I just finished my 5/16" spacer install and it was well worth the $$$. The gains are noticable in the midrange & the topend and the added induction noise is awesome. However I stripped one of the long plenum bolts (upper left) while torqueing them down @ 100 lbs/in ( it wasnt much force and the bolt still snapped anyway). The good news is that everything seals well and there are not any vaccum leaks or any other hissing sounds. I still want to remove the stripped bolt. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

When you say stripped do you mean that it snapped in half? Because you say "snapped" but also say "stripped." Anyway, if you mean that it snapped in half, that happened to me too. I had to buy some drill bits from sears that are made to extract snapped screws. You have to drill into the screw with a special bit which is smaller in diameter than the screw. then use another bit which corresponds to the size of the bit you already used to torque the screw out. its pretty nerve racking drilling into your engine area, but you should get it out.

 

Yeah I mean snapped LOL. Thanks for the help.

 

100 pounds , OMFG , its suppost to be a lot closer to 10.

 

Don't ya love it!

I have the spacer and MD Iso-thermal lower collector, and it makes the engine "behave" so much better throughout the rpm range. It is not only about power, the engine just runs better, feels more "willing" and less restricted, and it even smoothed out my cruise control when disengaging. Don't ask me how, but it did!

 

100 lb/in is not that much. Thats why I'm surprised the bolt snapped

 

all these stories about snappin the screws.. jeeze.. how can I make sure I don't over do it when I install mine? (should be getting it in next week or two in the mail lol)

 

Motordyne includes exquisite and very detailed instructions (better than I've ever seen in this industry). If you have an inch-pound torque wrench and follow the directions, you should have no problems. The thing I think gets most people is that 10 inch-lbs is NOT very much at all, and you must not exceed the torque published in the manual.

Furthermore, Tony makes himself VERY accessable to his customers. I've called him about 3 times, and each time, Tony himself answers the phone and gives his undivided attention to your questions.

In short, you should not be experiencing any anxiety at ALL about the installation. Furthermore, I've never in my life seen something short of F/I do so much for any car. The power increase, the sound improvement, and the better engine-manners your car will experience are simply astounding.

Not only that, BUT I'M GETTING BETTER MILEALE ON THE HWY!!! I may be getting better mileage around town too, but I haven't done enough of that kind of driving to tell. Besides, for the first week you have this mod, it is almost impossible to keep your right foot out of it. I swear, the difference is so dramatic, I found myself punching it every now and then, just to reassure myself that I was not dreaming.

My ONLY regret is waiting so long before getting it! Every one of my concerns were completely unfounded. Your worst enemy is hesitation. Now "git 'er done!"

 

The truth... don't use a torque wrench on small stuff. I used a small socket wrench and held the wrench towards the center. Place your hand closer to the fulcrum point, don't give yourself too much leverage. You can feel the bolt get tight, you want it to be tight or snug only. Once you hit that point, STOP! If you go beyond that point you will feel a pop! That would be your threads giving way... The bolt is hard, your plenum is soft... just remember that.

GL,
Zquicksilver

 

i takes a lot to snap a bolt in half. You were being careless with out a doubt. You could have done it just fine with out a inch/lb torque wrench. It just needs a good enough seal to prevent vacuum leaks. This can be achieved by using your tightening senses. When it's snug give it a quarter turn and your done. Lesson learned, you'll get the bolt out but you'll be kicking yourself in the **** as you take on the tedious procedure.

 

specs are to torque to 60 in/lbs, that means hand tighten till you feel resistance.

 

Was this relatively painless and can it be done without taking apart the plenum assembly (I was planning on removing the engine cover and drilling w/o removing the plenum cover)? Thanks again.

 

+1

I am loving the mod the more I drive. It pulls noticably harder in 3rd & 4th (especially on 3rd)

 

Is this mod mostly suited for non-revup motors or can achieve gains with revup motors?

 

Both! I believe you would be better off with Motordyne's lower collector (you can use both... I did!), but search the forums and you'll find tons of stuff on it. I highly recommend you do this mod.

Love the s/n! Makes me long for the old Seinfeld Chat Room back in the early days of Yahoo!

Serenity now!

 

well im glad to hear that its well worth the cost, im gonna install mine today! ill be carefull and try not to snap or strip any bolts

 

I've had my 5/16 sitting in the garage for almost 2 months. I need to quit bs'ing and get it installed. My biggest concern is getting the strut bar back on after the spacer is installed. I was also contemplating picking up a ft/'' tq wrench, but I think that I might just go with hand tightening the bolts.

Did the strut bar give you any problems?

Thanks

 

from what i understand with the 5/16 spacer the stock strut should work fine.

 

I'm surprised that it snapped if it says to eventually torque it down to 100"/lbs.
I have the MREV2 and the 5/6" iso thermak spacer and it was the best bang for the buck mod I've done for my non revup

 

I think what he meant was, was it hard bolting the strut bar back in place? I just took off the strut bar, and I can see that being a bit difficult putting the bolts back in place.