Dear all - I believe I need to replace at least the manifold gaskets Can anybody give an estimation of working time needed? Does engine need to go out? Thank you! Sent from my Lenovo YT-X703F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Do you mean the intake manifold gaskets between the cylinder head and intake manifolds? If so, its a bit of a job. Take off the carbs, then the "Y" shaped water distribution casting. Now you can undo the nuts that hold the manifolds on the block. this is where it gets interesting. If they have never been off, its tough to get them to separate. If I recall, there are some raised metal edges that you can use as a "lip" for leverage with a pry bar (go easy and use wood or leather to protect surfaces) to start the process. Go around the edge and loosen slowly. Your engine may have deposits and corrosion in the coolant channel and on the surfaces. On my 78 2 valve engine, I had this between the cooling channel and three of the intake ports on the cylinder head. (I was getting a slow leak between these two surfaces when the cooling system was pressurized.) Lots of filling with liquid metal filler, filing, leveling and test fitting before I built it up so it would seal. There is a modification to the gaskets by adding some additional holes to help the coolant flow. If you don't have to take the manifolds off, don't. Its usually depressing!
Thank you! That is giving me good idea of what Im facing off Sent from my Lenovo YT-X703F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Yep, this is where it takes a lot of time... My original gaskets were practically welded to the heads and hard to scrape off. And the coolant ports were also full of mineral deposits.
At least it is a job with fairly good accessibility. Compared to scraping off gaskets from the front head valve cover surface. I did it once on one manifold. Was not so hard. Though actually time consuming. I didn't count the hours, but finished the job unhurried over one weekend. Just be careful not to feed the gasket residue into the ports. Best Regards Martin Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If we are talking about the gaskets for the intake as shown in the photos, a professional would probably take one full day to remove clean and replace those gaskets. It is a lot of work but not difficult just time consuming. If we are talking about the exhaust gaskets then this job is considerably easier. I would assume 2 hours if the exhaust manifolds do not have the US shielding on it. If it does have the shielding the American cars had then the job is much more work and would probably take an entire day as the access is very tough for the front header.
Thank you! First visual inspection tells me its just about the exhaust gaskets. It is a US car though I cannot see any prominent shielding
What do you see in the visual inspection? Can you see and hear exhaust leaks? It may be a cracked header, broken sniffer tube, or a leak at the header exit. The US header with the aluminium heat shields is easy to spot (below) and it makes the front one hard to remove. Get a very short 6 point 13mm socket and a few u-joints, plus a short 13mm open wrench (you may need to grind the sides a bit for clearance. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Removing the rear header is relatively easy. There is one nut near the passenger side that is tough to access. Hopefully it wii not no on too tight. The front header is best removed from below with the car on a lift. As mentioned use a 6 point socket and lots of extensions and u-joints. Each cylinder had its own copper gasket. Also , I used new washers and copper self locking nuts (slightly ovalized). These work out well and are rust resistant. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
