12Square

I was cleaning in the engine bay and noticed a rubber gasket in the crevice of the intake manifold. (Thought it had melted there from something else, however unlikely.) When I tugged at it, a piece of the intake manifold chipped off, and I realized what the gasket was. I did not know that an intake gasket can push its way out... (Never had this happen before.) What I'm worried about is whether there's an issue with the intake valve. If it's not seating tight for any reason, could this push out a gasket without any other evidence of a problem, or would a bad valve be undeniably obvious while driving? The car runs and sounds the same as ever. I've had a wideband hooked up, and it hasn't been lean, despite the gasket squeezing out. I guess what I'm asking is: Can an intake gasket push out under normal circumstances with a stock engine, or should I worry about the valve? I'm going to buy a new manifold, but I'm freaking out now thinking that I'm going to get a backfire through the intake and catch on fire.

RockinWs6

Well it looks like the intake gaskets were changed at some point and the manifold got damaged. You could seal that up with some Ultra RTV silicone OR replace the intake and seals. Its not critical but it has to be leaking a some. I'd be more worried about water getting in there. Just seal it with silicone for now.

12Square

It's been off at least twice. Probably a year ago I changed the knock sensors. I hadn't used a torque wrench though, so maybe it just wasn't on tight enough.