How to: replace valve cover gaskets, fuel rail gaskets and lower intake gaskets

[MarcosLopez77]

quick question, im currently building a 4.0 engine for a conversion im doing the block is from a 98 the intake and everything else is from a 1991. in the process of this build i am replacing all of these gaskets but i noticed the one under the fuel rail seems to be a bit thicker than the felpro. does that matter or should i just use the original thats currently on there. its about 1/4" thick

 

[97RangerXLT]

Never seen a 1/4" gasket before...do you have some pics? I would worry about the old gasket sealing properly if reused. But that much of a difference in thickness might cause fitment issued with the injectors. If it is completely intact, you might get away with reusing it but if it is torn or damaged you might be getting a lean code due to unmetered air getting in.

Do you really care where this was sent from?

 

[97RangerXLT]

If you do reuse it, put a little bit of rtv on both sides to help seal it

Do you really care where this was sent from?

 

[MarcosLopez77]

thanks ill get a pic tonight maybe not quite 1/4" thick but definately thicker than the felpro

 

[MarcosLopez77]

Here's a pic of the felpro gasket and the one that was under the fuel rail

 

[MarcosLopez77]

So just an FYI the 98 4.0 has slightly longer studs on the intake the gasket pictured above is thicker to accommodate the longer studs. The regular felpro gasket is a perfect fit if using the studs from a pre 98 intake

 

[MagicMexican]

Great write-up!! I've been following it and it's been extremely helpful.

I'm currently at the part where you replace the fuel rail gasket, and I'm a little confused. The felpro kit that came with the valve cover gasket came with a single fuel rail casket. Cool. However, when I took the fuel rail off, mine had two gaskets, with a thick plastic spacer in between! what the... ?

I guess I'm not sure what to do with this, exactly. I guess I want to put it back together the way it was, but it sounds like it's only supposed to have one. You also never mentioned a spacer in your write-up. I've included pictures to show what I mean.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Interesting... I did not have a spacer in mine, and I have a 97. also interesting to know, the 97s' have a TSB out for the fuel rail gasket breaking in between the ports causing a lean code to pop up, so maybe deleting that spacer was a bad move on Ford's part...

Also from MarcosLopez77's posts just above yours, looks like the 98 has a thicker gasket too, 1/4" but I believe his was all one piece. Which also kind of supports the idea that Ford tried to cheap out in 97 and because of the issues that it caused they issued the TSB and made the gasket thicker in 98, but one part instead of two gaskets and a spacer.

I think I would get another fuel rail gasket and put the spacer back in...if nothing else you won't have to worry about the bolts that hold the fuel rail down being to long to properly torque down.

Let me know how it all works out,

AJ

 

[MagicMexican]

I actually just went back to Oreilly's and explained the situation to them. They let me exchange the parts I'd bought for a different gasket set that came with everything; the o-ring gaskets, 2 fuel rail gaskets, 2 valve cover gaskets, some rtv and the lower intake gasket for about $88. The only problem is the lower gasket is the one that is spit in 2 parts.
I'm gonna put it all back together tomorrow, hope it works out. Thanks for the reply!
Edit: Everything went well, I put everything back together, and the truck started right up. The coolant leak I was trying to fix was reduced significantly (but not stopped completely). I'm guessing that I either missed a step in the torquing or didn't use enough rtv or something else is leaking in the same general area. But I put some bars leak in it this morning, looks like it's holding for now, since I dont want to take it all back apart.

 

[wilkcards]

How do I remove that red wire?

 

[97RangerXLT]

I don't remember that one.. but if is a typical Ford wire harness it probably has two clips and just pull it off once you have the clips free

 

[wilkcards]

Anyone know where these go?

 

[97RangerXLT]

Definitely did n ot have those in my gasket kit. the big thick o-ring at the top looks like it might fit the EGR tube where it goes into the upper intake tho... did not see anything that looked like the rest of those tho.

Where did you get them, and what was their purpose? Did someone say that this kit was needed or did they come with a larger engine gasket kit?

AJ

 

[wilkcards]

Yes, they came with a kit that included valve, upper, lower, iac, fuel rail gaskets, injector o-rings, etc. I knew what all of those were for so didn't picture them.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Looks like you have some extras