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VS V6 plenum bolt question

sk2304

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Hi there,
Got hold of an 2000 VS V6 Ute a bit over a year ago. A mates son had been tinkering on it (creating more issues!) before it ran out of rego and he removed on with another car.

I cleaned and changed all the usual things oil, gaskets, plugs, etc and it goes really well.
No error codes.

But when I had the plenum off to do the LIM gaskets I found that 2 of the 5 bolts that hold down the plenum chamber to the inlet manifold will not tighten. They will just keep turning.

So got them as tight as I could. Spoke with local holden spare parts who said they didn't stock the bolts.

My main question is would any leak there affect fuel economy? I found it is using a bit over 3L/100km more fuel on the highway than my 'S' pack sedan. Even more around town.

I recently replaced the o2 sensors. No difference.
(Lucky I work in auto parts industry!)

Any advice? Thanks in advance.
 

vs-lover

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If those threads are stripped in the actual manifold then the only thing you can do is to install "heli-coils"inserts, which is an easy enough job to perform in Aluminum. Then the bolts can be tightened up correctly and you should suffer no intake leakage which I suspect you may ever so slightly have.

I must admit I'm somewhat puzzled as to how the threads could've been stripped initially as those components are rarely pulled apart. But then again nothing surprises me these days with the amount of DYI Butchers that continually surface.
 
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_R_J_K_

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Does it idle weirdly? Get some Start Ya' Bastard and spray it around the join and see if the idle changes while it's running. The biggest sign there's an issue will be some kind of vaccuum leak.
 

sk2304

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Thanks _R_J_K_ great idea I will give that a try.

Young bloke that had it was not smart and was not helped by his old man.
Car had supposed electrical issue - 2 blown parkers!
He had wheel nuts on so tight even my local mechanic struggled to get a couple off. We had to use a huge breaker bar.
Had lost nuts, clips and basic stuff like that.
Didn't put wiper blades on properly and they put a slight groove in the windscreen.

Otherwise goes well. I get away a fair bit when not working so I am trying to get fuel consumption like my sedan.
 

Trevor loves holden.

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That's why a torque wrench is needed,
* Intake manifold attachment bolts 12-18Nm
* Fuel rail and top intake manifold cover 10-14Nm
* Air intake chamber bolts 10-14Nm
Like what lover said Heli-coil.
 
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