There is no doubt this job is about having the right tools and the right approach. This job is made way easier with coolant clamps so invest in a set, and they will pay for themselves in beer as your buddies borrow them.
Also to be fair I have been wrenching cars for almost 40 years . I decided instead of rewriting the process as its been done , I will give some tips to make this job go fast and make it less miserable.
if you don't skip any of these steps you will be fine , and use them in conjunction with already existing DIYs.
1. use your coolant clamps to take off the two coolant lines to the coolant reservoir and drain it for use later ( I used a plastic ice cream container ). unclip sensor and one screw removes the reservoir.
2. 2 torx and one triple square releases the coolant pipe on top, then go to passenger side and unclip the harness for the cam adjuster and anything else on that side , and the coolant sensor underneath. mine came of easy, cut tie wraps as this wiring harness has to move freely to make your job easier.
3. 1 clamp removes vacuum line from vacuum pump. carefully pull plastic line from firewall and move entire line forward and out of the way .
4. 3 torx screws removes the vacuum pump , some people use a fancy slim ratchet but I found a torx allen key worked well, the one with the grounds is a bit trickey but some patience pays off. once the pump is off you can check it for leaks.
5. reach down with a long slotted and release the spring clip for the lower hose. then just lean on it with your weight and rock it back and forth, you will slowly feel it rock more and more then it will give up and fly off
6. number 8 triple square gets off the flange by feel . passenger side was easy drivers side bolt was a bit trickier as I used a small extension with a wobble end and I could angle up from under the firewall.
7. when flange releases leave the coolant clamp line on and pull flange up drivers side ( the rubber hose will bend and move as you have the coolant line loosened off, just be carful about evap plastic line to the n-80, move around it carefully. Now you can release that clamp with ease, mark the registration of the flange so your new one is clocked the same way .
its now out ... now put the new one on and put it all back .. if you put the new flange on clocked exactly as the old one onto the coolant line and bend it back into position .. the coolant hose will hold everything in place perfectly while you put the bolts back in.
and now for the results .. was my leak really the flange or something else ... drum roll please,...
[IMG]
[/IMG]umm yeah .. I had to go back actually after comparing mine to my new one, pulled out the " extra piece. "
its all back together with the exception of the pain in the ass ground bracket that goes on the lower vacuum pump screw and to coolant tank , so about another half hour of work.
so don't be intimidated by this , just get the right tools and take as much off as you can before you go after the actual flange. I even had a Viton 53 by 2.5 mm oring for my pump.
good luck.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by allstock
Bookmarks