questions on sealing intake bolts

[BFS57]

Hello;
Got a few little jobs to do on the car while I am off for the next few days.
I keep getting those embarrassing puddles of oil directly under the carburetor. I think I have to take out the those two bolts on the center of the intake on each side, clean them and re-install with some thread sealer. My question is will I have any suprises like gushing water if I remove the center two bolts on each side of the intake directly under the carb?
What kind of sealer should I use?
Happy Thanksgiving guys and gals!

Bruce

[jaybee]

I don't see you losing much fluid on a cold engine because you'll be at or above the highest water level in the cooling system.  I use Teflon paste pretty much exclusively for thread sealant, it never lets me down.  A little confused though, you're getting puddles of OIL below the carb?  Is this maybe coming from a crankcase breather instead?

[BFS57]

Hello again;
Jaybee, I don't really know where the oil comes from, I was told that the bolts have a tendancy to seep oil. I clean up the oil and the next time I open the hood, there it is again! What breather are you refering to? This is a 350 engine ('75-85) and I don't believe there is a breather located in the area of the problem I am having.

Bruce

[wayne petty]

i wonder if the fuel in the carb is boiling after the drive and pouring over the booster venturis and sitting on the throttle blades leaking out through the shaft bores and dripping onto the intake...  i have seen it before...


as for sealing the intake manifold bolts...     yes...  the oil might be coming from there also...

how is your pcv system.?   do you have a pcv and a breather vent/filter so there is no build up of pressure in the crankcase.. or too much vacuum to do not having a breather...      to test.. pull the breather off...  with the engine idling.. put your hand over it for a few seconds... pull it off... it should make a small pop... as you let the air back in...

lastly.. how fresh and tight are the gaskets in your carb???  tightened the base plate to the main body lately???    got a holley or a quadrajet??  both of those have been know to need a little tightening...    quadra jets with leaking main well plugs can also soak the lower main body gasket with it seeping out the sides...

[BFS57]

Hello;
Wayne, The carb is an Edelbrock 1406 that I put new a couple years ago and I even noticed the same problem before I changed the intake manifold as the old intake was funky and had leakage problems so I just got a new Edelbrock.
I can see the fuel boiling kind of thing I have had a few problems in the past with that kind of thing.
I do know that the PCV valve is ok but the rubber seal it goes into on the valve cover doesn't seal really good as I have trails of oil  going down that valve cover.
How can I check to find out exactly what this little problem really is?

Bruce

[wayne petty]

got an air compressor....    a shop vacuum that blows...  


soap up the intake ... run some compressed air into the pcv grommet..   try not to overpressure the motor.. you might blow seals and gaskets out..  

watch for bubbles out the intake bolt areas...

[348tripower]

Hello;
Got a few little jobs to do on the car while I am off for the next few days.
I keep getting those embarrassing puddles of oil directly under the carburetor. I think I have to take out the those two bolts on the center of the intake on each side, clean them and re-install with some thread sealer. My question is will I have any suprises like gushing water if I remove the center two bolts on each side of the intake directly under the carb?
What kind of sealer should I use?
Happy Thanksgiving guys and gals!

Bruce

Sounds like a small block Chevy. As jaybee  says, Teflon paste. It works for me too. Small blocks like to push oil up those bolts.
Don