Volvo Intake Manifold Gasket - Genuine Volvo 31430420

Product Information

An engine intake manifold gasket seals the intake manifold to the cylinder head. Its primary job is to ensure that all metered air that has been taken in through the air intake system is delivered to the engine without any air being lost through a leak at the manifold to the cylinder head connection. It also keeps any unmetered air, dirt, and debris from entering the intake manifold to the cylinder head connection.

On older vehicles and engines, these are usually flat gaskets made of paper or similar composite materials, or may occasionally be a multi-layer metal gasket. On newer vehicles, they are often made of rubber or similar elastomer materials. An engine intake manifold gasket may be a single-piece part that will seal all of the intake runners to the cylinder head or a singular gasket that is used multiple times on a per-cylinder basis. The color, shape, and materials can vary depending on the brand, manufacturer, and application, but are often orange and orange/brown, or green.

It is common practice to replace the engine intake manifold gasket any time that you have the intake manifold removed from the cylinder head. This ensures that when you assemble the intake system, it is free of leaks or other issues. This is especially important on turbocharged or supercharged engines that have positive manifold pressures above the atmospheric pressure.

• Air leaks: Over time, your intake manifold gasket will degrade because of heat, vibration, and exposure to oils and other solvents. Paper or composite gaskets can begin to break down and chunk apart. Rubber gaskets can become hard and brittle. This can let dirt and debris in but is more likely to cause an air intake flow fault or CEL.
• Swelling / Damage from external sources: Cleaners, solvents, and other chemicals such as brake clean can cause rubber and other elastomers to swell and cause issues.
• Loss of elasticity: Eventually the rubber or material will harden and lose its elasticity, eventually becoming brittle and easily damaged. These gaskets will appear completely flat and will not reseal at all if they are reused.
• Check Engine Light: Excessive unmetered air from a bad intake manifold gasket can result in a CEL for an air intake leak fault or other airflow-related diagnostic trouble codes.
• Misfire: A severe air intake leak can cause rough running and an engine misfire.
• Oil residue: Because the positive crankcase ventilation system feeds air that may oil vapor into the intake to be burned during combustion, it is common for a bad or failed intake manifold gasket to result in oil residue on or around the intake manifold.

About Genuine Volvo

The original parts used by Volvo to build your car are available as replacement parts under the “Genuine Volvo” brand. Manufactured under the direction of Volvo, expect excellent quality and a premium price since these parts are exclusively available through the Volvo Dealership network.

You may not realize this, but the parts that make up your Volvo are not necessarily manufactured by Volvo. No cause for concern, as Volvo designs the part, hires a manufacturer, and ensures its quality to you. In fact, many of these manufacturers have been making parts for Volvo for decades. In our industry these manufacturers are called OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers), and these are often brands you recognize, including Lemforder, ZF, Sachs, Bosch, Valeo, Zimmermann, Siemens VDO, Corteco, and more. Don’t be surprised to open that Genuine Volvo parts box and find an OEM branded part inside, simply with the addition of a Volvo logo.

Be sure to keep an eye out for OE tags on our product pages to quickly identify parts coming direct from OE manufacturers. That extra bit of insight could save you some serious money while shopping! Refer to our OE Academy for further information regarding the OE/OEM tags throughout the site.