I'm referring to the steel bracked that attaches on the back of the block and to the under side of the intake manifold. Is it safe to run without this bracket? Mine is totally in the way of my new oil cooler setup and I would like to ditch it, but I dont want my manifold to crack.

Anyone running without this piece in place??

 

yep its okay to run with out it, its just a brace.

 

thats how i got my b18a, and i know of a few ppl running without em too, just dont go standing on your intake manifold and stomping on it and you will be fine.

 

im not using the brace, havent had any problems

 

forgot about it after getting the swap done, but its fine.

 

my brace was holding the mani too high when i did my mpfi swap, causing massive vaccum leaks. It went bye-bye. no problems

 

Think of it as "weight reduction", don't put it back on... It's a pain to get on and off, and it will save you about 4 LBS, WOW, you'll prob drop .3 off your time...!!!

I've had no ill effects by not using it, after I swapped to MPFI..