Cheapeast place for inlet manifold gasket?

[-B-]

Apparently there are two gaskets. I've got an induction leak, hopefully I only need the one, supposedly the more expensive of the two.

Stealer Prices:
Inlet Manifold Gasket 1 £77.54 inc vat
Inlet Manifold Gasket 2 £15.05 inc vat

I've been told you can get them for £50, but where from?

 

[tuonokid]

Sorry I can't directly answer your question about the price of the gaskets but are you sure it's leaking at one of the gaskets? It's much more likely to be leaking on one of the takeoffs or pipes between the MAF and the head.
Barry

 

[-B-]

I tried locating the leak myself, and in the process replacing the throtle body gasket...

http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27121&p=336045#p336045

This had no effect. Out of frustration I took it to Rates in Grays, Essex, who diagnosed the inlet manifold gasket. That diagnosis cost me £90 (inc 24hr hire of a Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost with 6 spd auto g/box which was fun).

So this is why I'm where I'm at.

 

[tuonokid]

Hi Mate
If Grays charged you £90 I would ask them to show me where the inlet manifold gasket's leaking from. After a quick read through your last post if your engine IS revving up when you are braking I would check the brake servo vacuum pipes by taking them off at the manifold end and blocking off the stubs on the inlet manifold. Don't take it for a drive as you will have no servo but at least you can check it to see if the revs die when you come off the throttle.
Barry

 

[-B-]

Okay, I'll try that first Barry. Thanks.

 

[tuonokid]

You're welcome, good luck with it.
Barry

 

[-B-]

If the manifold gasket is also leaking won't that negate your brake servo pipe test? But I guess if it makes a difference, replace that pipe first, then see if that is the entire problem, after driving it. If Rates have misdiagnosed they can pay me my £90 back.

 

[tuonokid]

The thing with inlet manifold gaskets is that they are highly unlikely to fail as they are on the negative pressure (suction) side of the engine so unless the manifold has been taken off before for some reason they should be good. If you find the leak, don't repair it but take it back to the garage then show them the fault and ask for your money back.
Barry

 

[Cartman]

My inlet gasket had cracked, I noticed it when I fitted my FRP innlet.

I just glued it, because I didnt have a replacement, but I wish I had changed it....

 

[Milkie]

What about one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301866831778

Thermal Intake Manifold Gasket - stops the heat of the engine transferring to the inlet manifold and quite cheap.

 

[Cartman]

Hmm, why not

althoug the factory gasket is also plastic, I can't realy figgure why this one should be anny better at stopping heat transfer

 

[-B-]

[post]346428[/post] I would check the brake servo vacuum pipes by taking them off at the manifold end and blocking off the stubs on the inlet manifold. Don't take it for a drive as you will have no servo but at least you can check it to see if the revs die when you come off the throttle.
Barry

There seems to be 2 tubes running from manifold to servo. How do I get these off? I tried today breifly and they didn't budge. I just need to pull them harder?

 

[tuonokid]

I'll have a look tomorrow if I get the chance. Do you know if the inlet manifold's been off before? Cartmans post about the plastic gasket made me think it could be like a Zetec E one which has only a really thin rubber seal on top of a plastic core. These only work once and need to be binned rather than re-used.
Barry

 

[Dwighet]

[post]346460[/post] What about one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301866831778

Thermal Intake Manifold Gasket - stops the heat of the engine transferring to the inlet manifold and quite cheap.

I have just recently fitted the very same gasket.... so far no problems with it....

 

[tuonokid]

Hi
I had a look at mine today and there's only one pipe to the servo the other is to the gulp valve on the bulkhead. As for taking it out without damaging it I'm not sure but someone else might butt in on this or you could PM Ian G on here. A none destructive way of testing all the pipes is to use a wet through cloth holding it around the pipes and sliding it slowly over the whole length and see if the tick over goes up or down. There are , however, some breather pipes located under the inlet manifold and are difficult to get to which may mean taking off the inlet manifold to get to them. If the manifold gasket is leaking I would suggest that it would be the one that joins to the head as the one nearer to the throttle body appears to be a thin paper one which is less likely to leak.
Hope that helps.
Barry

 

[Frank]

Thought I remembered posting on that other thread last year - http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?p=336052#p336052

@ -B- - did that garage do a proper smoke test on your car?

 

[Ian G]

I can well believe that the manifold to head gasket has cracked, they're plastic and massive and don't generally look in good condition when they come off in the disassembled engines.

I do plan to start getting a stock of these as you're not the first person with such a problem and at those prices I'm sure there's some room underneath for used nearly-as-good-but-a-fifth-of-the-price items.

 

[-B-]

[post]347204[/post] Hi
I had a look at mine today and there's only one pipe to the servo the other is to the gulp valve on the bulkhead.

I double checked, and yes you're right, the second of those two is not connected to the servo

[post]347204[/post]
As for taking it out without damaging it I'm not sure but someone else might butt in on this or you could PM Ian G on here.

Just pm'd Ian.

[post]347204[/post]
A none destructive way of testing all the pipes is to use a wet through cloth holding it around the pipes and sliding it slowly over the whole length and see if the tick over goes up or down.

I think I just used my fingers last time. A wet cloth sounds more effective.

[post]347204[/post]
There are , however, some breather pipes located under the inlet manifold and are difficult to get to which may mean taking off the inlet manifold to get to them. If the manifold gasket is leaking I would suggest that it would be the one that joins to the head as the one nearer to the throttle body appears to be a thin paper one which is less likely to leak.
Hope that helps.
Barry

There's even more pipes underneath? Great :roll:

 

[-B-]

[post]346460[/post] What about one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301866831778

Thermal Intake Manifold Gasket - stops the heat of the engine transferring to the inlet manifold and quite cheap.

According to someone on Pistonheads, the above aren't worth bothering with.

Yes, they are complete crap but quite popular with a certain demographic of Honda owners who believe they are actually getting the gains that the snake oil pedlars selling them are promoting.

PTFE is a soft material, and because these are invariably a cheap and nasty design stamped out of a sheet of PTFE they have no in built metal spacers to permit the manifold nuts/bolts to be properly torqued without the gasket material 'flowing' around the edges. The result is that after a number of heat cycles the gasket spreads out and the manifold nuts become loose.

Use a conventional gasket, preferably OEM but you shouldn't have problems with a quality aftermarket gasket manufacturer.

 

[-B-]

What about this on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-1-6-1-7-Zetec-SE-Sigma-INLET-Manifold-Gasket-Bike-Carbs-Kit-Car-Puma-/231503145026?hash=item35e6a9a842:g:uhAAAOxyRNJSnxPU Price seems too good to be true?