I had to remove the intake and oil pan to fix some lifters. The car is back together and runs great. Problem is there is a leak that comes down back of the engine near the T5 bellhousing. I see the oil dripping off the bottom of the bellhousing so I don't know where exactly it's coming from. I reused my blue felpro oil pan gasket. I also used silicone on the ends of the block.
Did you use a cork gasket on your intake? The cork gaskets always leak on me usually on the back, either I dont get it lined up right or when I set the intake down I move it. I started buying gaskets for a 91 mustang and used those they look like rubber I beams so they wont move around when I set the manifold down, and they seal up easy for me.
I used silicone up on top as well. I didn't use cork and didn't use those rubber ones you are talking about but I have seen them before.
permatex is your friend. you could put permatex on the rear of the intake to get you by for a while but the way to fix it is remove the intake ditch the end gaskets and use a nice thick bead of permatex or whatever kind of silicone you prefer. i use hi-temp black or red on intakes maybe a valve cover also
Get a mirror in there MO to see if its wet behind the intake. Usually the silicone only works well on the intake ends. Oil pan gasket on the other hand is real easy to mess up on install in the car. Rule out the intake first as you should be able to get a look at it with a mirror.
I do the same thing, the Ford carb studs for a 1" spacer work well for this. And after having experienced iron intake installations on 390's in the 80's, you learn quick to do something better than just using your hands for things.
I like to use cork or rubber gaskets, I clean the surfaces real well with carb cleaner and then glue the gaskets to the block with 3M trim adhesive, put a thin film of rtv on the gaskets and a dob in all 4 corners, I also use long carb studs to set the intake, Ive done hundreds this way and never have leaks.
Oh, yea it can. Been there-done that. In the end, it was fixed by dropping the oil level in the pan by a quart: 9 quarts the pan was advertised to hold to 8 quarts.
Ok, took it to the shop, oil is coming from all around the end of the block and seems to be from the valve covers. There was no oil behind the intake. We used a good bit of silicone before dropping the intake so that shouldn't be a problem. removed the old valve covers Bryant said these probably were the cause of the leak. Went to my engine builder and he looked at them for one second and said for sure valve covers. He gave me a new set to try. These go for at least $150 on ebay so I'm glad he gave them to me to use and if I like them he'll sell them to me. This one had this thing welded on there Put them on, but don't know if it leaks yet. Will find out in an hour when I go down to the car.
I use the Ford Racing studs and nuts for valve covers now. Had too many times the gaskets get sideways when you invert then covers to set em in place,then try to get the bolts in the holes. Install studs, place the gaskets on the studs, drop the covers in place.
The new valve covers didn't fix the problem. It could be the gaskets but my engine guy said they were his first choice. The bolts are on as tight as they can be. Maybe I do need the studs. Could the oil be coming from somewhere else? The oil pools at the bottom of the bell housing but seems to drip down onto the headers as well.
I am possitive your leaking at the rear of the intake is at the back.If you don't use silicone to keep it stattionary it moves on you. That's why a lot of engine builders use permatex on the front an back.
I used silicone on the top side of the gasket but nothing on the bottom side and didn't use permatex. I looked and couldn't see any oil behind the top of the intake. I might just reinstall the intake Friday and see if that will fix it.
