Ford's 302 engine was equipped with a pair of one-piece valve-cover gaskets and four intake manifold gaskets. Because the engine was designed in the mid-1960s, the valve cover gaskets were made of cork and the intake manifold gaskets were made of compressed paper rather than from synthetic materials. The gaskets are fairly durable, but both are susceptible to leaks if given enough time. Fortunately, removing the old gaskets is a fairly straightforward job.
Pull the circular breather cap off of the top of the valve cover.
Remove the six bolts that secure the valve cover to the top of the cylinder head with a socket wrench.
Tap on one end of the valve cover gently with a rubber mallet to dislodge the valve cover.
Pull the valve cover gasket off of the interior lip of the cover.
Remove any remaining gasket material from the interior lip of the valve cover with a gasket scraper.
Drain the coolant from the radiator by loosening the plug at the base of the radiator with a pair of pliers until the coolant flows out of the center of the plug.
Loosen the hose clamp that secures the tip of the upper radiator hose to the front of the intake manifold with a screwdriver, then pull the hose off of the manifold.
Loosen the hose clamp that secures the tip of the short water pump hose to the front of the intake manifold with a screwdriver, then pull the hose off of the manifold.
Loosen the hose clamp that secures the heater hose to the top of the intake manifold with a screwdriver, then pull the hose off of the manifold.
Pull the temperature gauge wire off of the top of the temperature sending unit. The sending unit is a circular piece located toward the front of the intake manifold on the driver's side.
Compress the two tips of the clamp that secures the fuel line to the carburetor together with pliers, then position the clamp away from the carburetor and pull the hose off of the carburetor.
Remove each of the carburetor's four retaining nuts with a socket wrench. The nuts are located at the corners of the bottom of the carburetor.
Raise the carburetor off of the manifold.
Remove the 12 bolts that secure the intake manifold to the engine with a socket wrench and lift the manifold off of the engine. Six bolts are located on each side of the manifold.
Pull the four manifold gaskets off of the underside of the manifold.
Remove any remaining gasket material with a gasket scraper.
