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Message: [QUOTE="therabbittree, post: 749191, member: 10218"] Doing your own intake is A LOT of work.. lol. There is a lot of ridges on the roof of the intake that have to come off and those ridges extend into the mouth area. Also the alternator supports need to welded up on the inside, your fan stator bolt stands need to be cut out and welded shut, the egr housing is a big restriction too, and cutting that out is fun too. I would recommend leaving the floor humps in and counter sinking the floor to let the bolts sit into the floor. I built a jig to keep mine flat and the jig warped. So I had to rebuild it and really reinforce it. Make sure your jig allows for welding underneath the front / mouth area of the intake. I had to modify my jig again for this. I recommend preheating it if you are going to mig it. I don't recommend using the mig without preheating , trust me. I think Tig is the best process to use. You need it[B][U] really clean[/U][/B]! there is ALOT of casting contamination in the aluminum. Also be careful your sanding and grinding doesn't contaminate your weld area, its takes a lot of heat to melt up those contaminates and reclean it to get a nice weld. Some of the other posters here already mentioned heat is what causes the warping, and its also needed to weld correctly, so you need to be real careful in how you do it. I'm a diy guy and I am on my second manifold due to learning mistakes. I can post up some other pictures later. Also I recommend using ORB plugs to access the bolts. seals well and no issues from pipe thread in aluminum. Also I recommend Pressure testing the intake! It is very important, and will save lots of headaches in the future. I am currently rewelding this intake with tig now due to mig welding without preheat. [ATTACH=full]114533[/ATTACH] ORB Boss plugs [ATTACH=full]114534[/ATTACH] Alternator supports filled and top ridges cut out [ATTACH=full]114535[/ATTACH] Floor humps left in, posts cut out, and holes countersunk [ATTACH=full]114536[/ATTACH] Pressure testing the intake, I found lots of air bubbles with soapy water. I'm fixing them now.. [ATTACH=full]114537[/ATTACH] Link to my build thread on Powerstroke .org. My mistakes hopefully will help some one , and save them lots of aggravation. [url]http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/6-0l-ford-excursion-discussion/403050-05-excursion-cab-driveway-build.html[/url] Thanks, Deo [/QUOTE]