That $300 intake manifold gasket job that ended up costing me an engine

I spent last Saturday pulling the intake on my '89 F-150 to replace a leaking gasket. Bought the fancy $40 Fel-Pro set and torqued everything to spec. Three days later I'm dumping coolant like a sieve and the temp gauge is pegged. Turns out the machine shop decked the heads wrong and the gasket couldn't seal. $300 in parts and my labor plus a cracked head from overheating. Anyone else had a simple job turn into a money pit like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

barnes.shane5d ago

That machine shop owes you a set of heads, plain and simple. Decking them wrong is a rookie mistake that ruins everything you bolted on top. At least now you know to check every machined surface with a straightedge before you trust their work again. Fought with a local shop over the same thing on a 302 once, learned that lesson the hard way.

richardk265d ago

Did you pull the heads yourself after the overheat to see exactly where the gasket failed? I'm wondering if it lifted between the coolant passages and the combustion chamber or if it was just a straight up blowout from the warpage. Also, were those decked heads even flat checked with a straightedge before you put it all back together?