Wet Intake Port

G

ghford

Member
Greetings to all. I noticed my firewall was hot and tracked it to a blown manifold gasket at the nearest exhaust port. In replacing it I saw that the left intake port was wet. Tried to determine whether it was coolant or gasoline but not sure. It did not have much odor and while gas could perhaps loose it's smell from sitting and flowing backward, my feeling is coolant. Wondering how common this is and how much of an issue. If a crack, where exactly is it most likely to be and least invasive way for a proper repair if any short of find it and weld. Might be small enough to ignore though not my first inclination.

Many thanks,

Greg
 
Running a Model A or a B variant engine? The Bs are more prone to deck cracking around cylinder 3 - but it has happened similarly to A.

Fix would be pinning, which you might want to do valve seats too (if not done already.)

I would pop the head.

Joe K
 
You do know that the dampness in an intake port can be because of running the engine?

There will almost always be a bit of fuel left in the intake port after running an engine, it is not necessarily a cracked anything.
 
When I took mine apart to replace the manifold gaskets the intakes were wet looking...I wiped them out and the rag was a little red.....I figured it was just residual Marvel Mystery Oil.....there were no other symptoms....
 
ghford,
If there were no other symptoms, I think you can rest easy that the moisture you saw was only fuel residue, which is normal. I'd put in your new manifold gasket (make sure the manifolds are flat) and drive on. I wouldn't touch the head at this stage.
FWIW,
T
There was a discussion here recently about valve seat inserts. The opinion amongst those who would know (engine reconditioners and professional restorers) was "Don't use them other than as a last resort when the only other option is to scrap the block."
Pinning (or stitching) a block is not a very good fix for a cracked block. It often fails not long after being put back into service.
 
I had that very thing happen one spring, pulled the manifolds to replace the gasket, found the port was wet. I tasted it, it was antifreeze. Traced it back to a cracked police head. Hated to replace it, but it was cracked in a bad place, didn't think I could repair it and make it hold. I installed a 5.5 Snyder head and never looked back.

Identify the liquid by taste or other methods and trace to the source.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top