intake manifold fix, not good results

[Craig 94 TA GT]

Hey guys, I tried to follow Ken's instructions as well as the one's on projecttransam (who bases his on Ken's), but I may have worsened my intake manifold leak? She started up just fine but I'm noticing my left BLMs are now stuck at 143. The right ones are normal at 128. Previous to the fix, the left BLMs were at ~131 and right ones were once again at 128. Also, I did notice a bit of smoke coming from around the back and sides of the intake manifold. I did but a bit of RTV sealant around the ports of the gasket, and I'm hoping this is what the smoke is coming from. Any ideas what's causing my left bank to compensate?

One other thing I noticed was my left O2 sensor goes below .1 sometimes. This is a sample read-out:
0.062
0.111
0.83
0.471
0.071
0.222
0.861
0.062
0.089
0.852
0.102
0.071

Now the right O2 sensor doesn't seem to ever read below .1. The left ones seems to dip there as the sample shows. Could this be my problem?

Thanks in advance.

[wolfdogs]

carefully check your injector connections..........

[Z Ya Later]

I'm assuming the left bank is the passenger side bank. If so, I don't know about those four, I know for sure the driver's side are on tight. Also, what should the MAP reading be normally and would the above O2 readings possibly indicate a ready-to-fail or failing O2 sensor? I'm stumped as well. Also, would that smoke just be excess sealant?

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Last time I had the plenum off, I dremeled a trough in the back of the block and the mating area of the plenum. Now it DOESN'T leak cause the RTV makes a nice little bead in there. It was a pain to do, but worth the trouble. I also got the EGR disconnected and blocked off to get rid of the exhaust heat back there which may have been making the problem worse.

[Rob B (shoebox)]

Left bank = driver's side
Right bank = passenger side

[referenced for LH drive cars only]

[Z Ya Later]

That clears that up. Thanks Rob, you da man

[Craig 94 TA GT]

Another thing that happened was that I completed the fix over 4 days. I pulled the fuel lines on Monday, then finally was smart enough to cap the lines on Thursday. Nevertheless, when we finished today, the gas tank was bone dry. I previously had 3/8 of a tank (probably 1/5 in reality due to our gas gauge). I know this has nothing to do with the problem, but the remnants of gas in my tank evaporate out of the two small fuel lines in a matter of 3 days?

As far as the manifold install itself, I don't see how it could have been faulty because Steve93Z and I did it exactly to book (Ken's book lol). Unless we got faulty gaskets? Is it possible that the problem is unrelated? The MAP sensor readings seem to be the same as before the fix.

This problem is driving me insane!!

BTW, the injector connectors are on nice and snug.

[wolfdogs]

Another thing that happened was that I completed the fix over 4 days. I pulled the fuel lines on Monday, then finally was smart enough to cap the lines on Thursday. Nevertheless, when we finished today, the gas tank was bone dry. I previously had 3/8 of a tank (probably 1/5 in reality due to our gas gauge). I know this has nothing to do with the problem, but the remnants of gas in my tank evaporate out of the two small fuel lines in a matter of 3 days?

As far as the manifold install itself, I don't see how it could have been faulty because Steve93Z and I did it exactly to book (Ken's book lol). Unless we got faulty gaskets? Is it possible that the problem is unrelated? The MAP sensor readings seem to be the same as before the fix.

This problem is driving me insane!!

BTW, the injector connectors are on nice and snug.

my "book" not only fixed my leak...but hundreds of others.....

me thinks you got a gremlin in thar........

[Joe 1320]

Not sure this is your problem, but any silicones that get burned or find their way into the exhaust will coat an 02 sensor and render it NFG. Try switching primary 02 sensors from side to side. If the problem swaps banks, you found the culprit.

[Craig 94 TA GT]

OK, thanks Joe. I will try the switch.

Ken, I know your fix is bullet-proof...which is why I followed it. I'm not in any way saying it's the results of the problem...I either botched the installation (which I'm trying to figure out how) or something else is wrong (like the O2 sensors).

[Z Ya Later]

my "book" not only fixed my leak...but hundreds of others.....

me thinks you got a gremlin in thar........

STUPID GREMLINS!! I hate them sooooooo much!

lol

[Craig 94 TA GT]

I reset the PCM today and drove it around with Freescan hooked up. I found out that the left bank BLMs are terribly high at idle (cell 16) only. During normal driving and acceleration, it returns back to normal. So at idle, the left is at 151 (sometimes it can drop to ~140) and the right bank is at 128. Steve93Z and I also noticed a slight whistle under load just before it shifts (not RPM specific). Is this a sign of an intake leak at the head gasket, or an intake leak period? Thanks again in advance.

[Mike71]

gesh craig i hope u get this fixed ur car sounded so nice to lol

[Z Ya Later]

We tried to duplicate the whistle while in Park, but to no avail. The second occurance was clearly heard by me (as I was driving at the time) but not by Craig, and both windows were down. Could that be the Moroso CAI? We think this is probably not the case, but can't hurt to ask. We sprayed carb cleaner around the left bank where the intake meets the head, and nothing. It bubbled upon initial spray, but that was it. I sprayed it on the right bank (which is showing no problems) and it did the same bubbling when it was sprayed, but both sides stopped after a sec. We also got in there with the stethoscope around the mating surface and the injector holes and didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, just the ticking of the injectors and whooshing of the air/fuel going by. The strange thing is that she drives like there's no problem, minus 2 very, very minor hesitations toward the end of the driving period. Would this indicate a leak or a bad O2 sensor? I'm baffled as well...and its not even my car lol

[Mike71]

i would try to swap the 02s side to side and see what the comp says then