Thread: FE Intake Oil Leak -- End Gaskets or Not?

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For me the key for RTV to work on the ends is to put a healthy, 1/4" bead on, heavy in the corners and then to let it set up long enough that it has a surface skin before setting the manifold without any front/back shifting. The corks lose their "sponginess" over time with repeated thermal cycles and leak, in my experience.

Thanks for the reply. Would you feel the same about the rubber gaskets on the ends?

Also, before I pull it apart, is there any way I can absolutely be sure it is the intake that is leaking? I used the 1/4" bead method putting it together and ran it for 3 hours on a test stand. (Several heat cycles). Then I installed the motor and worked on electrical and body. (This took me 4-5 months). This is the first time I've brought it to temperature since being installed. And it leaks.

I followed the leak and can see that it seems to be coming from the front right corner nearest the distributor. I've looked to see if maybe it could be a valve cover and can't see any signs of leak. But I'd hate to blow a weekend pulling it apart again only to find it was something more simple to fix. Is there anything I can do to test to verify this is the source of the leak?

I like the Fel-Pro "lifetime" blue gasket sets, but Edelbrock says that the Permatorque Blue's are for stock type cast iron manifolds only, and that they are not to be used for their aluminum manifolds. They also say to use only Locktite 598 OEM HT Silicone as others may damage O2 sensors - never heard of that before, and hard for me to see how silicone on the oil/water side affects O2 sensors? I'll probably spring for a tube, just to be safe, and it's not an issue for you on a '69.
If I had a leak that I could watch flow I would look first to the valve cover, and being sure that I did not have a gasket slipped, loose bolts on cast or too much torque on tin covers? Maybe Dave will come in with some Ford FE mantra for intakes & oil leaks