3.8 intake gaskets (lots of pics)

[JW657]

HI all, long time no see. Who wants to see some dirty engine pictures? I got lots.

I did the intake gaskets in the windstar. It's a 99 3.8. It had a bunch of codes and was stalling out and missing at stop lights. It was down on power too. It still has a bad oxygen sensor though. Anywho, on to the pictures:

The first picture is after I removed the upper intake, it took around 15 minutes and I didn't bother taking the cowl crap off.



Here it is with the middle intake out, this was also very easy. Note the darkened gasket surfaces. This engine loves to suck oil from the PCV system.



Fuel rail coming out, I made my own disconnect tool, it was free and easy.



The IMRC shaft bushings were either badly worn or busted.



This is the lowest intake coming off, now we can look at the lifter valley and balance shaft! One of the bolts holding the lower intake had a mix of oil/water all around it, so something must have been leaking.



Here we are, it isn't nearly as dirty as it looks, once the valve covers come off you can see how clean the engine is inside.



I didn't have the tool to remove the heater hose coming off the intake manifold, so it never technically left the engine bay, I just moved it around.



Now it's all cleaned up. Notice all the tools sitting in the lifter valley. The front head had a varnish brown tinge, the rear head is as clean as the day it rolled off the line. Funny thing is, the front head looks cleaner after a much needed oil change, it was 1000 miles overdue when that picture was taken. It used less than half a quart in over 6,000 miles!



Another closeup of the head.



That's the best picture I could get of the rear head, very clean. Except for the crap I got in it.



Test fitting the intake gaskets, I used sealant where indicated in alldata.



Another shot of everything clean and ready for reassembly. (if you go back 5 pictures, you can see the before shot).



Now it's ready for the middle and upper intake, I didn't take many pictures at this point, since I was running out of time and daylight. (if you go back 12 pictures, you can see the before shot (second picture from the top).



I got it all back together and tried starting it, the engine was running like **** and I was pretty upset. Then I realized I missed the hose going to the brake booster. Problem solved. I drove it around the block twice, then changed the oil. Then took it out to my buddy so I could use his OBD scanner to clear and check the codes, the only two that came back are for the failed oxygen sensor. So now I gotta spend $50 on that and no more check engine light for me. It has been two weeks and nothing leaks. I used all felpro gaskets ordered from rockauto.

Over the summer, I also changed the egr feedback sensor, the radiator and replaced the tranny cooler (someone installed it before I got the van, it wasn't installed well and it vibrated/rubbed on the rad cradle until it leaked.).

[JIMMER]

Nice work, she almost looks like a new engine.

[sheila]

Good job! Winnie 3.8s give me nightmares, lol!

[sousa632]

Originally Posted by sheila

Good job! Winnie 3.8s give me nightmares, lol!

You and me both Sheila!!


I did this to my 98 Winnie and had to do it twice. Felpro dropped the ball with the quality of theose cheaper gaskets. Look at your pictures and see how poorly the fit is around the intake and coolent runners. I had the SAME problem. Mine leaked after a day or 2. Then I 'manned up" and spent the extra money for the metal ones.

Link to my fiasco with it as well..

Disappointing Felpro....... really disappointing........

[JW657]

Originally Posted by sousa632

You and me both Sheila!!


I did this to my 98 Winnie and had to do it twice. Felpro dropped the ball with the quality of theose cheaper gaskets. Look at your pictures and see how poorly the fit is around the intake and coolent runners. I had the SAME problem. Mine leaked after a day or 2. Then I 'manned up" and spent the extra money for the metal ones.

Link to my fiasco with it as well..

Disappointing Felpro....... really disappointing........

Thanks for the feedback!

Luckily, it has been two weeks and no leaks or anything! Hopefully nothing will. I did notice the off fit, but everything worked in the end. I was curious though, did you use a torque wrench for the lower manifold, and what torque pattern did ya use? I got mine from alldata, and I used my mastercraft in-lb wrench.

Good job! Winnie 3.8s give me nightmares, lol!

Working on it is like working on an old pushrod ford V8, except it has a balance shaft in the lifter valley, but getting that lower manifold off is much harder than the upper two. I probably should have bought a head gasket kit, considering what I spent to do what I did. Another $50 for parts + the machine shop work and I could have done the heads in no time.

[sousa632]

Originally Posted by JW657

Thanks for the feedback!

Luckily, it has been two weeks and no leaks or anything! Hopefully nothing will. I did notice the off fit, but everything worked in the end. I was curious though, did you use a torque wrench for the lower manifold, and what torque pattern did ya use? I got mine from alldata, and I used my mastercraft in-lb wrench.
.

Sure did use a torque wrench with the sequence from Auto Zone's site. I dont know why mine just didnt like me but it can also be the difference in the years. My 98 had 2 types(3mm or 4mm) depending on the manufacture date. I have the correct dates for the vehicle but you never know. The steel one has been on there for a while with no gasket failure as of yet.

[JW657]

Originally Posted by sousa632

Sure did use a torque wrench with the sequence from Auto Zone's site. I dont know why mine just didnt like me but it can also be the difference in the years. My 98 had 2 types(3mm or 4mm) depending on the manufacture date. I have the correct dates for the vehicle but you never know. The steel one has been on there for a while with no gasket failure as of yet.

How badly were yours leaking when you did it? My IMRC shafts leak vacuum bad enough to change the engine rpm with propane vapor. Did you ever get the PCM reflash to hide that? Or was that not for 98 and earlier?

[JW657]

It has been almost two months since I did the work. It is still 100% leak free. No coolant loss, oil loss or anything odd. Engine runs totally smooth. No new engine codes have come up since.

I would call the job a total success.

[sheila]

Congrats!!!

[Roach]

Man dude, I just did do this to my T-bird. The front intake/head/block meeting point blew out out and was shooting water out like mad. I didn't take too many pictures, but it was a fun couple of days tearing it down and redo-ing the gaskets. Broke a lower intake bolt too.

After I had it all back together, I forgot one plug to the crankshaft position sensor...it wouldn't crank lmao. I went crazy looking for it. She ran smooth though, no leaks so far. Now the long hauls to work will really be the test to see if it holds up.