Check your intake manifold bolts

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Wild one

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This hasn't been talked about for awhile,but check your intake manifold bolts.They call for 108 in-lbs or roughly 9 ft-lbs of torque,and they should be checked at least yearly,as they do loosen up. I've been doing mine at least twice a year on all 3 of of my hemi equipped vehicles.They should be checked and torqued when the engine is cold.I just use my calibrated hand and a 1/4" drive rachet / 6" extension and 5/16's socket and just give them a twist by hand,but if you don't trust your hand,an inch lb torque wrench should be used.There's 10 of them on 5.7's and 6.4's. I've done them enough,i know the torque sequence ,but if you don't know the sequence it's easy enough to look up
 

mikeru

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That's not something I've heard about, and a google search brings up zero results for retorquing Hemi intake manifold bolts. Since the Hemi is mostly unchanged from 4th gens to 5th gens I figure there would be something out there about it. Care to share any information about this issue?
 
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Wild one

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That's not something I've heard about, and a google search brings up zero results for retorquing Hemi intake manifold bolts. Since the Hemi is mostly unchanged from 4th gens to 5th gens I figure there would be something out there about it. Care to share any information about this issue?
Heat expands the composite intake,then it shrinks when it cools off,eventually the bolts loosen up.Do a search on here,you'll find the odd thread/post about the issue.If you don't believe me,go out and check yours.If your truck is a couple years old and has gone through a few heat cycles,good chance the bolts will need retorquing. Not gonna argue about it,just giving the guys that don't know about the issue a heads up.It's up to you to check them or not if you want,but you've been given a heads up about the issue. One of the reasons i hate the stupid engine cover FCA used to put on the 5.7's,i think it compounds the issue,plus you have to remove it to get at the bolts.The bolts are in behind the injector fuel rail if you decide to check yours,but are easy to get at with a 1/4" drive extension and 5/16's socket,a 3/8's drive socket and extension can be used,but is a bit harder to get on the bolts
 
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Wild one

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That's not something I've heard about, and a google search brings up zero results for retorquing Hemi intake manifold bolts. Since the Hemi is mostly unchanged from 4th gens to 5th gens I figure there would be something out there about it. Care to share any information about this issue?
 

Clayvis

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Thanks for the tip I'm doing plugs soon, and will check my intake manifold bolts when I do. Mine's a 2018 and never been checked I bet. Could this be the source of the infamous "hemi tick?"
 
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Wild one

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Thanks for the tip I'm doing plugs soon, and will check my intake manifold bolts when I do. Mine's a 2018 and never been checked I bet. Could this be the source of the infamous "hemi tick?"
Generally the hemi tick i think you're thinking of,is the exhaust manifolds,where most times the rear bolts are broken.You can check those by grabbing the rear of the heat shields and giving them a tug,if the heat shields move,usually the rear bolts are broken
 

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Thanks for the tip I'm doing plugs soon, and will check my intake manifold bolts when I do. Mine's a 2018 and never been checked I bet. Could this be the source of the infamous "hemi tick?"

Save yourself the time and headache and keep the stock plugs. I changed mine at 95,000. They looked brand new still. Wish I saved the money. Iridium plugs last way past 100,000 miles.
 

mikeru

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Heat expands the composite intake,then it shrinks when it cools off,eventually the bolts loosen up.Do a search on here,you'll find the odd thread/post about the issue.If you don't believe me,go out and check yours.If your truck is a couple years old and has gone through a few heat cycles,good chance the bolts will need retorquing. Not gonna argue about it,just giving the guys that don't know about the issue a heads up.It's up to you to check them or not if you want,but you've been given a heads up about the issue. One of the reasons i hate the stupid engine cover FCA used to put on the 5.7's,i think it compounds the issue,plus you have to remove it to get at the bolts.The bolts are in behind the injector fuel rail if you decide to check yours,but are easy to get at with a 1/4" drive extension and 5/16's socket,a 3/8's drive socket and extension can be used,but is a bit harder to get on the bolts
I'm not disputing your claims, it's just that I hadn't heard anything about this being an issue. I've owned quite a few vehicles with composite intakes and I haven't had any issues with the bolts needing to be retorqued. It could just be a case of not owning any of those vehicles long enough to have issues with them. It's a good suggestion and I'll definitely check ours when I do the next oil change in a couple months. Thanks for bringing it up.
 
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Wild one

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I'm not disputing your claims, it's just that I hadn't heard anything about this being an issue. I've owned quite a few vehicles with composite intakes and I haven't had any issues with the bolts needing to be retorqued. It could just be a case of not owning any of those vehicles long enough to have issues with them. It's a good suggestion and I'll definitely check ours when I do the next oil change in a couple months. Thanks for bringing it up.
It's also fairly common on the 5.7 /6.4 Chargers / Challengers / 300's etc..Pretty well any composite intake manifold needs a bit of maintence eventually.
 
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Douglas Walouke

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Great tip! I've had these break at least once on my 2014 1500. May take a crack at doing this myself. Before I go out and search, is there a YouTube video on how to find these bolts? I'm not totally incompetent, but I'm no gear-head!

Thanks!
 
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Wild one

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Great tip! I've had these break at least once on my 2014 1500. May take a crack at doing this myself. Before I go out and search, is there a YouTube video on how to find these bolts? I'm not totally incompetent, but I'm no gear-head!

Thanks!
Once you take the intake cover off,you'll see them in behind the fuel rail.They're 5/16" / 8mm,and are easier to get at if you use a 1/4" drive socket and extension,a 3/8" drive socket and extension can be used,but it's a bit harder to get the socket in between the fuel rail and onto the bolt head.
 

plainsman

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I recently took my 2015 1500 Laramie 5.7 in for a checkup as I was going off extended warranty (86,000 mi). He said they tightened up some loose manifold nuts. Not sure the details but glad I had things checked while on warranty.
 

Dusty

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I'm not disputing your claims, it's just that I hadn't heard anything about this being an issue. I've owned quite a few vehicles with composite intakes and I haven't had any issues with the bolts needing to be retorqued. It could just be a case of not owning any of those vehicles long enough to have issues with them. It's a good suggestion and I'll definitely check ours when I do the next oil change in a couple months. Thanks for bringing it up.
Sorry to be the heterodox again, but while the theory is good I'm not so sure the expansion/contraction of the intake manifold is causing the intake bolts to turn (loosen).

The gasket used in this application is a elastic rubber-like compound O-ring. Over time they lose some of their elasticity due to heat. This results in loss of elastic pressure with resulting loss of force against any two components being sealed. Like a lot of intake manifolds these days, new ones almost always come with new O-ring seals.

I've asked techs if they've ever found an intake seal that cause a problem on a Hemi, and the answer has always been "no". Of course, it doesn't mean it can't happen. But I suspect periodic retightening is only bringing the intake surface closer to the cylinder head and eventually the intake surface will be in full contact with the head. This could cause the intake to crack.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 82990 miles
 
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Wild one

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Sorry to be the heterodox again, but while the theory is good I'm not so sure the expansion/contraction of the intake manifold is causing the intake bolts to turn (loosen).

The gasket used in this application is a elastic rubber-like compound O-ring. Over time they lose some of their elasticity due to heat. This results in loss of elastic pressure with resulting loss of force against any two components being sealed. Like a lot of intake manifolds these days, new ones almost always come with new O-ring seals.

I've asked techs if they've ever found an intake seal that cause a problem on a Hemi, and the answer has always been "no". Of course, it doesn't mean it can't happen. But I suspect periodic retightening is only bringing the intake surface closer to the cylinder head and eventually the intake surface will be in full contact with the head. This could cause the intake to crack.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 3 June 2018. Now at 82990 miles
I've been staying on top of my intake bolts for 8 years now,last thing i've worried about is it cracking because it's to tight.You're only torquing it to 9 lb-ft/108 in-lbs,which isn't much more then you can crank by hand with a 1/4" nutdriver.Maybe if you got onto it and heaved it tight,and went way over the torque spec,it might crack.It's 2 machined surfaces that are mating together
 
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