Thread: 3 litre inlet manifold crack problems

Hi all, Just in the process of doing the intakes myself. Maybe I am crazy! Im going to do it slowly over the next week or so to ease out the pain. I have actually bought the non genuine intakes from Bearmach. Pretty cheap but hopefully they will last OK. Im considering moving the car on anyway as its now 10 years old and starting to have issues. Cost was around $500 for both manifolds including delivery which was very quick considering I ordered them two days before Christmas and got it on the 29Th of DEC! SO far I have done 2 hrs of disassembly noting where everything goes and taking lots of pics. The RHS looks pretty daunting with the EGR in the way. Does the fuel rail have to be removed or can it just be loosened enough to remove the manifolds?

I took my rails off.

Getting there with this mission. I could not work out how to get the fuel rail bolt out on the driver side, as the thread was too long and fowled on the EGR. So i cut it off with a hacksaw blade. Slowly! What a stupid design. I'm now 9 hrs in and have one inlet off. Woohoo. These cars are so ridiculously complex. Pipes and wiring everywhere. Some of the pipes are so brittle that touching them snaps them off. Everything is plastic and brittle after 10 years.

Originally Posted by Deefa

Getting there with this mission. I could not work out how to get the fuel rail bolt out on the driver side, as the thread was too long and fowled on the EGR. So i cut it off with a hacksaw blade. Slowly! What a stupid design. I'm now 9 hrs in and have one inlet off. Woohoo. These cars are so ridiculously complex. Pipes and wiring everywhere. Some of the pipes are so brittle that touching them snaps them off. Everything is plastic and brittle after 10 years.

I think it was jeffster who told me to put a bit of sealant on the new gaskets in the corners. The info should be in this thread.. It can be a big job, be gentle, take photos, stop and have a beer

Originally Posted by josh.huber

I think it was jeffster who told me to put a bit of sealant on the new gaskets in the corners. The info should be in this thread.. It can be a big job, be gentle, take photos, stop and have a beer

Correct. Learn from my mistake. Where the cover goes over the cam at the rear, apply gasket sealant into the corners to avoid oil leaks - like I caused when I did mine.

Thanks for the tip. I'll do that. It's a bit daunting when everything is apart but I have been taking lots of pics, so it should go back together okay.

Just had a re-read of the Service Bulletin regarding these cracked inlet manifolds. The narrative says that they were not made to specification. This suggests that their manufacturer did not make them to Land Rover's design specs.
I take this as being it was a company other than LR.
Interesting.
I'd love to know the difference (if any?) between Genuine and OEM etc as the genuine ones are twice the price.

Originally Posted by Deefa

Getting there with this mission. I could not work out how to get the fuel rail bolt out on the driver side, as the thread was too long and fowled on the EGR. So i cut it off with a hacksaw blade. Slowly! What a stupid design. I'm now 9 hrs in and have one inlet off. Woohoo. These cars are so ridiculously complex. Pipes and wiring everywhere. Some of the pipes are so brittle that touching them snaps them off. Everything is plastic and brittle after 10 years.

Redo all that snap crackle pop wiring harness protection with cloth harness tape to finish off to save it endlessly falling off into every nook and cranny.