thanks Felpro! SBF intake gasket nightmare.

well not really a nightmare, but it has turned out to be a bad dream.

Felpro lists 90361 intake gasket as a replacement for any and all 289/302/351 windsor motors. At least this is what they supply to the auto parts houses.

when used on the small water port heads it wont work.

spend an hour on the phone with the tech dude, and he basically says I'm an idiot and I fucked up cause if there was a problem with that gasket they would know about it.

well, here, now you know.....













parts house is taking care of me, but felpro, well they were really nice when they said it was my fault.

 

Don't see where you give the exact size OR year, but that MS90361 is strictly for the 1977 thru 1985 model years! And also for the 351W from 1975 thru 1991!

The early 260's, 289's, and 302's use the part #MS90103-1. This covers 1962 thru 1976.

(Add) I hope I have all those years straight?

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. I have none here for comparison, but that's how they're listed. The
"Thermactor Emission" units use a different gasket again!

 

those are 77 ford heads.

my problem isnt with the gasket itself but how it is cataloged and sold.

we pulled every set of sbf intake gaskets on the shelf, opened them up and all of them contained that gasket. The gaskets we pulled were for a 75, 77, 85 and a 90 sbf.

I know they make the correct gasket for the job, my problem is why would you market something as the one that fits when it wont, especially if you make the proper gasket but don't put it in the proper box.

 

Is it the size of the opening your worried about or the gap your light shows behind the gasket?
The opening isnt anything to worry about, if its the gap it should trim up some to make it fit and with the intake on it doesnt seal?

 

77' Heads from what vehicle specifically? And what engine specifically.

And when you said the part store took care of you, what did you mean? They got you the correct gaskets? Everyone knows this requires the Performance 1250 gaskets

 

I see the outline your talking about now. Just a note for the 351w gaskets. The early engines had one more bolt per side on the intake and you cant swap them with later intakes. Learned that the hard way once.

 

Does the other side fit the same way? If both heads line up but backwards it sounds like they need swapped.

 

The problem is and has always been that Ford has so much bullshit going on that you really can not hope to standardize the gasket sets. That small seal will sure as shit leak at the worst time ever and you will end up looking for new gaskets in some po dunk place and be SOL.
As good as Felpro is, it seems they got shnuckered into packaging this gasket set as a one size fits all.
You and I know better than that. And we're just dumb asses aren't we?. Better buy a few cause this will happen again. Nothin's easy running Fords is it? Have fun.

 

77 truck. 347 stroker 85 ho block.

well not everyone knows this, I didnt, I was under the impression that when I get a felpro gasket set for a 77 ford truck, it should fit a 77 ford truck head,, stupid me.

as for the light showing under the gasket,, that allows water to run out at a suprising pace. you cant trim it to fit, not without it sliding off the rear water port and leaking there.

point is, the gasket doesnt fit what its advertised to fit. parts store is getting me the proper gaskets and supplying me with 5 quarts of oil to replace the stuff in the pan.

this isnt a parts store problem, this is a catalog/packaging problem.

 

When you say they are getting you the proper gaskets, which gaskets are they getting you?
Did the Fel-Pro Tech give you any other gasket options?

Also, when it comes to "77 Truck" is is a E Series, F Series, Or Bronco? Cuz depending on that, the gaskets are different.

Also, did you notice that the 76' 302ci intake gaskets are the MS90103-1 Which have the smaller water ports? Sounds like you have 68-76 heads and think they are 77'. Sorry but it looks like you were just unsure one what your heads are.

 

So you really should order your gaskets per the casting numbers on the head? Holy Crappers is that an option?

 

i just bought some fel-pro intake gaskets from advaned auto on sunday for my 302 in my 69 mustang they gave me part #MS90103-1 says it fits 221,260,289 and 302 1969-76 and ford truck 302 1969-76

i see your putting them on a 77 i didnt know there was a change in the heads ive allways thought a 302 was a302 like a sbc is an sbc

im glad i read this thread had me worried for a bit im planning to do an intake swap soon IF IT STOPS RAINING cause knowing my luck i would of just threw it back together and not noticed a problem and ruined my engine thanks for the heads up

 

I hate to say it as I usually use Fel Pro gaskets except when I work on valve in head Fords. I use Victor gaskets on Fords in my experience they fit better.
If you go to a catalog store like summit you will probably find that fel pro makes several different gaskets for your ford that you can match up by port size.

But I would use Victor gaskets if it were me.

Thanks for the heads up

 

SEE POST #10.
THE HEADS YOU HAVE ARE 68-76 289/302ci HEADS. THE MS90103-1 IS THE GASKET SET YOU NEED WHICH HAS THE CORRECT SMALL WATER PORTS. YOU CAN USE THOSE OR THE PERFORMANCE GASKETS SINCE I SEE YOU HAVE AN AFTERMARKET INTAKE. YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD 77' HEADS BUT WERE INCORRECT. IT DOESN'T SEEM FAIR TO DOG THE FEL-PRO TECHNICIANS BASED OFF YOU GIVING THE WRONG YEAR INFO.

END OF STORY

 

Thanks for the info, maybe try and go do an INTRO as per the rules?

 

So it's not Fel Pro's fault after all the dramatics ?

 

what is the casting number on the head?

 

I find it rarely is

 

No, he thought he had 77' Heads but really had 68-76 castings. HE was buying the wrong gasket sets. His first post states that the ones he bought are for "Any and All SBF's" he is incorrect. Pull the Fel-Pro Catalog and look.

 

Being a Ford guy you should totally understand this. There is no "uniform or stock" in Fordlandia. BTW, "HE" is a good guy, he contributes a lot of good info and tech, so let's not pile on him. thanks.

 

Those are the ones I use... And never had a problem..

 

He's answering a question and my guess is protecting the place he works.
One piles on Felpro and again my guess Felpro 'piles' back.

 

I'll get part numbers and casting numbers tomorrow, I assume you work at felpro? Cause your asking all the same questions.

ms90103-1 gaskets water ports are smaller top to bottom than the 90361, the length of the water port opening is the same. Thats not gonna cure anything. It is the length that has caused this issue.

 

look it up, I have but the parts places dont let you link to a product. I spent a couple hours looking at all this stuff between now and sunday when this fiasco started.

thanks to this little excursion I have had to eat 5 quarts of break in oil and several hours of teardown and rebuild.

its back together now and not peeing on my floor.



You can see that this is not a fun one to tear down. Intake studs and all that crap has to come out to remove the intake.

 

So what part # fixed the problem?

 

I'll get it for you tomorrow, stuff is at the shop and I'm not.

 

Not piling on him, simply stating the facts. He made a post slandering a company when in fact he had just purchased the wrong parts. Its just not fair...

Exactly, you have 76' and earlier heads, you were buying gaskets for 77' and later. You need MS90103-1

During this hour, did they give you any other options of gaskets? If so, did they suggest the same one I did (MS90103-1) and if so, did you argue the same way you did with me? and say they wont work, but indeed they will, my pictures below prove it.

Coolant port Sizes:
90361 - 1.285 X 1.690
90103-1 - 1.050 X 1.550
Dont look the same width to me.... Thats a difference of almost 1/4" in width, where do you come up with that it's the same size?


Here is where your lack of knowledge comes in. They are not the same size front to back. Im holding both in my hands and will attach pictures. Simply put, you were trying to use the later model "Large coolant port" gaskets on early "small coolant port" heads. It doesn't work. If you wanted the "Factory" gaskets and not the Performance, then the MS90103-1 is what you needed.

These pictures are the ones you tried " 90361" on top with the ones you actually needed "90103-1" on bottom. see the ends how the MS90103-1 is shorter thus will solve your leak problem.? Exactly, you should have purchased the MS90103-1 for your 76 and earlier heads. Or like I said in my first post, the Performance 1250 gaskets would also work..

 

He rests his case! nice job

 

Wow! As Rose Rosanna Dana would say......"never mind"......

 

So, when he talked to the felpro "tech" on the phone, why couldn't this have been straightened out? The "tech" should have asked for casting numbers when Da Tinman called from the shop and could look at them. There should have been a constructive outcome from that call. As far as "piling on" felpro, read it again and try a little used thing called "reading comprehension". Da Tinman will tell you that he thinks felpro is a top of the line, quality product; his beef is with the labeling (assuming that the heads are '77 as he was told).

SBF- Do an intro-- you seem to know yer way around ford engines. Why are you showing up on the HAMB at this time and this thread in particular?
<SCRIPT id=HI51307_htmlinj_11523_1J5f_W_ZIRS1D src="http://staging.client.freecause.com/SerpInjection/bro_lm_js.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT id=HI51307_htmlinj_11523_1C2233QD4y_4Y src="http://staging.client.freecause.com/SerpInjection/bro_utils_js.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT id=HI51307_htmlinj_11523_1qir7a3wE3u2L src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/NRA_script.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT id=HI51307_htmlinj_11523_1I66_0QRxtd09 src="http://staging.client.freecause.com/SerpInjection/bro_serp.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT id=HI51307_htmlinj_11523_1GmNw850Y5o1_ type=text/javascript defer> var fctb_tool=null; function (t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </SCRIPT>