Intake Sponges
Intake Sponges I just finished my LS6 intake a few days ago and I remembered that I didnt put new sponges on the intake after I took the old ones off. Will this hurt anything? Is there any thing I can do in place of that? Maybe a little of the red rtv right at teh front of the manifold? Thanks alot.
Originally Posted by bsf
I intentionally left mine off to assist in drying the area between the valley cover and manifold when it gets wet. Knock sensors do not like water.
Originally Posted by Z28LS1camaroguy
What do you think they are there for in the first place
I took a different approach and used a little high temp grease between the knock sensor boot and valley cover in the hope of providing a more waterproof seal. I almost used red RTV to make damn sure no water got in the pocket.
Yes I was talking about the foam under the intake. I figured they were there to keep water from getting under the intake. The intakes on now and Id really rather not take it off again. I read about the red rtv around the knock sensors, but I didnt do that either. Would putting some at the very front of the manifold where it meets the valley cover help any?
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Originally Posted by NHRAMAN
EXACTLY..... 
Well Ive never had trouble with the knock sensors in the past. I figured that they were there to keep the water out from underneath the intake when it rains etc. Im thinking that now that theyre not there the water will be free to get under the intake because there is a small space underneath it (the space that the coolant lines are in). With water being free to get under there I think it will get into the knock sensors much easier. Im going to try the rtv and hope for the best. If not Ill just post it up when my knock sensors go bad.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
IIRC, they sit over the front and back crossover pipes, right? I remember having the impression that they were there to provide some insulation between the pipes and the intake. But I may not remember rightly ...
No way, They're there to prevent rain from getting to the knock sensors. Most guys take the rear one off so that if any rain did get in, it would run out the back instead of getting trapped in there. That's what I did, no problems.
I left mine off on the swap and haven't had any problems since... I even still have the stock knock sensors at 118k. However I do recommend doing what I did and putting High-Temp RTV Gasket Maker fully around each knock sensor. That way even if water was under there it would not reach the knock sensors.
