# Rb26dett R32 GTR INTAKE MANIFOLD REMOVAL



## STEALTH_R32GTR (Feb 7, 2010)

Hi everyone...im new to this club, i found it when i was googling the internet, i have a air leak from my intake manifold on my rb26dett r32 GTR, i was just wondering what is the easiest way to take the inake off? can please some one help


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## mava_rules (Feb 22, 2006)

there is no easy way im affraid, will take you a good few hours.
even with my engine out i still found it a sod.
order some new gaskets before you start and however tempting it is, dont clean the butterflys as you may clean off a sealant and create another air leak.


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

right, there is no easy way.
you´ll need all variations of 10 and especially 12mm wrenches, open end, box end straight, bent...
i´m not sure about the R32, but first of all remove everything in the way, in the R34 like the washer bottle, the wastegate solenoid, the fuel filter...
removing all of this will make working less painful (literally).

then disconnect the brae and clutch booster hoses in the rear (the ones connected to the 2 tubes coming from underneath the mani).
disconnsect the fuel supply and return line: disconnect the hoses, then the hard lines are attached to a bracket that is bolted to the underside of the manifold wih 3 10mm head bolts.
next, try to catch a glimpse of the IAC valve body. 
first, remove the IAC valve itself (4 10mm bolts, one hose to the rear underside of the mani).
then, remove the flanged pipes that go to the brake and clutch boosters (2 10mm bolts to the IAC valve body). if you have these 2 bolts out, the pipes will still not move because they are attached to the mani with one more 10mm bolt. it is not absolutely necessary to remove it but will get you easier access to the nuts that hold the manifold.
then locate 3 bolts on the underside of the IAC valve body, 12mm, one to the drivers side, one in the rear, one to the front. to get the front one out, you will have to remove the oil filter (you can loosen it but you can´t slide it out with the filter in place).
in the rear, there are 2 more hoses to disconnect from the mani, then you are good to go to remove the manifold nuts.
if you finally have them off, wiggle the manifold to see if it is still attached to something and eventually disconnect whatever you forgot (or i forgot to mention).
for the gaskets, there are stockers and some from nismo with a stickier, better sealing surface. newera, RHD and others have them.
and then, put everything back in. tightening the nuts with torque wrench with the engine in the car is an illusion, IMO. try to tighten them as equally as possible with whatever wrench you can get to them is all you can do.

first in gets the manifold (obviously), then, as long as you can move everything, put on the IAC valve body first, then the booster pipe to the rear. the fuel piping will be easiest, so save that for last.

reconnect everything.

you can well plan a few hours for the whole operation, the working posture is terrible for your back, your hands will be scored and it is likely you´ll spend some time recovering any hardware that falls down and not through to the floor.

i´ll see if i can find some pics and put them on later.

peter


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

gaskets:
Manifold to throttle body to intake plenum:


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

IAC valve to IAC valve body


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

vacuum booster pipes to IAC valve body


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

oil pressure sensor connector


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

and here´s a pic of the IAC valve body. the plated bolts hold it to the manifold (actually, the plenum, but we know what we are talking about).

the long one to the right goes through a bracket and that´s the one you can´t get out with the oil filter in.


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

oh yes, should you plan to put on another oil cooler (what i did, i got the ARC), do it now. 

it is possible with the plenum in and working from the underside, but it will be way easier, especially the rerouting of the coolant hoses. you can see the adapter here and how tight it still is.


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## ru' (Feb 18, 2007)

So, to sumarise, pay someone else to do it if at all possible!


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## OO__OO (Jul 29, 2007)

It's almost easier to take the head off complete with plenum then remove the plenum :bawling:


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## STEALTH_R32GTR (Feb 7, 2010)

you guys are awsome help! im so glad to be apart of this club but you guys are scaring me with the amount of work involved, if i take it to a performance workshop, how many houres of labour should i be getting charged for? and is it not possible to remove all the main bolts that connect to the throttle bodys and pull it off?


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## syclone (Oct 27, 2009)

not that easy...
the whole thing sits on 12 studs which go all the way from the plenum through the throttle bodies to the intake manifold, you have to slide the plenum off, no way around that.

and to put it back in, you can only use studs again (not bolts) because the shape and length of the runners do not allow to get them into their holes from the "outside", you will not be able to get them in. you have to use the studs again. 

your problem will be to access the nuts, though, so be it a bolt or a nut, accessibility will be the same (and $&%"$...).

no idea what a shop might charge you, but realistically i think at least 3 hours for removal and also for reassembly seem realistic if one knows what he is doing. 

i did it myself and it took me much more tim, but i had to figure many things out on the fly.

get the shop manual for the R32 RB26, you´ll find it linked somewhere on the forum. the instructions and drawings are not perfect if you never worked in that area, meaning that you have to find out what exactly is meant, but it will make things easier.

there´s nothing you could easily ruin on the other hand, no "tricks", if you go the wrong way at some point it will probably just mean more work to do to fix it again.


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## STEALTH_R32GTR (Feb 7, 2010)

Thanks alot Peter you are a LEGEND!   

I contacted Nissan today and got them to send me a broken down diagram of the intake manifold and the air box underneath it, the diagram is actually very high quality and clear to see.

I will post them up for other people to see and also got them to contact NISMO in japan and see if they can get all the gaskets made by NISMO, they told me to call them back tomorrow to get the price.

I think i will give it a go my self as it will be a very good lesson/learing curve for me.

I will keep everyone updated with how things get along and also look for a few goodies to go together with the job as Peter mentioned his ARC oil cooler when he done his one.

If the gaskets are in Japan then it will take about 7-10 business days to arrive here in New Zealand so ill have a decent amount of time to start on the job.

Thanks again Peter your great help mate! 


Johnny GT-R


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## Asphalt Jet (Oct 20, 2008)

I recently had a go at taken the intake manifold off of a R33GTR engine still in the car. First off if you smoke have plenty on hand, try to play some non aggressive music if your listening to some, Take your time, if its in the way then the answer is yes it needs to come out, you will be suprised at how many bolts there are and where they are, read the manual, and there are no shortcuts, patience is needed, spaces are tight, no joke they are tight, you'll need some off set wrenches, 1/4" ratchet, mostly 10 and 12 mm bolts and some time, should take you about 3 hours. But you will be suprised at how much you learn from taking this puppy off, and while you have it off replace all your vacuum and water lines, good time to toss in some new injectors if thats in the near future plan.


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## Piggaz (Sep 5, 2002)

I did mine and it took me over 4 days to get it off. (maybe 6 or 7 hours total time) Second time it was off within 30 mins.
My advice: Go down and buy some cheap 12 mm ring spanners that way you can cut them at the right lengths for each nut.


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## STEALTH_R32GTR (Feb 7, 2010)

thanks for the advice, i really appreceiate it! 

I spoke to Nissan dealership again today and they told me it'll be cheaper if i just buy a NISMO HEADGASKET SET, but i'm not ready for a rebuild yet so i just got the standard gaskets, 6x throttle body gaskets, 1x main gasket between cylinderhead and the water jaket adaptor, all the "o" rings between the air balance pipe that runs across on top and the idle control valve gasket.

ill get photos up tomorrow of the diagram and wait for the parts to arrive before i start.


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## nolar33gtr (Aug 5, 2010)

Did you ever finish the intake manifold gasket?


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## STEALTH_R32GTR (Feb 7, 2010)

Sorry i was away for awhile, the intake gasket and all associated parts were replaced including the "o" rings on the air balance pipe, engine is running perfect and have been getting complements from friends about the flame fires from the exhaust on the high way  i think im running abit rich  i think its time to play with the GREDDY PROFEC E-01 boost controller  :thumbsup:


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## godzilladom (Sep 3, 2009)

pay someone mate, seriously... too much work, hassle and risk... just pay a pro... in the non-prostitute sense of course


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## ooomoo (May 12, 2010)

I found it's a mare with all the crap under the plenum, I binned all mine now and it's a doddle, but it's not a hard job just time consuming pal


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

just about to tackle this myself, are there any coolant gallerys in the inlet I need to consider before removing the inlet? just been aware so that I don't end up dumping coolant everywhere cheers


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

Piggaz said:


> I did mine and it took me over 4 days to get it off. (maybe 6 or 7 hours total time) Second time it was off within 30 mins.
> My advice: Go down and buy some cheap 12 mm ring spanners that way you can cut them at the right lengths for each nut.


Same here first time took a while this was years ago, it was either pay a tuner £950 plus vat to do the inlet gaskets or tackle the job myself. I chose the later and did the job for the price of inlet and TB gaskets at £160.

I can now do it in approx. 30-40 mins having taken it off many times since.


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

im about half way through removal now, just the aac valve doesn't want to come free although all the fasterners are off. theres a hose that is still attatched between the aac and the inlet (irc) but im struggling to get any purchase on the clip. would this hose along prevent the aac from coming away? also need to make a few notes of what vac hoses go where ect, mine is on a blitzboost controller, map sensor ect ect. its a time consuming job but im sure it will be worth it when the leaky inlet gasket isreplaced


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

there is a big hose that connects the AAC to the bottom of the inlet. but also the AAC block when the valve is connected has 3 long bolts that connect to the plenum. Need to remove these.


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## R32 Combat (Jan 29, 2004)

You remove the plenum before removing the AAC. You will never get the 2 air pipes off the back.


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

yea I think I got the three bolts out mate,it must be the larger hose. there is movement but its as if its either wedged in or been held back by something. the hardest part up to now has been removing hoses


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

thanks r32 combat


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

having made a monumental **** up im half way through doing the job again. one thing im stuck on though is wether any coolant passes through the inlet? ive removed the plenum, throttle bodies again and just don't want to remove the inlet itself without knowing wether I need to drop the coolant firt or not? ive searched all over looking for an answer to no avail


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## MS33 (Jun 27, 2007)

When I did mine, I replaced all the coolant and vacuum pipes. I was worried I'd disturb something and it would leak and need doing again.


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

ive sussed it now. I dropped the coolant and I will be replacing the vac pipes ect. an easy job to be honest, just time consuming. worst bit so far has been getting old hose clamps off and cleaning crappy gasket remains.


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