Having trouble sealing the intake on my 66 330 4bbl. I used felpro gaskets and followed the torque sequence and procedure outlined in the shop manual and still have a coolant leak on the front of the manifold. My question is that the torque sequence of the olds engines is backwards from other makes. Olds begins at the four corners progressing to the center while the sequence for Pontiac, Ford, Chrysler (with some differences) start in the center and progress to the corners. Any ideas as to the reason for this departure from the norm? And has anyone else had this problem and solved it by reversing the olds torque sequence? Heads have never been off and the surfaces of both the heads and intake have no pitting.

 

Thanks. I was under the impression that the rtv was to be used only on the rubber end gaskets. No rtv on the metal gasket. Is that where you used it? I have a small seep at the front left corner of the rubber gasket. I assume the coolant has to be leaking past the metal gasket at the water passages to get to this point.. Thoughts?

 

Oldsmobile torque sequence is from outer corners and on in. The issue your having is you did not put rtv around the cooling ports of the gasket. 330's use the 2 piece metal shim gaskets with rubber ends vs a turkey tray with rubber ends type for later engines. The manifold gaskets are a one time use, so you'll need to get another set and do it over.

 

You need RTV around the 4 corner water ports on both sides of the gasket. You also need tall but not wide beads on the end rails yo seal. I use Aviation sealant on the intake ports but that is probably overkill.