another one bites the dust (intake gasket failure)

[Foghorn]

Finally removed the intake manifold last night. The intake gasket was the culprit - it failed on the right side between the front coolant passage and the number one cylinder. I have pictures, but my computer is not downloading them - I will post them as soon as I solve that problem.

Disclaimer: What follows is NOT an indictment of Keith's ability to build a quality engine, nor an indictment of his business practices. However, it IS an observation based on findings from disassembling my engine. I do not engage in the practice of "throwing my trash in the street" or publicly slandering an individual or business. Any dissatisfaction I have with the engine that I bought from Keith will be addressed with Keith in person and not online in a public forum.

The intake manifold gaskets Keith used in assembling this engine are horrible. The dimensions of the gaskets don't match the heads / intake. The locations of the bolt holes in relation to the intake tract holes and coolant passage holes are not dimensionally accurate causing the gasket to shift when the intake manifold is installed. The gasket material between the #1 cylinder and the front water passage is approx. 3/8" wide, yet only about 25% of that was actually sealing (this characteristic is the same on the left side, but it had not failed - yet). The rest of the gasket material was blocking the #1 cylinder intake tract. I don't know the gasket manufacturer (the material appears to be graphite impreganted paper) but whatever template they used to manufacture this gasket is incorrect in several of its dimensions. This gasket would have failed at some point, regardless of how the engine was operated or coolant used.

More to follow.