LKB109291 K-Series Inlet Manifold Modification

[Lovel]

Attached information on a recurring problem and possible solution for the K-Series inlet manifold.

Do you have:
Coolant level dropping but cant be seen where from?
Uneven idle?
Super clean spark plugs on cyclinder 1 and 4?
Vacumm leak?

No matter how hard you tighten the nuts on the manifold, even though you have fitted the latest black viton gasket might not have sufficient squeeze to seal effectively.

Perhaps this will help improve gasket squeeze.

[marinabrian]

Or simply file the brass bushes flush with the joint face of the manifold

Brian

[Lovel]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

Or simply file the brass bushes flush with the joint face of the manifold

Brian

Done that before, but the bush will keep extruding slowly in time over a few miles leading to a leak again. This way you are bypassing the bush and placing a constant long term force on the manifold.

[minimutly]

I have heard of the vvc manifold being fitted the 75/zt. I have a turbo car here with slow coolant loss which i suspect to be the manifold gasket. I also have an early alloy inlet manifold (rover 200) which does bolt on, anyone tried this?
I guess it could come down to whether the injectors fit, and how to fit the map sensor, but is there anything else?
Apologies for hijacking this post

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by minimutly

I have heard of the vvc manifold being fitted the 75/zt. I have a turbo car here with slow coolant loss which i suspect to be the manifold gasket. I also have an early alloy inlet manifold (rover 200) which does bolt on, anyone tried this?
I guess it could come down to whether the injectors fit, and how to fit the map sensor, but is there anything else?
Apologies for hijacking this post

No, the MEMS 1.6 manifold is no good, throttle body angle is wrong, IACV is wrong, and it also has a return line to the tank and no pulse damping as well as no provision for IAT/MAP sensor.

Treat yourself to one of THESE much much easier

Brian

[Lovel]

Originally Posted by minimutly

I have heard of the vvc manifold being fitted the 75/zt. I have a turbo car here with slow coolant loss which i suspect to be the manifold gasket. I also have an early alloy inlet manifold (rover 200) which does bolt on, anyone tried this?
I guess it could come down to whether the injectors fit, and how to fit the map sensor, but is there anything else?
Apologies for hijacking this post

For the cost of a pint of beer and little or no dismantling you could try this method first. Perhaps even treat the manifold to a new viton gasket (LKJ101110) would be wiser.

Actually you could probably do it with a plain washer, however it needs to be thicker than the stick-out of the brass bushing. The washer needs to slide over the bushing, a 1/2" washer may need a little file out as the bush is 13mm OD, however most washers are stamped out and may mean that the hole size is sufficient to slip over the brass bush anyway. Using the plain washer the angle of the manifold means there may be a tendency to bend the studs if you were too heavy handed upon tightening, whereas the tapered washer will help mitigate this.

[Lovel]

Photos of tapered washers in place. A nice neat fit as they slip over and are retained by the brass bush, a much superior long term clamping force on the manifold elastomer seal.

[thegreatdaddo]

Seems a good idea. After fitting the tapered washers, should the nuts be tightened to the standard torque? Will that crush the plastic manifold?

[Lovel]

Originally Posted by thegreatdaddo

Seems a good idea. After fitting the tapered washers, should the nuts be tightened to the standard torque? Will that crush the plastic manifold?

The washers spread the load quite wide. Crushing the manifold would be unlikely. I dont know what the torque number should be, M8 thread in alloy perhaps 16-19 Nm. I just give them a firm nip up.

[Tim_Burgess]

I'm going to give this a try. I've had a slight coolant loss for about a fortnight which I couldn't track down. Just spotted the coolant residue under the inlet manifold.