I'm not 100% certain that the mating surface between the intake runners and heads are leak free. I used the gaskets (what material is that) and torqued down the bolts. Can I use a high temp sealant on both sides of the gasket? All of the injector rings are new, can I assume there are no leaks there?

I sprayed the top of the manifold/runners with carb cleaner and didnt notice a chance in RPM. What would i expect to see?

Thanks

Why do you think they are not sealing?

If you used the gaskets and tighten them down, they should be fine. Move on...

Just looking at all the possibilities. The gaskets are used and really hard. What are they made out of? They aren't even flexible, is this normal?

Is it safe to spray carb cleaner around this gasket? I would imagine its a little dangerous given the temp of the heads.

Phenolic blocks with paper bonded to the surface. They are not supposed to be flexible. Don't spray anything on them, don't mess with them, just make sure all the surfaces are clean, bolt them up and move on.

use water...

get a spray bottle. start spraying around at the base.... youll know if you find a leak, as the motor will "tell" you

If you are a CSOB you can get a sheet of gasket paper from NAPA and some spray adhesive. glue the paper to the phenolic block and then cut out the hole.

I did this once instead of waiting 2 weeks for my part to arrive from PP.

I'll try the water test.

I don't think there is any paper on the blocks.

Thanks guys.

thought about that... i have gasket material. do this to both sides of the block?

the captn is going to hate me for this, but i always use sealant on both sides of the "thick" FI gasket (even on a carbed car!) ...
do NOT use thin gasket paper!

never had any problems with leaking ...

easy test, let the motor idle, then spray brake cleaner around the mating area. if idle changes/dies, you got a leak ...

and make sure you got a fire extinguisher handy when you do that, just in case ...
Andy

Didn't realize this was so complicated. I just dropped in my local VW shop and bought a couple, bolted them up, and didn't look back.

I guess it depends on what you got. The paper on mine was thin... not like paper gasket material, but more like a surface coating. Where did you get the parts?

You could spray some AXE on them and dance around on one foot and see if it works like the commercials.

Or you could just make sure all the surfaces are clean, bolt them up, and be done.