Intake bolts

[MacAttack_14]

Hey folks, I'm still going over my new (to me) '17 Sport with a fine tooth comb and I saw a thread about checking the intake bolt tightness at each oil change. Since I wanted to check the PCV anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot. But when I got in there all the bolts (I could see) are rusty as all getout so I didn't want to mess with them. Is there anything I can do to help recondition them? If I ever need to get those out, I'm sure at least a couple will snap.
PB Blaster is all I can think of. But again, I didn't hear any hissing so I won't mess with them until needed. I might use my vacuum gauge, though, and see what kind of readings I get.
To be clear, the engine runs smooth and strong. Just trying to head things off at the past.
Thanks,
-Mac

 

[Wild one]

If it's just the bolt head that's rusty,odds are the bolt itself is still good.Use a 1/4" drive ratchet /extension and a 5/16" socket and see if they'll turn with just a slight twist of the wrist,if you don't have a 1/4" drive socket set,get one,a 3/8" drive is to big ,not only does it not fit worth a crap,it's to easy to break the manifold bolts with it.

 

[MacAttack_14]

I've got a 1/4" ratchet. I even have a 1/4" inch-pound torque wrench (that I've never had a need for). I'll give it a shot but I'm afraid I'll round over the heads. They're that rusty.

 

[Wild one]

I've got a 1/4" ratchet. I even have a 1/4" inch-pound torque wrench (that I've never had a need for). I'll give it a shot but I'm afraid I'll round over the heads. They're that rusty.

A 5/16" socket is just a smidge smaller then an 8mm socket,and is what i use.If they're that rusty,you might want to buy new bolts and swap them out. I've never ran into ones that rusty though,and i live north of you in Alberta,did the truck live in a salt water tank

 

[04fxdwgi]

If the bolts are so tight as to break when loosening, then they are not in need of tightening.

Personally, if I were concerned about them, then I would get new bolts and intake gaskets change it all out at once and then you know what you have and it's correct.

 

[PdPuNOme]

Curious the reasoning behind touching those bolts every 3k or at all if not experiencing symptoms that would lead to checking on them. I have owned 5 hemi's throughout 3rd to 5th gen, put alot of miles on and never thought to or needed to check.

Your rusty condition is what I would deem normal and would believe the integrity of the bolt is fine let alone it is not under any high torque that they would ever snap/break. Maybe those who for whatever reason experienced loose bolts someone had the intake off before and either replaced the bolts with ones that did not have thread sealant/loctite on them or reused which is fine but did not put thread sealant/Loctite back on.

Its my opinion but I aint touching mine, dont fix it if it aint broke...

 

[Wild one]

Curious the reasoning behind touching those bolts every 3k or at all if not experiencing symptoms that would lead to checking on them. I have owned 5 hemi's throughout 3rd to 5th gen, put alot of miles on and never thought to or needed to check.

Your rusty condition is what I would deem normal and would believe the integrity of the bolt is fine let alone it is not under any high torque that they would ever snap/break. Maybe those who for whatever reason experienced loose bolts someone had the intake off before and either replaced the bolts with ones that did not have thread sealant/loctite on them or reused which is fine but did not put thread sealant/Loctite back on.

Its my opinion but I aint touching mine, dont fix it if it aint broke...

It's a pretty common problem with the newer composite style intake manifolds,the bolts lose torque over time,even if they're loctited in place. Lots of guys on here have had loose intake bolts when they've checked them.
For all it takes to check them,they're well worth checking,you might get lucky and yours might still be tight,but until you check them,you won't know

Check your intake manifold bolts

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...

www.ramforum.com

 

[PdPuNOme]

It's a pretty common problem with the newer composite style intake manifolds,the bolts lose torque over time,even if they're loctited in place. Lots of guys on here have had loose intake bolts when they've checked them.
For all it takes to check them,they're well worth checking,you might get lucky and yours might still be tight,but until you check them,you won't know

Check your intake manifold bolts

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...

www.ramforum.com

huh, guess I am jinxed now, great...

 

[Daw14]

The torque requirements are very little , on top of the bolts self loosening , make me think that the odds of breaking one are very low.
I would change the bolts .

 

[EdGs]

huh, guess I am jinxed now, great...

Welcome to my world

 

[MacAttack_14]

A 5/16" socket is just a smidge smaller then an 8mm socket,and is what i use.If they're that rusty,you might want to buy new bolts and swap them out. I've never ran into ones that rusty though,and i live north of you in Alberta,did the truck live in a salt water tank

It sure seems like it lived in a salt water tank. But like I've said, it appears this was someone's mudding "toy" or possibly a farm truck. But for the life of me, I don't get why someone would spring for all the bells and whistles and then neglect it the way they did.
Again, no rust on the body other than one small bubble that I dug-out and touched up since it was only surface.
And now I understand how I missed the rusty undercarriage when I test drove it. Everything was covered in a light coat of mud, which on that sunny-arsse day just looked like a normal undercarriage, with the sun in my eyes. And I might have been too focused on the bushings, tie rods, u-joints and the like.
As for the intake bolts, I'll let them be for now. I thought I had an oil leak but now I'm not sure. I just changed it with full synthetic and will keep an eye on it.
The oil pan doesn't look awesome, it's pretty rusty. I've been watching videos of guys lowering the front diff to get it off (which looks near impossible for these old hands) but why not just unbolt the motor mounts and lift the engine a few inches? A cherry picker I have, contortionist joints, I do not.
I'm officially retired now so the pressure of a daily driver is off. That's huge. I've always hated starting a job on a Saturday morning hoping nothing goes wrong so I can get it done for Monday morning. And you guys know, something always goes wrong
As always, thanks for all the advice and opinions.