[xj40] Water rail gaskets DIY -- w/o removing inlet manifold Part I

My head gasket set has two exactly the same intake manifold gaskets. I wonder why. :thinking:

Otto …

I think that’s because they assume we’ll screw one up before we get it right :smiley:

Just kidding of course. Do they look like this …

IMG_1011

The black one in the middle is the old gasket which was much thicker. I sent this picture to my friend who owns a british car repair shop and he said use either one (but not the old one !) and the trick is to lightly coat both sides with a sealant. Honestly I forget which one I did actually use but I sprayed both sides with copper gasket sealant. I’m sure a light coat of Permatex Ultra black would also work. Make sure you use a torque wrench to tighten to specs.

Dennis,
The two intake manifold gaskets in my head gasket set are dark grey. I have read that some cars have a spacer between the manifold and the head. So, probably the set has two gaskets for such cars: one gasket is used between the spacer and the head and the other is used between the spacer and the manifold. :thinking:

Thanks for your tip concerning coating the gasket with sealant. I will use a light coat of Permatex Ultra Black.

By the way, I drove 400 kilometers (250 miles) on a highway last weekend and there were no coolant leaks. So, the water rail gaskets work.

I have removed everything else except the cruise control wire. How it should be removed? :thinking:

I found the way to remove the cruise control cable. Now I am struggling with the wiper motor unit, because there is not enough room for the fuel rail to pass the unit when pulling the inlet manifold out.

There is a 5 mm thick bakelite (or similar material) block between the manifold and the head. The surface of this block is orange. I guess the block should not be removed. Instead, probably the new manifold gasket should be installed to this orange surface.