Re: 1984 AMC Eagle and Intake Manfold ID

[Matt Haas <mhaas@xxxxxxx>]

Jamie,

Loose manifolds are fairly common on inline 6's and can cause no end of 
driveability problems (and exhaust leaks). Cracked manifolds are not 
unheard of but they're not that common of a problem. The likely cause of an 
exhaust leak under the manifolds is the donut gasket between the exhaust 
manifold and the head pipe is bad. The gaskets are inexpensive but can be a 
royal pain in the butt to change out.

Here's what I'd do:

- If there are no driveability problems (make sure you get it good and hot, 
my 68 American only had problems when hot) and the manifold to engine 
hardware is tight, plan on just replacing the donut gasket. You'll have to 
unbolt the pipe from the manifold and unbolt any hangers between the pipe 
and the muffler so it drops down. Apply plenty of penetrating oil to the 
bolts and let them soak before you dry taking things apart. Plan on new 
nuts (and maybe studs) at the pipe to manifold flange. Put some anti-seize 
on the studs before you put everything back together.

- If there are driveability problems (this can be caused by other things 
but having the manifolds on tight is a good place to start) or loose 
hardware, take the manifolds off and have them separated and checked for 
warpage. The manifold gasket set will have the donut gasket with it. AMC 
did not use an exhaust manifold to engine gasket so don't be surprised if 
there isn't one. You need to install the manifolds to the engine before you 
tighten them to each other so everything lines up. I think the manifold 
design changed over the years but you can read up on the process for older 
cars at http://www.mattsoldcars.com/RestoreAmerican/loose_intake.shtml.

As far as the valve cover goes, these engines are notorious for valve cover 
leaks. They use plastic valve covers and the plastics of the day were not 
able to cope with the heat/cool cycles and ended up warping and leaking. 
You can get a revised plastic valve cover from a Jeep dealer or there are 
after market metal covers available to solve this problem. The rubber 
gasket would be better than the cork but both will leak with a warped cover.

The heater core is a tear the dash apart exercise (most cars are this way). 
The core itself shouldn't be terribly expensive but if you have someone do 
the replacement, it will likely be expensive. You'll also need to take care 
ripping into the dash. Plastic dashes of the era do not hold up very well 
and can be very brittle. It's usually not that difficult to take the dash 
apart but if the car has lots of options (A/C in particular), there can be 
lots of things in your way. I'd consider a TSM for the car a must before 
attempting this job.

Matt

At 12:39 AM 10/30/2005 -0400, you wrote:

> First off, I just inherited an intake manifold. Was wondering if someone 
> could identify it. The person I got it from said they were told it was 
> from an AMC and I was the only one he knew with AMC's. The number on the 
> manifold appears to be 3176990.
>
>
> And more on the 1984 Eagle. I went and looked at it today. It is the Eagle 
> Limited. Has power seats, power windows. There is one control on the 
> drivers door for both mirrors. There is a small air compressor under the 
> hood. He said it is for air shocks. It has a 3 position switch, Off, Auto 
> and I think the third was Accessory.
>
> Now a couple questions. It sounds like there is an exhaust leak somewhere 
> under the manifolds. Is there a common place that the exhaust system comes 
> loose or starts leaking? Is there any problem with the exhaust manifolds 
> breaking on these? I am just trying to get an idea of what I may be 
> getting into to fix it if I buy it. Also, the heater core leaks. What is 
> involved in replacing the heater core? The valve cover gasket leaks. He 
> already has a replacement but I have found there are 2 listed. One is cork 
> (about $10) and the other is rubber (about $35). Is one better than the other?
>
> Jamie Smith
> Spokane, WA
> oconner51@xxxxxxxxxxx
> 1966 Rambler American 220 Station Wagon
> 1966 Rambler Classic 770 Two Door Hardtop
> 1968 Jeep J-3000 Pickup (being dismantled)
> 1977 GMC Sierra 3/4 Ton Pickup
> 1984 AMC Eagle Limited Station Wagon (???)
> 1986 AMC Eagle Station Wagon
>
> =============================================================
> Posted by wixList Archiver -- http://www.amxfiles.com/wixlist

mhaas@xxxxxxx
Cincinnati, OH
http://www.mattsoldcars.com
1967 Rambler American wagon
1968 Rambler American sedan
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