Oil leak at intake manifold bolt

[Ralph]

I have a leak at the rear manifold bolt on the passenger side, all the other bolt heads are dry. Does that bolt go thru an oil passage and need some special compound ?
The manifold is an aluminum Edelbrock DP4B. See the photo.
Advice on how to proceed ?

Last of my leaks on a 5,000 mile motor. First was the oil pan but realize it was so beat up I installed a new one and the leak stopped - installed with the rubber windage tray combo which worked well. Second was the passenger valve cover which I finally sealed up. Small drop at the rear seal but leaving that as is for now.

Hopefully this is the last of the oil leak issues.

Thanks for your help.

 

[DetMatt1]

I have solved a similar leak on intake bolts using copper washers.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

No it doesn't go into the oil passage But pressure from the crankcase can force oil up the threads so just seal the bolt threads

 

[Ralph]

thanks to both of you.

 

[i_taz]

Permatex High Temp thread sealant 59235. Just got done doing mine although I didn't see ANY oil leaking.
It all ended up in my intake runners and on the valve stems

 

[moparlee]

Ralph, glad you are getting those leaks sealed up.
What oil pan did you get? I also picked up one of those rubber gasket/windage tray combos. Have not installed it yet as I was wondering how it would seal up with the factory type pan with the indentations between all the bolt holes. I am using the hemi 6 qt plus 1 for filter on my 440. I think Milodon makes a flat surfaced pan.

 

[Ralph]

I bought the hemi oil pan (6 quart - which I believe is 5 quart plus 1 for filter) from 440 source and put some light black permatex at those indentations on the oil pan, front at timing chain & back area near the bell housing - so far so good. Had to change the pick up and screen as well - before I had the stock 402 pan and liked having the extra quart for the high volume oil pump I have. The rubber gasket is pretty thick so make sure you have the right bolts.

 

[moparlee]

I bought the hemi oil pan (6 quart - which I believe is 5 quart plus 1 for filter) from 440 source and put some light black permatex at those indentations on the oil pan, front at timing chain & back area near the bell housing - so far so good. Had to change the pick up and screen as well - before I had the stock 402 pan and liked having the extra quart for the high volume oil pump I have. The rubber gasket is pretty thick so make sure you have the right bolts.

In the FSM's the hemi oil pans are 6 plus 1 and I believe the reproduced ones are the same.
Check what the dip stick is showing.

 

[Ralph]

Did a compression check.

Cold engine with throttle plate open.

Range was 155 to 160.

Engine was blueprinted and balanced with mild cam by previous owner.

What does that tell us ?

Fixing intake manifold gasket leak next.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Sounds good , the compression needs to vary by 10% or less you are around 3%

 

[Ralph]

The saga continues:

Removed the intake manifold & valley pan which all came off relatively easy to my surprise. No gaskets at all and a little black permatex on valley pan. Edelbrock aluminum manifold. This is supposed to be a 5,000 mile motor blueprinted and balanced. There was oil leading to the valves in every cylinder - hence the oil on the plugs. If everything else was good I would put a new valley pan gasket and seal it up good and ready to drive.

Inspecting the cam looks like cam lobes are worn and 2 rods at the number 5 plugs has spiral marks on them.

Chryco Psycho + others please look at the pictures and comment.

Thanks for your continued help.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Some of the cam lobes do look weird , normal wear should have a track on one side of the lobe , this will rotate the lifter , this track will taper wider 1/2 way up the ramp as the spring load increases going to almost full width at the top of the lobe where spring load is highest , some of the lobes like the very front one the track seems to go wider & narrower on the back side of the lobe which is weird . did you pull any of the lifters & check the bottom at all ? Do you know what the cam is ?
I have no clue why some push rods have the spiral on them but I have seen it often with factory pushrods , nothing to worry about !

 

[Ralph]

Comp Cam 262

Did not pull the lifters since I just sealed the Valve cover gaskets - but I guess that's next.

Then to decide what to do next in terms of a fix

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Valve cover gaskets on stock heads can be a pain seal up correctly !
The top of any of the lobes look chewed up if you rotate the engine over slowly ? if so the cam is bad , the tracks look weird to me like the cam was not ground correctly , as I said the track should be on one side of the lobe Only until the up ramp where it slowly changes to full contact .
Looking at your pix again you can see a clear track on the 2nd & 6th lobe from the front where it is a thin track on one side of the lobe as it should be , the 4th lobe looks OK as it seems to go to full contact over the top but lobe 7 thins out as it goes over the top where it should be full contact , even lobe 16 at the very back the track up the lobe is not getting wider .That is a very poorly ground cam IMO
You might get some miles out of that cam as it is if the lobes are Ok on the peaks , or you could just tear it down & swap the cam now & prevent a future problem .

 

[i_taz]

Needless to say, you can't take anybody at their word. I found myself in a similar situation so, while I was at it, I did a compression test to put my mind at ease. The intake gaskets aren't your biggest concern now and supposedly the factory didn't use any but your new kit will come with them. There only paper so you still have to seal the bolts regardless...

 

[Ralph]

Ok, got it.

Check out the lifters and give me your opinion, they did not look to bad.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Ok where do I get a Lithium Ion battery for my crystal ball ?
Will it live or fail ???
If all of the lifters are rotating & have no unusual wear I guess run with it assuming the top of all the lobes on the cam look OK as well . I just really feel the cam has a weird pattern from what I normally see .

 

[fasjac]

Just tuned in. But, looks like the cam is going flat on a few lobes. Maybe wasn’t broke in correctly??? Don’t know but, IMO I’d have to replace the cam and lifters. Again only my opinion.

 

[Ralph]

Guys, I do not like the way the cam looks and the heads do not look great either. I am going to pull the motor and send it to the shop to have it all checked out. New cam & lifters at a minimum. Will have the heads cleaned and checked as well.

How do you like the Lunati Voodo 702 cam for the 383 ? will run stock exhaust, Edelbrock DP4B intake, 650 quickfuel with the passon 5 speed. 3.91 gears. Will keep the edelbrock for my shaker clearance

As always thanks for the help.

 

[fasjac]

I think that’s a great choice. Can’t go wrong with Lunati. I have a Tremec 5 speed with 3.91 gear. 5th is .64 to 1, I Like it a lot. Also running a six pack on 500 stroker. Good luck to you