just did mine. 22 bucks for both with tax at the dealer. Took 40 min using the short route. Sealed up great, stopped the oil leak, and cleared the P171 and P174 codes. Thanks for the great post.

 

Twenty-two dollars?!! I paid less than five dollars for both O-rings at a dealership in Greensboro, NC in January 2010. I continue to shake my head at these dealership prices all over the map. It pays to shop around if you have multiple dealerships in your area....

 

Just a quick question - what is IMT and do I have it on my v8 4.2?

Cheers
Dave

 

IMT = Intake Manifold Tuner Valves. Only the V6 engines have them, so no worries for you....

 

I think I paid $7-8 for both here in Broomfield at Sill-Terhar.

 

I had given an alternative to going to the dealer in the OP. Motorcarsltd less than $4.00 ea.

 

I ordered the O-rings from using the link that was posted at the start of this thread. Motorcars ltd. However, on the website they clearly state, "Our O-rings are black NOT green" Heck I bought them anyway. With that in mind, should I use a silicone lubricant on these black ones? I realize the recommendation is NOT to lubricate the green ones, but....? This may have been addressed in this thread already, but it is such a long thread I just scanned to see if I could find the issue discussed and may have overlooked it. Thoughts?

 

Not sure funjag, call motorcars and ask if the black IMT O-rings need any type of lube.

 

More importantly, find out if the black IMT O-rings are the same shape and design as the new-and-improved green ones. If the black ones are duplicates of the original yellow ones, then they will fail just like the yellow ones do because they will not be thick enough to form and hold a tight seal. Comparing a green one to a yellow one side-by-side will clearly show you why the yellow ones all eventually fail....

 

Mine a 03 2.5 W/ 150k

I had replaced uppers @ 100k along with plugs, brake booster line all parts from the dealer and work was done by me. At 150k it was running so bad I couldn't use it. I ordered on-line all the parts(upper/lower "o-rings",valve cover/grommets)I had a good mechanic do the work along with plugs and a oil change (10w30 Amsoil/wicks filter). It runs great, just have to wait for the computer to relearn so the gas mileage returns.The parts were bought from Parts Geek at a fraction of the cost($10.00upper $14.00lower per SET) as I paid the first time. I figure I saved more than half price and didn't lift a finger. We'll see.

 

Force a relearn by disconnecting battery 5 mins.

 

Well, I just finished installing the black IMT O-rings. I opted not to lubricate them as there is still enough oil residue left in the Intake to coat them HAHAHAHAHA... Anyway, it went so smoothly I am scratching my head and asking myself, "What did I forget." It was definitely a good snug fit going back in than when I was taking the valves out. I have to believe that is due to a good seal being made with the black O-rings. My old yellow ones were "flatter" and were hard as could be. We'll see. If these black ones don't do the trick I will return to warn others against them. Thanks to all who chimed in.
Oh and my cabin air filter......OH MY WORD that thing was disgusting!!! Got a new one and cleaned all that stuff out from down in that well. I am breathing better already. :-)

 

WTG funjag, congrats!

BTW thanks for the thanks.

 

Jag V8

Thanks, I must have had a aneurysm I should have thought of that, I went right on to scanner and dadadadadad instead of the kiss theory,(keep it simple stupid).

 

No worries. It woulda got there eventually.

 

Just joined the forum, making this my 1st official post outside of new user introductions. I just wanted to say thank you for a fantastic write-up and clear directions.

Based on my own observations and take-aways after following through with IMT seal replacement, I would like to add certain things I wished I did/didn't do...

1. Wish I DIDN'T lubricate green O-rings
I'm accustomed to assembling seals with lubricant to facilitate seating and lower friction installation...problem with these seals is the "green" is just a thin coating, and it easily came off after oil was applied, revealing the buna-N underneath.

2. Wish I DID thoroughly clean the IMT valves / IMT ports
I was fighting daylight and did not thoroughly clean the IMT ports / IMT valves. Both had a very small residual amount of previous O-ring "yellow" sealing compound left which I ignored..

3. Wish I DID thoroughly degrease the IMT valves / IMT ports
A by-product of observation from #2 above.

Why?
Needless to say, after new valve seals were replaced, the lower IMT valve still leaked vacuum, as evident by the presence of oil on the lower IMT valve.

I will likely repeat this procedure next week and replace IMT O-rings again. If other users have some insight and can confirm / disprove my observations, such input would be highly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Alex

 

As you learned the hard way, DO NOT use any lubricant on your new IMT O-rings. DO take the time to clean the residual oil out of the valve chambers. Some absorbant old rags will typically do the trick. Once you've mopped up the oil you see, wrap a rag around an old pencil or a popsicle stick and use that as your final wipe-up tool to go after the oil you may not be able to see....

And no worries - the IMT O-rings are inexpensive enough not to cause you any concern for muffing it on your first attempt. Now you know, and the second time should be the charm for you. Let us know....

 

I did one of mine twice because it looked like it was still leaking a little when I had the intake off. I was able to clean it better with the intake manifold off.

 

Will do! By the way, buna is only rated to 350F at best, and has long-term thermoset. Has anyone attempted replacing these seals with double-lip silicone seals that maintain long term properties and are less prone to thermosetting?

Alex

 

Installing the lower IMT valve required a bit more maneuvering, and at least in my case, could seemingly only be done with the upper IMT valve still out. You have stated "could not re-install", I'm assuming you were able to remove it?