Aluminum Valley Pan on Aluminum Intake?
#1
Aluminum Valley Pan on Aluminum Intake?
I am replacing the intake on my 425 with an Edelbrock Performer and their Thunder 750 carb. My dad was a mechanic and always drove and Olds. I remember working with him on Olds V8s and he always used an intake gasket set that was aluminum and had the valley pan. Is that a good fit for the aluminum Eldelbrock intake or should a use just the composite intake gaskets without the valley pan?
Thanks - Rocket Head Ed
Thanks - Rocket Head Ed
#2
The factory gasket was a valley pan/intake gasket. Most people refer to it as a "turkey tray" gasket. It works well for stock manifolds, not so well on aluminum. Order a Mr Gasket 404, use RTV on the end rails.
Most Olds specialist offer a bolt in tray that goes under the intake. It uses the holes that hold the lifter baffle in place. When you use the Mr gasket part there is nothing to keep hot oil from splashing onto the bottom of the intake. If your a reasonably talented fabricator it would be simple to make something like this yourself.
Most Olds specialist offer a bolt in tray that goes under the intake. It uses the holes that hold the lifter baffle in place. When you use the Mr gasket part there is nothing to keep hot oil from splashing onto the bottom of the intake. If your a reasonably talented fabricator it would be simple to make something like this yourself.
#5
Just make sure you order the correct one. I currently have a turkey tray and its for an egr intake and there is a diffrence between egr and no egr. And it's just on the egr port. I had a thread on this issue .
#6
Just for information purposes, I ran a Performer 350 for many years with no turkey tray and didn't have any oil cooked on the bottom of the crossover when I swapped it for the Performer RPM.
Also, I initially used a turkey tray with the Performer 350 and after several years the water ports started getting a white crusty buildup and the turkey tray corroded part way through at the corners of the rear water ports. This may have been due to not using much antifreeze (used straight water + water pump lube and Water Wetter most of the time). Keeping the coolant in good shape would likely prevent the corrosion that I experienced.
#7
I forgot about the exhaust crossover, my Edelbrock heads don't have them. I plug the exhaust crossover on aluminum intakes with cast iron heads. I use the 2 part putty (not JB Weld, this stuff is like clay) and stuff it into the exhaust crossover port on the intake. Works much better than the aluminum plug and wont rattle. Obviously this wont work on hot air style chokes, you will need to convert to a electric choke.
#8
#9
I never cease to be amazed by people who say this. Hundreds of thousands of Olds motors came from the factory with the metal (steel, not alumunum) turkey tray gasket and aluminum intakes. That's all 1970-72 W-30s, all 1970 W-31s, all 307s with A4 and A5 intakes, many 260s, and most of the EFI 350s in Sevilles (the EFI intake came in both aluminum and iron). Personally I've always used a factory-style gasket with aftermarket aluminum intakes with no issues in four decades of driving Oldsmobiles. I'll also point out that there were 750,000 215s built by GM (and about as many built by Rover) that used aluminum intakes and heads with a steel turkey-tray style gasket.
#10
I forgot about the exhaust crossover, my Edelbrock heads don't have them. I plug the exhaust crossover on aluminum intakes with cast iron heads. I use the 2 part putty (not JB Weld, this stuff is like clay) and stuff it into the exhaust crossover port on the intake. Works much better than the aluminum plug and wont rattle. Obviously this wont work on hot air style chokes, you will need to convert to a electric choke.
matt what 2 part putty do you use ?
#12
#14
I never cease to be amazed by people who say this. Hundreds of thousands of Olds motors came from the factory with the metal (steel, not aluminum) turkey tray gasket and aluminum intakes. That's all 1970-72 W-30s, all 1970 W-31s, all 307s with A4 and A5 intakes, many 260s, and most of the EFI 350s in Sevilles (the EFI intake came in both aluminum and iron). Personally I've always used a factory-style gasket with aftermarket aluminum intakes with no issues in four decades of driving Oldsmobiles. I'll also point out that there were 750,000 215s built by GM (and about as many built by Rover) that used aluminum intakes and heads with a steel turkey-tray style gasket.
#15
Every instance of the coolant leaks with stock gasket has been due to incorrect installation of the turkey tray. People either fail to use RTV around the coolant ports, as directed in the CSM, or don't properly seat the four locating features in the corner bolt holes. Either problem will prevent the gasket from properly sealing at the corners.
#16
I Owned a 1978 Ford bronco for a while (in the early 90s) and had to do engine replacement. I put an edelbrock intake on the 400M block and used the stock Ford turkey tray intake gasket and had no problem with it sealing. The heads that I ended up using had been riding around in the trunk of a car of a friend of mine for almost a year. and it all matched up perfectly with no leaks. Point being the factory steel gaskets work. Don't over think it...
#17
Antifreeze Type
I never cease to be amazed by people who say this. Hundreds of thousands of Olds motors came from the factory with the metal (steel, not alumunum) turkey tray gasket and aluminum intakes. That's all 1970-72 W-30s, all 1970 W-31s, all 307s with A4 and A5 intakes, many 260s, and most of the EFI 350s in Sevilles (the EFI intake came in both aluminum and iron). Personally I've always used a factory-style gasket with aftermarket aluminum intakes with no issues in four decades of driving Oldsmobiles. I'll also point out that there were 750,000 215s built by GM (and about as many built by Rover) that used aluminum intakes and heads with a steel turkey-tray style gasket.
#18
#20
Are there any brands that are typically better than others?
I had a Felpro, and was not impressed. The locating tabs were off, and it was a major pain.
I ended up having to take the intake back off (for a whole other reason) and would like to get a gasket that fits better this time.
Felpro? Mahle? Sealed Power? Or are they all the same?
I had a Felpro, and was not impressed. The locating tabs were off, and it was a major pain.
I ended up having to take the intake back off (for a whole other reason) and would like to get a gasket that fits better this time.
Felpro? Mahle? Sealed Power? Or are they all the same?
#21
Are there any brands that are typically better than others?
I had a Felpro, and was not impressed. The locating tabs were off, and it was a major pain.
I ended up having to take the intake back off (for a whole other reason) and would like to get a gasket that fits better this time.
Felpro? Mahle? Sealed Power? Or are they all the same?
I had a Felpro, and was not impressed. The locating tabs were off, and it was a major pain.
I ended up having to take the intake back off (for a whole other reason) and would like to get a gasket that fits better this time.
Felpro? Mahle? Sealed Power? Or are they all the same?
#22
FWIW, I used a FelPro turkey tray valley pan when I installed my Edelbrock Performer 2711 intake on my 350 last winter.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-ms96027
It fit perfectly. I used RTV on the water ports and aviation copper coat gasket sealer around the intake ports because that is the way I did it back in the 80s with success. I ditched the rubber end seals and used a thick bead of RTV. So far, I have not had any leaks.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-ms96027
It fit perfectly. I used RTV on the water ports and aviation copper coat gasket sealer around the intake ports because that is the way I did it back in the 80s with success. I ditched the rubber end seals and used a thick bead of RTV. So far, I have not had any leaks.
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