B14 Intake Manifold + RR Valve Cover
When I was installing the top portion of the B14 intake manifold (along with the throttle body) today, I discovered what has been a known issue for a while.
What happens is that the B14 intake manifold puts the throttle body closer to the valve cover. In addition the roller rocker engine valve cover juts out just a bit more than a standard SR20DE valve cover. This causes the rod that the throttle plate connects into to rub against the valve cover. Not only will the scratch up an non coated valve cover, but it would quickly rub the finish on a painted or powder coated valve cover (which I planned to do).
A secondary problem to this is that the roller rocker valve cover has the PCV closer to the distributer side of the valve cover. The standard DE valve cover has the PCV located right next to the oil fill cap. I call this a secondary problem because you can still run the roller rocker valve cover with a custom hose from the PCV to the intake manifold. However, since I want things to look as stock as possible, I want to run a factory PCV hose.
The throttle body rubbing issue can be solved in a few ways:
- Use Outlaw Engineering thermobloc spacers. These will move the intake manifold further away from the valve cover, providing more clearance.
- Use a regular DE valve cover. This will allow for better clearance of the throttle body. In addition it will allow you to use the factory PCV hose from a B14, since the PCV is in a different location.
Note: A regular SR20DE valve cover will fit on a roller rocker engine, but a roller rocker engine valve cover will not fit on a regular SR20DE.