Spark plugs: 7 tan, 1 black

[ceslaw]

Rick: Thanks for the tip. May give it a shot this weekend, time permitting. The engine is completely new. I do not believe there are any external leaks, since the garage floor is dry, but this sounds like a good test to rule out possible issues.

Chuck

[ByronRACE]

Originally Posted by ceslaw

I still cannot understand how an engine can be free of leaks, use a quart every 300 miles and not put out some blue smoke.

Chuck

I've seen it before.

Did your builder use umbrella seals on the guides or the tighter passenger car type teflon seals?

On a racey engine, a lot of builders will use this type of seal and they tend to act like little metering pumps giving the valves a shot of oil every time the valve cycles up and down. The metering of the oil is so controlled, and so even, it doesn't show up as exhaust smoke, it just gets consumed and diluted with exhaust gas during the normal running of the engine.

The problem could be as simple as a missing seal, or a split seal...causing the guide in question to get more oil then the rest.

Whatever it is, you'll need your detective cap and some patience to find it. I tend to subscribe to the guides/seals theory. I just don't see how an intake leak could draw enough oil in without making a vacuum leak bad enough that you'd either hear it or notice it due to lean misfire. I think the first thing I'd do is remove the cover, bring the bore in question up to TDC, pressurize the bore, pop the springs off, and inspect/feel the guides and stems for faults. Seems to me your trouble probably lies there.

[ceslaw]

You may well be right.

The 427 has Edelbrock heads - all new. I don't know what type of seals it uses. Hard to believe that there could be such a problem with the seals after so few miles, but that does seem to be a reasonable explanation.

[RICK LAKE]

ceslaw Any seal can leak or suck in as little as 20 miles. If the installed is worn out, or has edges where the seal needs to slide, it will cut the inner part and you will never see it. I don't know how many EDEL heads are assemblied per hour, but it is alot more than 2 sets. use the white seals with the retainers on both the valve stem and the valve guide. Either comp or crane sales them. You can do this yourself. Valve spring compressor, Good little magnet,hammer, and piece of rope. Valve cover gaskets if you can't reuse the old one. Make sure you use the special lube or get it seperate for installation. This helps it slide right on. Push down until the seal is seated. Use plastic or a smooth piece of wood as to not rip, or spit the seal. Try and not push on the top where the valve stem is. The rope is pushed into the cylinder and the motor is cranked to hold the valve up. Take your time, about 2 hours start to finish. It's not a race. Listen to the little guy that sits on your shoulder he knows when something is not right Stop and call someone. Good luck My number 732-254-3536 here almost all the time Rick L. I can talk you through it.

[convincor]

I've seen more than one set of FelPro or Ford Racing gaskets split at the ports and allow oil to be drawn from the lifter gallery.
Victor Nitroseals have a steel core and prevent this problem.
Pull the valve cover on that side and take a look at where the intake bolts past thru the intake gasket. Is the gasket centered on the bolt? Is the gasket flat against the head or is it wavey?
Here's a link from the FE forum listing part#'s for the gaskets. These usally are availible thru Napa.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182...rmance+Gaskets

[ceslaw]

I believe the problem has been discovered. Covincor, you absolutely nailed it. Special thanks for so perfectly identifying the problem. As soon as I read you post, Ryan and I headed out the garage to check it out.

Upon pulling the valve cover and carefully looking at the intake manifold gasket, we discovered that the portion around intake runner #2 was moved outward about a quarter inch. The impression from where it had originally been placed was visible. What appears to be a rip in the gasket is visible on one side. The gasket holes are not centered on the manifold bolts. So it looks like we will be replacing the gasket.

I have posted pictures at the GT40s.com site, Engine forum, thread bearing the same name as this one.

Any ideas why the gasket would fail?

Replacing the gasket would seem fairly straight forward, albeit time consuming. Any tips or recommendations would be welcomed. Guess I will NOT be using Felpro but will try the Victor Nitroseals per your suggestion.

Thanks to all for the good analysis and tips and suggestions. Without this forum I would be really lost.

Chuck

[MacGyver]

Nice Catch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[undy]

Stay away from the Failpro (Felpro) gaskets for FE intakes.. Always use the Victor Nitro Seals exclusively!

[convincor]

With the FE design there is little contact area (head to intake) between the end cylinders and the 2 centers to hold the gaskets flat and in place.
Once the gaskets get hot and soften it's like sqeezeing jello in you hand. The gaskets going to migrate toward the least resistance.
Another thing I've found is stay away from silicon sealers.
Use the "Right Stuff". Sticks like turd to a blanket(I stole that line)
But it works very well. Use only around water jackets and in place of the end seals.
http://www.permatex.com/products/aut...sket_Maker.htm

[RICK LAKE]

Ceslaw I use Hi-tack gasket sealer. Have never had a gasket slip. Down side is pain in butt to get from surface after a couple of heat cycles. If you use alot it my bleed down front of manifold. Rick L. Gald you found problem.

[convincor]

FYI
NAPA is no longer distributing Victor gaskets.
But CARQUEST does

[ceslaw]

Thanks for the heads up.

I have been in contact with Tim at Genesis. Apparently they have had another Felpro gasket fail and will be using a different gasket in the future. They have already replaced the other owners gasket. We are making arrangements to replace mine as well. I have been impressed with Tim's responsiveness to this issue and will report further once the repair is completed.

[Michael C Henry]

I went to the local Car Quest store and the number is good in their computer but they don't stock. Wharehouse calls the (Nitro seal) high performance and is staying away from them. Had store request direct from factory in California . This shouldn't be this complicated. A hefty price and shipping and sales tax too.

[convincor]

I called a local CarQuest yesterday and same deal. "Special order" from factory. 3-5 day's. Got price of $32.

[Michael C Henry]

The Victor Nitro Seal intake gaskets started at $27 something each when it was done ,I gave them four $20s and received two gasket sets ,a $10 ,and a little change. Started the quest Tuesday and received the gaskets Thursday. I'm using the felPro 1020 head gaskets and the Victor Nitro Seal intake gaskets. Where and about how much of this Right stuff am I supposed to use?

[ceslaw]

It has been a while since I reported on the problem with the 427. As we know, the problem was determined to be the intake manifold gasket. The Cobra has sat in the garage, idle, while other tasks preoccupied my time.

The Genesis engine was actually built by Woody’s Automotive, Thorntown, Indiana, a few miles north of Indianapolis. With Run and Gun rapidly approaching I was getting anxious to get the intake manifold gasket replaced. On Monday of this week I called Dennis at Woody’s Automotive and he graciously agreed to travel the four and a half hours to my home on Friday to check the engine.

Friday afternoon was warm but the humidity was low: a good day to work on a Cobra. In a couple of hours time the job was accomplished. Not only was the gasket on the starboard side badly distorted with a quarter inch opening by cylinder 2 (the one with the oil problem), but the gasket on the port side was also deformed and likely would have soon failed as well. Looking at those gaskets it was a bit amazing the car ran as well as it did.

The Felpro gaskets were replaced with gaskets that have a steel inner layer, so hopefully this repair won’t need to be repeated.

We opted to put the "Cobra" air cleaner rather than the turkey basket back in place to make adjusting the carb easier.

I will report further after the car has some more miles on it. Thought it best to let the sealant set up thoroughly before running the engine more than necessary to adjust the timing and carb.

I have not yet figured out how an easy way to incorporate pictures on this site. For pics go to www.gt40s.com, Engine forum, thread by the same name.

Special thanks to everyone for the excellent input in identifying the problem and getting it repaired.
Dennis at Woody’s Automotive deserves special recognition for going way out of his way to accomplish this repair and doing it on such short notice

[MaSnaka]

It's always nice to hear about someone willing to stand behind his work...Good job! It restores my faith in humanity.

John