Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Do I really need to heat the intake?

Okay, I messed up my offy intake on my camaro l6-250 and have a leak at the plugs. Disconnected the water last weekend, took a long drive at 45F. Seems to be just fine. It never gets that cold here in the Pacific northwest.

I am lazy, don't want to pull the intake off.

At what temperature do you think the heated intake really matter? Does the water perform necessary cooling when it's really hot?

Thanks!

Those core plugs will always leak, maybe not right away, but eventually. So you are at eventually! Do you need to heat the intake, even in warm weather? The short answer is yes, the bottom of the intake needs heat to properly atomize the fuel. It will run, you might not even notice a big difference but it's there. Usually runs rich, maybe a little stumble. I know you don't want to pull the intake, buts it's the proper repair. Have some plugs welded over the steel core plugs. At the same time, if you are using a plate with a gasket for the bottom, have the plate welded to the intake and no chance of leaking from then on.

For the benefit of you and the engine.....fix it and run the water heating system. Your engine will thank you.

I concur - without heat you may even end up with fuel pooling on the floor of the manifold. Even in the summer-time my Carter W1 would ice at the base on first start-up and then thaw after the exhaust manifold warmed the intake . . .

Yeah, I'll fix it. Just hoping I can do it in less than a month downtime. If I could trust someone to do it for me on such a custom and uncommon setup, I'd do that. Now I'm scheming a plan for the third week of April.

If you take it off and clean the area well any shop can do it while you wait. Shouldn't be a big deal.

That said I epoxied mine and it held for over 2 years without a drop of leakage. I had more trouble sealing up the adapter plate I made to run the hoses to it than the plugs. I epoxied the plugs then painted over them.