LT1 intake mainifold question need help ASAP!!
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Teching In
Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Ohio
LT1 intake mainifold question need help ASAP!! OK so I decided to tackle my pesky oil leak on the intake these past few days and everything went great expect when I put it back on I torqued all the bolts to spec and realized i forgot that pan that bolts to the bottom of the intake. It looks like an oil guard of some sort and I was wondering if I can do without or pull everything back off and start over. Quick answers would be great as I sit in my garage kicking myself that i forgot it.
I believe its only a heatshield to keep hot oil off the bottom of the intake manifold. I'm sure you're OK but you may loose some hp to the hotter intake.
Last edited by guppymech; Aug 7, 2012 at 11:48 PM.
If gm put it on the car I would say that its there for a reason... If its was me I would restart and ensure it was together as it was the first time. Its not that difficult to pull it, install it and reseal it if you have done it once already..
Thread Starter
Teching In
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From: Ohio
Ok I figured it was a heatsheild. And usually I am a religious follower of if it was there in the first place its there for a reason but i think ill take my chances since it isn't too hard of a job. Everything is already back together too that's why I hesitate to pull it back off. Thanks
jkOk I figured it was a heatsheild. And usually I am a religious follower of if it was there in the first place its there for a reason but i think ill take my chances since it isn't too hard of a job. Everything is already back together too that's why I hesitate to pull it back off. Thanks
It's not a heat shield. It is an oil baffle for the PCV system. Leaving it off means your PCV system will be ingesting every bit of the oil vapors being produced in the oil valley while the engine is on. Do yourself a favor, take the manifold back off and do it right.
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TECH Regular
Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Deep in the heart of Texas
And don't sweat it. We all have made mistakes.
Just like the AIR Pumps, EGR, catalytic converters, spare tires/scissor jacks, skip shift, restrictive mufflers, paper air filters, intake silencers, and exhaust manifolds that everyone uses, right?
jk
I believe it's called a windage tray. Some people run without them, but it's probably best to have it in there, especially if you are capable of doing the work.
jkI believe it's called a windage tray. Some people run without them, but it's probably best to have it in there, especially if you are capable of doing the work.
Great info and good to know.. Thanks for posting it...
Thread Starter
Teching In
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From: Ohio
Just out of curiosity could someone shed some light on how it acts as a baffle for the pcv? I see that slit at the bottom of the intake and since there's sludge in that pan I assume oil comes through the slit into the manifold via the holes drilled at the end of the pan. I just don't see the need for the pan other than to keep hot oil off the intake and have all the oil from that slit drain through it back into the lifted valley
I won't get into the specifics of how a PCV system works since you can easily look that up, but the one simple way to look at this is the inside of your engine needs to breath from the normal actuation of internal engine components as well as normal blow-by. That pan is not a filter. Simply a baffle. The oil vapors will be less prone to enter the PCV system with the baffle in place. It's the same for the breather tube on the passenger valve cover. There is a baffle in place so oil does not make its way into the breather tube. The stock baffle does not always work well, but does help nonetheless.
If you think you can get away without the PCV baffle then leave it off, but don't be surprised when you start fouling out plugs and have oil consumption issues. BTW, the sludge build up is either the oil not being changed when it should and/or a recurrence of the engine not being brought up to normal operating temperature.
If you think you can get away without the PCV baffle then leave it off, but don't be surprised when you start fouling out plugs and have oil consumption issues. BTW, the sludge build up is either the oil not being changed when it should and/or a recurrence of the engine not being brought up to normal operating temperature.
^ this
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: west valley utah
Interesting read as I too have this issue?
when I purchased the motor lt4 396 stroker, the intake is also lt4 and it does not have the tray on there and i am having the problem with oil consumption and blow by! now I know why didnt even realize it wasnt there till this post so thanks guys good inof now to find a tray and get in put back in.any other tricks to solve this issue such as using a catch can help if the tray isnt there?
when I purchased the motor lt4 396 stroker, the intake is also lt4 and it does not have the tray on there and i am having the problem with oil consumption and blow by! now I know why didnt even realize it wasnt there till this post so thanks guys good inof now to find a tray and get in put back in.any other tricks to solve this issue such as using a catch can help if the tray isnt there?
Thread Starter
Teching In
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From: Ohio
X2 on the catch can. That "should" take most of the oil that would enter the pcv through it, out right? I'll put it back on I just don't have the chunk of time needed to do it for a couple weeks...
While I can see the metal intake manifold shield performing a baffle function on the LT1 with the pcv valve in the intake, historically GM has used a metal pan on the bottom of the intake manifold as a heat shield. Every SBC and BBC carb intake manifold I have seen has had one and they don't have any pcv valve provisions in the intake. If it was only a baffle they almost certainly would've made it more compact.
Last edited by guppymech; Aug 9, 2012 at 01:25 PM.
