Cooling parts replacement help needed

[cwhorley]

Does anyone know how to get to the back bolts on the coolant outlet that sits on the top of the intake? 1st the upper radiator hose blew. 2nd When replacing the upper radiator hose the coolant outlet crumbled in my hands. I bought that and a tstat housing to be safe and started to put them on. 3rd that damn coolant outlet on top of the intake lost it's flange. Now I can't get to the back two bolts. I bought 8mm ratcheting wrenches but still no. Do I have to remove the part behind the throttle body? What is that? If I take it off do I need another gasket?

 

[joegr]

The "book" says that you have to remove the intake manifold to change that part out, but I thought it was possible without doing that.

 

[cwhorley]

I thought so too. This is a nightmare.

 

[scjmc]

You need an 8MM crows foot. I am currentlly trying to locate one locally without luck. Advance and Sears only doen to 10MM. I think someone on here said that harbor freight has them.

 

[chocolat1701]

yup i did this you have to remove the throttle body assembly and also dont reuse any of the gaskets for the housing i did that and it started leaking and wet my belt that ran and took my ac compressor, altinator and a bearing with it. so save yourself and get new gaskets for like 10 bucks.

 

[cwhorley]

I bought new gaskets. Thanks. I removed the piece that the throttle body mounts to and I have access now. BUT WAIT! It's been a while but should there be a puddle of oil in the intake? If no, what am I facing here?

 

[cwhorley]

Correction. The back bolts on the coolant outlet on the engine does require removal of the upper intake. The bolts are too long and they hit the bottom of the upper intake. Starting a new thread to figure out removal of the upper intake and why there's oil in the upper intake.

 

[joegr]

... Starting a new thread to figure out removal of the upper intake and why there's oil in the upper intake.

It was probably sucked in by the PCV system. You might want to check for excessive blow-by.

 

[cwhorley]

It was probably sucked in by the PCV system. You might want to check for excessive blow-by.

Blow by as in need rings? I'll wipe it out as soon as I figure out how to get it out and replace the pcv valve. Could I be looking at bigger issues?

 

[Jim Henderson]

Correction. The back bolts on the coolant outlet on the engine does require removal of the upper intake. The bolts are too long and they hit the bottom of the upper intake. Starting a new thread to figure out removal of the upper intake and why there's oil in the upper intake.

I did this replacement a year or so back. I did have to remove the Throttle body but did not remove the intake although I was almost ready to do it. I really didn't want to so tried one last thing...

You can get the rear two bolts out but it is a REAL PITA and if your bolts are a tiny bit longer than mine, then I bet you are screwed.

You just have to get an open end or maybe box wrench in there and turn it about 1/8 turn at a time, PITA like I said. Eventually the bolt becomes loose and wobbly and at that point it is no longer engaged with the threads of the top of the block. MAYBE then You can then wiggle and twist and tilt it til they come out.

Mine were removed this way but I wouldn't care do it on a regular basis. I should have, and you should now, cut off maybe just 1/16 inch of the bolt so it no longer hits the bottom of the intake, before you reinstall them. They are only a little bit too long so that is why I was able to remove mine with much sweat. BUT, dimensional tolerances and component stack up might go against you and the bolts will still be stuck. But no great loss since you had to unscrew them anyway, just a pita.

I don't know if this way is easier than pulling the intake, but I really didn't want to go thru the trouble of removing everything and making sure I had a good seal, plus I didn't think I could get a gasket set on a Sunday.

It can be done, maybe, but it is a chore.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

[Gus_Mahn]

I did this replacement a year or so back. I did have to remove the Throttle body but did not remove the intake although I was almost ready to do it. I really didn't want to so tried one last thing...

You can get the rear two bolts out but it is a REAL PITA and if your bolts are a tiny bit longer than mine, then I bet you are screwed.

You just have to get an open end or maybe box wrench in there and turn it about 1/8 turn at a time, PITA like I said. Eventually the bolt becomes loose and wobbly and at that point it is no longer engaged with the threads of the top of the block. MAYBE then You can then wiggle and twist and tilt it til they come out.

Mine were removed this way but I wouldn't care do it on a regular basis. I should have, and you should now, cut off maybe just 1/16 inch of the bolt so it no longer hits the bottom of the intake, before you reinstall them. They are only a little bit too long so that is why I was able to remove mine with much sweat. BUT, dimensional tolerances and component stack up might go against you and the bolts will still be stuck. But no great loss since you had to unscrew them anyway, just a pita.

I don't know if this way is easier than pulling the intake, but I really didn't want to go thru the trouble of removing everything and making sure I had a good seal, plus I didn't think I could get a gasket set on a Sunday.

It can be done, maybe, but it is a chore.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

Points up. Same process here. I had to pry up a little on the intake to get the bolts out, but I didn't pull the intake on my '03 LS8.

 

[cwhorley]

I haven't removed the intake completely yet. I removed the bolts and pried it up in the front. Having not removed it completely do you think the gaskets are still toast and I should remove it completely for new gaskets or will it be ok? The car has just under 100k miles if that means anything.