does he have a slide ruler in a pocket protector ???? and a heath kit catalog ???

No, but he is from that era. He figures things in his head. Besides, pocket protectors and protractors hurt when you're pulling G's in an F-15 (retired).

I'm a marketing major myself. Got my B.S. That plus $5...

John B.

Bushings have been fabricated and installed, and the plenum is ready to be reinstalled in the truck. They used a bar of leftover aluminum-bronze alloy to fabricate a bushing set for the rear (sealed) end of the shaft and one for the center of the shaft, between the runners for #3 and #4 cylinders. The stock seals between the other cylinders looked good and feel tight, so those were left alone. The bushing at the front side, where the actuator is was surprisingly good, but we did add an o-ring of the appropriate size to help seal it.

Loc-tite was used on the screws to help hold the butterfly valves in place with the machine screws.

I have the plans that were made for the bushings the guys cut with a wire-water-jet machine. They were measured down to ten-thousands of an inch, so they are fairly precise. There's no binding on the shaft, and it is much tighter than it was, of course.

Provided it works, and I don't see why it wouldn't, I can have more bushings made. If there's any interest, and if I can put another one together, I may offer an exchange program for rebuilding some of these.

There aren't any pictures, but when it's all said and done, it really isn't complicated at all. The tough part so far was to have the bushings made, and to use a suitable material. Disassembly/reassembly is very straightforward.

I'll update this as things go on the truck and I have a chance to run it in.

John B.

Interest piqued...

I'd be interested too JB. I've got a junkyard intake on my engine (well, currently on a table in my garage, but you know what I mean). I was planning on buying the updated intake, but if this is a viable solution to keep the butterflies in place, I could stand to save a few bucks here and there considering all I have to get rebuilt.

jinstv, PM sent.

Ray, I'll be in touch.

John B.

but just remember that nasa's down fall was bad o-rings in the fuel system and with bad o-rings all the machine work is useless <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Decent point. The only o-ring I'm using is external, however.

John B.

JBFP, I am also interested, I have a '94 SR engine going into my 87, and can think of other ways to spend the money other than a new intake. Thanks [color:"blue"] [/color]

I got the job done yesterday. While I was in there, I replaced the spark plugs with NGK Iridiums, put on new spark plug wires and new coils.

I was VERY surprised to find out that the plenum in the truck was still functional with the butterflies in place and hooked up. After I pulled the whole plenum, I hooked up my Mighty-Vac and drew down on the actuator...it held fine. the shaft is pretty sloppy, though. I'll rebuild it and see who wants to test it for me (jinstv).

The gasket under the assembled plenum is a pain to get aligned while you're trying to get everything out of the way and maneuver the part, but it can be done.

The truck runs like a demon now. I can't say which parts actually made the difference, but it is noticeable.

BUT, it doesn't want to idle smoothly. I may have an air leak, I may have a bad ISC, we'll see. Any tips on locating an air leak? Propane? How about any tips on diagnosing an ISC?

John B.