vr air intake manifold gasket need to be changed

[vrutemarcus]

ive had my vr ute for about 6 months now. when i got the car i thought the rear main seal was gorn on the engine and just had to be replaced. how ever i was wrong and turns out it is the air intake manifold that is leaking. just this last week it has gotten really bad and i am loosing alot of oil and a little bit of water.

ive gorn down to holden and bought a gasket kit to fix it. ive done a fair bit of research on air intake gasket and most people beleive that it is eassy to replace just take some time to do.

i was wondering if anyone who has done this befor could give me any advice on things that may go wrong. as i wil be fitting the new gasket this weekend thank you

[James39]

Vr inlet gasket replacement

[Jxw]

nothing that can go wrong really.

basically everything as per first post in the thread linked. some more tips below
I've never applied oil to any gaskets as they're keyed into the head so can't move and if done up correctly won't be an issue (was taught that gasket surfaces should be clean and free from oil).


Put a small dab of sensor safe sealant at the 4 points where the valley gaskets meet the manifold gaskets before the manifold is set back on.

Do the bolts up finger tight to start with, making sure the manifold is sitting evenly.
tighten the bolts up in stages like a head gasket, following the numbers on the image below, pay attention that it's doing up evenly and not pulling to one side.

I do 3-4 tightening stages, start at 1 end at 10 then back to 1 etc, doing it up slightly tighter each go , i've found a small 1/4" ratchet, 3/8 socket with extension bar and uni joint to be easiest on these.
do not just do 1 side up then the other or do them up tight as you can first go

Use some low strength thread locker on the bolts also (make sure they're clean with no oil or residue on them or the thread locker will not do anything.



depending on how many km's your car has done it may pay to replace the 2 black plastic heater hose connections as they become brittle over time (1 at the front of the manifold and 1 at the rear). They also have a tendency to start splitting down the casting mark as shown below



It's easier to do when the manifold is removed, there's nothing more frustrating than getting it all back together and one splitting as you do the hose clamps up, if you want to really splash out there are brass replacements available also.

[vrutemarcus]

thanks heaps for the help im ordering the party tomorrow from holden. ill proberly end up getting around to changing the gaskets this weekend ill post how it goes thanks heaps

[Jxw]

burson's, supercheap or some some other parts store might be cheaper than genuine holden if they have them.