2001 XJ Intake Manifold Issue

So, I finally joined the group. I have been watching for a long time. I see a ton of great stuff here. Well, I am glad I joined- and I need some direction form all of you gear heads out there. I have a cherry of as 2001 XJ. No rust, clean slate for upgrades. I put a mild 3" lift on it, and decided to do a complete new exhaust. That's where the problem is. I had no issue doing the 2 piece exhaust headers ( it was time consuming but everything came out since this is a rust free XJ) I went to put it all back together and the mounting hole on bottom rear of the intake manifold snapped . I am sure I must have not gotten it seated in the hole. So, with all that being said- it appears to be fine. I proceeded to put it back together. I think it will be fine , what do you guys think. I torqued correctly in the right order and made sure the ports were all lined up. No hissing or ticking. Not ideal but I honestly think the holes are just for aligning - no pressure is on these tabs. Thanks in advance everyone!!

IF I understand you...
It will leak, maybe not for a few weeks but it will.


Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
:banghead:

First, welcome aboard!

If I understand this, you did not have the intake correctly seated on the alignment dowel and broke the flange?

I'd be tempted to drive it.

if it was just the spot where the aligning dowel is and all the bolts are in i would gather it would be ok.

Well, I drove it about 5 miles last night. Everything is nice and tight, no hissing or ticking. I think I am going to roll with it. Thanks for the information guys. This thing is awesome. I am new to the XJ world. Lift, new exhaust, roof rack , and ready to roll.

did the same thing to my 99 trying to make an apn header fit, drove it for over a year with no issues. you should be fine i did eventually replace it when i had to put a new header in.

That alignment tab does not have a fastener going through it, therefore it is not applying any force to the gasket for sealing. So as long as the fasteners that are applying force to the gasket are there and torqued properly, it should be just fine!