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intake manifold problem!!

bigboyslimjimbo

NAXJA Forum User
I had a leak in my intake manifold so i took the old gasket off and put a new one in. As i was taking the old one off i notcied that i was missing the bolt on closest to the firewall. I figured it must have rattled lose. So i began to put it back to gether and found out that the bolt wont go in, and it just kept spining. I believe the hole is stripped. What can i do. I dont know if i can get a heli coil in there but maybe something like that? Any Suggestions!! I think someone at a shop or before me must have stripped it, because i haave never messed with the intake at all since ive owned it.
 
Thats funny my bolt closest to the firewall was missing too. what year is your jeep? 90' perhaps? you could try cross threading a slightly bigger bolt in there :/ or drilling a new hole
 
What winterbeater said. Don't just try to wrench a bigger bolt in there. Use a drill/tap. Your best bet would be to drill/tap/helicoil and use the proper sized bolt.
 
1. Pull the engine, drill out & repair with a helicoil?
2. Use a bi-metal hole saw to cut through firewall, drill out with a right angle drill & repair with a helicoil?

3. Support engine/trans/TC with a couple floor jacks. Unbolt engine/trans mounts. Work floor jacks to slide engine/trans/TC slightly forward (careful of fan/radiator or trans cooler lines), if necessary remove radiator and use a comealong/ratchet strap to pull it forward. Use right angle drill & repair with helicoil?

None of the above are easy. I have seen all of them tried on various makes/models of vehicles. The only for sure method is number 1.
 
IIRC that does not take a bolt, but rather a stud. Many times the threads on the part of the stud that screws in are a different size/thread. That may be your problem. If that is not it, your best recourse is the helicoil it. I know it isn't easy to get to it, but you can drop the engine mounts, the tranny mounts, the shifter linkage, remove the fan clutch, and then shift the motor forward a couple of inches. That should suffice to get to the bolt.
 
Wow, you guys like doing it the hard way huh?

Why not just cut the head off a longer bolt, slather the cut end with JB-weld, stick it in the hole, wait a few hours and use a nut on top instead? Seems a heck of a lot easier than trying to finagle a tap or drill back there.
 
Like old man said, that should be a stud. Are you sure there isn't a busted stud in the hole, preventing you from putting in a new bolt?

We busted that same stud when installing a Borla header. Luckily, the head was on the bench at the time and it was very easy to get the broken stud out and replace it with a bolt.
 
So would it be worth it to try and pull the motor and fix it with a helli coil, while at the same time sprucin up the motor? Is that a pretty tuff job and how expensize do you think it would be to overhaul my motor. I have 164k on it and seem to have good carbon build up where the intake hooks up to the motor.
 
I just went through this EXACT scenario. Yes, it is a broken stud.

There is no way you can drill/tap that hole without pulling the head. The firewall is in the way.

Pull the head, drill/tap, then replace.

Its about a day of work.
 
so while i am doing all of this should i think of replacing anything in the motor in the process while i have all this stuff out? I really dont want to have to pull the head but i guess that is my only option.
 
Replace all associated gaskets with high quality ones. (You can search on here for what to get) cause you dont want to have to redo that head gasket after you do it once.

You could probably also take the head in to get checked for flatness and maybe rebuilt. Should be less then $100.
 
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