So when I was getting my grounding kit installed by sean (sorry!), he noticed the rubber grommet around the oil fill was pinched in the spacer. I took it home and took it apart to take out the pinched plastic piece. After putting everything back, i started it up and everything seemed fine. took it out for a quick spin and seemed normal, i did take note that it seemed like there was a rattling though when i first started it up. like there was something loose.

I was reading a guide for the plenum install and noticed the two guides on the sides were supposed to be taken out and I was supposed to use the supplied bolts, I noticed I had two extra ones as well. well I had to take the plenum off again and when i did, I noticed one of the plastic spacer bolts missing. I think in my tired state and improper lighting, I did not correctly put back the bolt spacer and it jumped off when I lined up the upper plenum. I am pretty sure the rattling I initially heard was it flying around and going into the lower plenum. What the hell do i do now? I am freaking out, will the plastic in the engine cause substantial damage? Do i need to tear down the whole thing to get to it?

someone please help!

 

When I was doing a wire tuck for someone last summer, I found a melted plastic spacer down in one of the manifold runners. Luckily is did not cause any damage. To retrieve it, you will just have to remove the upper and lower plenums. Look down each runner with a flashlight and you should be able to see it sitting on the valve. You will need a long set of pliers to fish it out.

I would try not to drive until you can get it out just to be safe. From what you have told me in our last few conversations, I would recommend NOT doing anymore installs yourself . LOL

PS...I'm Sean, not Shane...He is the other tall white dude on the forum LOL

 

lol bah sorry for mixup. i was in a daze after i discovered the missing spacer. but yeah took off the lower plenum and it was just sitting in the valve. it was not melted at all luckily. used a hanger to fish it out after like 30 mins. lol i messed up a ton that day, i have a problem with reading instructions... also im pretty sure that whistling noise i was talking to you about was caused by that piece being there. yeah i work better if i have a friend because im pretty absent minded sometimes, especially if i havent slept enough lol... but yeah i got the stupid spacer out and am in the process of putting everything back together, messed up a finger too trying to pull off a hose... lolol..

 

well i got everything back together and just went for a drive. had a slightly rough start but then settled down. Also on a side note, i definitely did notice a smoother idle and stronger stereo music after sean's grounding kit. On a 6spd so I was a bit skeptical but it definitely was worth it.

So after looking at the spacers and rereading the instructions, i remembered that when I first installed these with my friend, we tried to do it like in the manual but realized the pictures had different spacers than the ones we had, sticking the bolts through and screwing the spacers onto them but when we did it with like 2 or 3 of them, the threads were so loose that they actually just fell off when i let go of the spacer. so I had to just place them in the appropriate spots and try to place the plenum on top without moving them. I just checked again today and realized that 3 of them were like how i described but the other 3 were actually small enough to be screwed on. It was a little easier with 3 of them screwed on. less chances of what happened. But yeah I definitely didnt know that, i thought you were supposed to just position them on the lower plenum and just try to fit it perfectly. so yeah... all in all a learning experience? lol i dont think i can stop doing stuff myself, i have too much fun, even if it is frustrating and i cant follow directions until its too late lolol.

So... pix for funzies.