Intake manifold gasket and pvc

[91-gsx]

I was wondering if I should change my intake manifold gasket that might be the original. The car has 117,000 miles on it. The only reason being is that I cannot really find a way to check if the intake manifold gasket is leaking. If an intake valve is open while you pressure test the system, it might leak out the pressure. If it leaks out the pressure, you will not be able to check pressure loss in the intake manifold. Basically I'm asking if there is a good chance that my intake manifold gasket is leaking? If I do replace the gasket, do you guys recommend I go with this gasket http://www.machv.com/1ginmaga.html? Or something that is supposed to be high performance like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mits...02QQitemZ120090445578QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW?

I would greatly appreciate it if any of you had feedback on the ebay gasket and if you bought something similar to it and had better performance. The idea makes sense because the transfer of heat to the intake manifold from the head does increase intake temps and reduces power because of that.

About the pvc valve, mine leaks and I have it bypassed to the intake at the moment. But if I were to buy a new oem pvc valve, would it seal perfectly like it is supposed to, or do they generally leak anyway? I would rather have it attached to the intake manifold, but under boost I do not want any leaks at all, obviously all our goals....
Thanks for the help

PS: By the way, does anybody know were I can buy the gasket that goes in between the upper and lower half of the throttle body? Thanks again.

 

[romeen]

Regarding the oem PCV valves, yes most of them leak. Go to this thread and scroll down to post #43 where a discussion begins on how to alleviate the problem.

http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229338&page=2

For the TB gasket are you referring to the 2 gaskets that go between the TB-IM and TB elbow-TB respectively?

 

[91-gsx]

Regarding the oem PCV valves, yes most of them leak. Go to this thread and scroll down to post #43 where a discussion begins on how to alleviate the problem.

http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229338&page=2

For the TB gasket are you referring to the 2 gaskets that go between the TB-IM and TB elbow-TB respectively?

Thanks for the help. No the gasket that I am talking about goes in between the bottom part of the throttle body(the part were the coolant lines go into the throttle body), and the top half.
later

Edit: I went ahead and bought 2 of the valves that go for $1.54 a piece, plus like $6 shipping. I read the other thread and it seems that somebody has pressure tested these at 60psi with a compressor and it seemed to hold just fine. Thanks again.

 

[Echo5Zulu]

You can run a boost leak test as shown in vfaq.com and other places and listen for leaks in the gaskets. You mentioned being worried about the intake valves being open and leaking the air but remember that the exhuast valve should be closed. Unless you have a lot of overlap in your cams I suppose.

 

[Dream On]

I'm the one who pressure tested it. I've got one of the valves on my car currently. Seems to be working just fine.

 

[91-gsx]

Now that I think of it, the last time I did a boost leak test was when the valve stem seals were just about to go out. They eventually did and I had lots and lots of smoke coming out of my exhaust. I have sense replaced them all, so hopefully I will not hear as much hissing.

So nobody has run one of the performance intake manifold gaskets? The honda crowd has the same thing made by hondata. A lot of people seem to run them and I have read that they felt more torque and power in the midrange. Wouldn't this translate to better off boost driving and faster spool because of the denser air, I remember when I put a cold air intake on my 14b it made it spool faster and gave the car an overall healthier feel. I would like to hear about this gasket from people, but if nobody has it, I guess I know what I have to do... Try it for myself.
later

 

[wishihadatalon]

Now that I think of it, the last time I did a boost leak test was when the valve stem seals were just about to go out. They eventually did and I had lots and lots of smoke coming out of my exhaust. I have sense replaced them all, so hopefully I will not hear as much hissing.

So nobody has run one of the performance intake manifold gaskets? The honda crowd has the same thing made by hondata. A lot of people seem to run them and I have read that they felt more torque and power in the midrange. Wouldn't this translate to better off boost driving and faster spool because of the denser air, I remember when I put a cold air intake on my 14b it made it spool faster and gave the car an overall healthier feel. I would like to hear about this gasket from people, but if nobody has it, I guess I know what I have to do... Try it for myself.
later

Hondata also makes one for our cars. I would go with that or a magnus one before I tried an ebay special It is a special plastic that is used that will not get to hard or brittle. My buddy was looking into making them and he sold me one to use and I tried if for like a day before I noticed my car was running wierd. I pulled the manifold back off and the gasket was all cracked and I was missing a piece WTF I am not really sure where it ended up either

Personally I love the rubber covered metal gaskets but if you run the spacer I would use grey permatex to prevent any leaks.

 

[91-gsx]

Hondata also makes one for our cars. I would go with that or a magnus one before I tried an ebay special It is a special plastic that is used that will not get to hard or brittle. My buddy was looking into making them and he sold me one to use and I tried if for like a day before I noticed my car was running wierd. I pulled the manifold back off and the gasket was all cracked and I was missing a piece WTF I am not really sure where it ended up either

Personally I love the rubber covered metal gaskets but if you run the spacer I would use grey permatex to prevent any leaks.

So you have tried this type before? It is definately not worth $50+ from hondata. I would rather get the other one I suggested for $11. That one is like you said, metal covered in plastic I believe. I want the gasket to seal without all that rtv/spray stuff. Thanks for the personal experience. Anybody else try this?
later

edit: I also would still like to know if anybody knew were I could buy the gasket that goes in between the bottom and upper half of the throttle body. later

 

[wishihadatalon]

So you have tried this type before? It is definately not worth $50+ from hondata. I would rather get the other one I suggested for $11. That one is like you said, metal covered in plastic I believe. I want the gasket to seal without all that rtv/spray stuff. Thanks for the personal experience. Anybody else try this?
later

edit: I also would still like to know if anybody knew were I could buy the gasket that goes in between the bottom and upper half of the throttle body. later

Try the dealer. Also what is wrong with rtv? If used correctly it will seal perfect and fill in any imperfections. But if you are looking at the $11 one that is the one I was talking about. Its metal surrounded by rubber. I blew a paper gasket out at 20psi switched to the metal and haven't looked back.

 

[Dream On]

http://www.jnztuning.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=241

OEM, less than ebay. They've got the throttle body gaskets too, for cheap.