I know that the directions state to be used dry but, again, that's only for the end seals (NEVER USE SILICONES UNDER RUBBER END SEALS) however, if you talk to the folks at Hughes, they will tell you that most of their customers don't follow that recommendation and go by the OEM installation procedure instead. This calls out to use RTV under the 4-corners only- NOTE: THIS IS NOT UNDER THE END SEALS but only at the 4- corners.

Again, for clarification on what it means to run the gasket set dry: When it states to run the sets w/o any sealant / dry: they are referring to using RTV under the rubber end seals that are included with the gasket set that comes included with the Hughes FI Airgap Intake Manifold kit. The way they write those instructions leads many to call in. I will even admit that I called to talk to someone at Hughes about what the hell that meant as I had never seen such a thing called out in any procedure relating to this type of application before. I also called Edlebrock and spoke to their application engineering about this as well just to be 100% sure of what they were talking about.

Never assume anything. If and when in doubt, pick up the phone and call someone. Ask to speak to an engineer. Never be afraid to find out as much as you can before doing the work either. In the end, it will save you time and money.


The problem when running dry is this: at the time of install, the gaskets are fresh. They are not thermally or environmentally broken down material wise. Every material used for gaskets will break down over time and ages as a function of it's use environment. Some become brittle and hard and crack or, it may become gummy and soft and melt depending on the material.

This is where sealants come to aid the application. They envelope the gasket junction at the interface thus sealing it and allowing it to remain pliable and compliant. It holds the gaskets in place and will prevent oils from seeping out under, over, around and through the gaskets.

Without any sealants, over time, the gasket starts to break down and oil begins to penetrate those areas until it fully saturates and penetrates outward thus ending up in a leak. Now, this is not going to occur overnight or in a week (providing that the prep work was done well) but, give it a season of winter and summer (thermal cycling) and you may find yourself with a leaker.

 

i appriciate the info....im gunna run it until it leaks then get the airgap. ive gone 500 miles already lol and its completely dry and clean in there still so thats a sign that i at least got the torque specs right lol. But im just gunna check it every 500 miles and see if she holds up. its not worth tearin it all back apart just to put sealant on the corners IMO

 

when i torqued my intake i had to go through the sequence like 4 or 5 times before they stop turn a bit to torque spec is that normal

 

^im getin confused, can you use commas??lol

 

lol, ooops, my, bad, hey that button does work, sweet, LOL

 

awesome, looks like i'm off to car craft. or napa if they don't have any gasgacinch.

and i know about the silicone being a pain, i believe my transmission pan had it on there the first time i took it off. and i had a lot of scraping/400 grit sanding involved with my front diff cover when i took it off the first time to get all that super-silicone that the factory used off (the gray stuff).

 

It depends on what you meant. If you meant that you had to go around a few times until you met the torque spec called out, yes. The process is to go around the intake and torque the first four fasteners up to somewhere around 77 in lbs. Then, the remaining outside bolts are torqued to meet that. Once that is done, all are double checked before going up to the final torque rating. This process does take time as it's compressing the air space as well as the gaskets plus, the fasteners are stretching. So, yes, it takes a few times around the intake until it reaches spec.

However, I found those bolts / fasteners were stretching too much and are not up to par. This is why I took my intake off the first time around. I had two issues, one was a torn / deformed gasket (Hughes end seal) and, the other issue was loss of torque. The bolts they included with the kit were not holding torque. All were replaced with grade 8 on everything. I can't stand loss of torque and things moving around due to poor fasteners.

The norm is to tighten them up through one sequence and up to torque. Then, you warm it up to normal operating temp and re-torque while hot.

This is a two-step process. It's not done over and over again. Some guys don't re-torque at all.

But, when using grade 8s, you will go through less stretching at the fastener and it will tighten up quick as well as hold torque better than the lower grade fasteners that are included with the kit.

 

you know you're stuff, im gunna re-check my intake since its been warmed up and see if torque is still good.

 

i just torqued down the intake with the hughes stretchy bolts and they kept torque after the second go round. i re checked about 3 or 4 times an now i'm going to eat and watch a show then go out there and re-check the torque and trash bag it since its about to rain and i have to work tonight.

i did forget about the heat cycle/re-torque deal so i'll check the torque again after i get it all back together and run it.

 

Chris did you go to grade 8 due to only the certain amount of torque the TTY bolts are designed to take or you wished a higher torque rating with the Grade 8's?