

Tell me what is good solution that won't break my wallet.

Here are the pics.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pbFx72pCNEZt6MVyUXM6hFJGStSxX_hu
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U
Pics dont look that bad.

Ive done that lol.
Put RTV around the crack and itll be fine until you can get another one :)

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
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plano-doug
tonydaman04 said:
I know most of y'all would suggest replacing it with a new parts, but my money is really tight. I done spent close to $500 on parts and necessary supples.

I also happened to crack my lower intake manifold bolt hole as well :( after cracking the upper.
Click to expand...
How about junk yard parts?

Doug

.
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T
plano-doug said:
How about junk yard parts?

Doug

.
Click to expand...
Mr. keyboard ASE Master tech..LOL

How about using JB weld on the cracked parts? I really hope my intake is salvageable until I sell it. I have 206,000+ miles on this engine.
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plano-doug
tonydaman04 said:
Mr. keyboard ASE Master tech..LOL

How about using JB weld on the cracked parts? I really hope my intake is salvageable until I sell it. I have 206,000+ miles on this engine.
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That occurred to me, but I've never used it for repairs such as this. I'd be particularly concerned about the cracked threaded hole.

The only time I can think of ever using JB-Weld was repairing my daughter's dining room chairs :)

Doug

.
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SFCR
plano-doug said:
That occurred to me, but I've never used it for repairs such as this. I'd be particularly concerned about the cracked threaded hole.

The only time I can think of ever using JB-Weld was repairing my daughter's dining room chairs :)

Doug

.
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I'm with Doug on this one. I've heard of guys using JB Weld to make such repairs, but if you do, follow the instructions exactly as JB Weld indicates. It might hold if the crack doesn't go any further than the bolt hole itself, which seems to be the case best I can see. If not, I'd look for a used one.
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12 lt
Personally, I would not suggest jb weld. If you are going to fix the existing cracks, just take it back off and pay a welder to fix it. Should not cost too much and would save a LOT of potential future headaches.
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12 lt said:
Personally, I would not suggest jb weld. If you are going to fix the existing cracks, just take it back off and pay a welder to fix it. Should not cost too much and would save a LOT of potential future headaches.
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unfortunately i'd imagine the cost of the junkyard part might be cheaper than the welder fees. but it's worth a shot to check on both costs. if you can bring the part to them then that would probably save a bit of costs as well.
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12 lt
Joes74challenger said:
unfortunately i'd imagine the cost of the junkyard part might be cheaper than the welder fees. but it's worth a shot to check on both costs. if you can bring the part to them then that would probably save a bit of costs as well.
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Probably true, a pick and pull would likely be the most economical. Unfortunately some junkyards are a bit high and probably depends a LOT on op's location. Nice to have other options just in case. I know around here there are a few "shops" where retired factory workers fart around fixing stuff and they don't charge much at all.
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T
Right now, I just applied JB weld to the cracks. Hopefully it will hold up until I can find a replacement intake manifold.
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SFCR
tonydaman04 said:
Right now, I just applied JB weld to the cracks. Hopefully it will hold up until I can find a replacement intake manifold.
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Keep us updated!
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T
I just installed everything up now. Car is running like a champ! First, so that I wont ruin my engine, I just disconnect the relay to the fuel pump. Crank the car a few times just to get the oil in the bearings. Then I connected back the fuel pump relay. Car started up but sounded kinda weird as if the pushrods weren't in contact with the rockers, but then again, I had installed new pushrods. Had to loosen the rocker arms due to the worthless Lisle pushrod removal tool being so freaking weak gripped. So the engine ran but it was making valve train knock for a few seconds but went away, I didn't bother wasting time trying have cylinder 1 on TDC and them torqueing the rocker arms right then in there. Everything went well so far!
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tonydaman04 said:
I just installed everything up now. Car is running like a champ! First, so that I wont ruin my engine, I just disconnect the relay to the fuel pump. Crank the car a few times just to get the oil in the bearings. Then I connected back the fuel pump relay. Car started up but sounded kinda weird as if the pushrods weren't in contact with the rockers, but then again, I had installed new pushrods. Had to loosen the rocker arms due to the worthless Lisle pushrod removal tool being so freaking weak gripped. So the engine ran but it was making valve train knock for a few seconds but went away, I didn't bother wasting time trying have cylinder 1 on TDC and them torqueing the rocker arms right then in there. Everything went well so far!
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We're guessing the JB Weld worked?
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T
Haven't drove it long enough to say yes.
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