manifold seal

[Colby85GT]

just found out ive gotta r2 my manifold seal on the 85 gt vert. think i should just do it my self or pay? thanks in advance

[dagenham]

You have to do what?

[droopie85gt]

I'm guessing that's Remove and Replace. If you know lefty loosy righty tighty, you can probably do it yourself. If you can't change the oil in your car, probably not.
You don't say what engine and I am guessing intake manifold. Doesn't really matter carb or cfi, v8 or v6. Remove or disconnect everything connecting the carb and intake to the car, the carb can stay on for the ride. Unbolt, remove, then clean the head and intake surfaces of all the remaining crud. Clean the (whatever name you want to call them) China rails, valley rails, etc and throw away the seals in the new gasket kit. Dry fit the intake and notice how much gap there is. Put a line of rtv, I use black, on the valley rail about 1/4 -3/8" thicker than the gap. Install the gaskets and drop the intake straight down and make sure the manifold compresses all the rtv...if not you don' t have enough. I also put just a dab, like smearing on chapstick on the water ports on the head just to hold the gasket in place.

[Colby85GT]

sorry for the vague message i was truly posting so my account doesn't get deleted. my fox is a 302 with 4bbl carb. in my world "r2" is remove and replace ill try to adjust the lingo next time. i have full confidence in myself for just replacing a seal, yet i just moved from overseas and have no tools. stolen from storage while deployed . i found a new verified ford mechanic here, i need to swap out my t-5 since 1-2 syncro is going so i figured id pony up the cash have him replace that seal plus the oil pan and rear main that gives us all trouble. as well as throw in a upgraded clutch. again i apologize for the ****y post discription late night plus boston public education doesn't equal great writing. i was just looking for advice on how easy the job was. ill take more time writing out my future posts. thank you for the advice!!

[Mgino757]

I would personally redo it myself, if I were you. It'll cost you the gaskets and maybe an hour or two of your time....maybe three if you're like me with a short attention span.