So I am thinking about taking this job on my self and not looking forward too it. Over the next few weeks I will be doing lots of research but hoping to get some sound advice and a good heading from other members who have attempted it. Being a 97 reg cab I plan on replacing the manifold gaskets and the little rubber bushing that hold the linkage.

Right now the fault I keep getting is that the IMRC is in the open position so I am assuming its a vacuum leak or just really gummed up.

Prior to jumping into this I want to make sure I have all the currect parts on hand along with a good idea of all the steeps and torque specs to make sure I do it right the first time.

 

Hey CBR, hey im just a backyard novice here, and I just did my intake gaskets. I dont know how much help this'll be cuz Ive got a 2000 f150 4.2 v6 and their probably different. but any way when i was able to remove my intake I was able to leave the imrc right on and remove the whole thing thank god cuz it was a @#$#$ getting to that one bolt. ther were four imrc bushings on mine and one of them was busted right gone, dont know what position it was in . the other three were so dry rotted that they just crumbled right off with little pressure. I had a mechanic tell me at the auto store that i probably only notice a little difference in acceleration. These little bushings costs 8.10 a piece at ford and I got a whole pack of 5 for like 7 bucks, but they were pretty brittle too the first one broke on my first try putting it back together. I kinda wish ida bought the pricier ones.
any ways, let me know if this info is any help, maybee or maybee not so I dont bother with any unnecessary info

 

Thank you for the advice. How did the truck respond to the new gaskets and bushings.

I plan on replacing the bushings
Upper and lower manifold gasket
Thermostat
Vacuum lines

And any thing else that is recommended to be replaced while I am there.

 

truck runs way better, tighter. definately more responsive. the trucks gettin up in age and seems my preventive maintenance is getting more frequent. I just recently fixed my exhaust too so that contributed to the performance. you said your imrc bushing is rubber?, I wish mine were. I was quite surprised to learn that i had been driving my truck without one of the control arms actuating the runner theres no telling how long its been. as cheap as those bushings were i wouldnt be surprised if they break again so ill have to watch out.
I only had two issues doing my IMG, when I re-connectied the fuel rail, I should have released the pressure within the rail using the schrader valve, I didnt do that when i disc, i just rambo- ed the connections and let fuel spill out, any way, due to the pressure it was difficult to press the rails ONTO the injectors, once i re-connected the fuel lines the pressure released allowing the rail to seat properly. I also snapped one of the rail bolts off in the intake, those i didnt clean out, i was lucky enough to grab it with some locks and get it out.
All in all is was kinda passifying I had to do outside in my driveway and temperatures were 35 deg., that sucked

 

What tool did you use on the fuel rails to disconnect the fuel lines?

 

Fuel line separator kit I had purchased back in the day workers like a charm I almost forgot I had one

 

I also did this repair recently, it was not a big deal and I'm no mechanic. New valve cover gaskets, intake plenum gaskets, throttle body gasket, isolator bolts, (had new IMRC bushings but mine were fine so I didn't change them). Also removed the fuel rail and test fired all my fuel injectors then replaced their o-rings (which you should always do if you pull the injectors, so order new o-rings if you plan to do that). To disconnect the fuel lines I got one of the cheap-o 4-in-1 tools (5/16" through 5/8") that's kinda shaped like an X, and it worked fine. You will want to clean the top of the engine and blow the crap away from the bottom of the fuel injectors with compressed air before you pull them out, or all that crap will go down in your valves and into the cylinders. It's much easier to pull the entire fuel rail off with the injectors, and when you put it back in, do it the same way, with injectors attached to the fuel rail. Test them all for resistance before putting them back in. There's YouTube videos for 9V battery on/off and spraying cleaner through them. Flush the fuel rail itself when the injectors are off.

Once you put the fuel rail and injectors back on, hook the fuel lines up and turn the key on to test for leaks. If you fail to do this, and you put everything back together, you will cuss up a storm if you have a leak. Don't ask how I know this.

You will want some spray gel engine degreaser and a toothbrush or brass brush. But try not to get crud in the intake ports... stuff rags in each one. Clean your throttle body while you have it off if you haven't lately. Same goes for the MAF sensor.

You may also want to have a dental pick tool to carefully clean the crud from the intake EGR ports. The mouth of the oriface gets oily crud in it. Then blow them out with compressed air when clean. You might want to remove the EGR and blow air up that passage too.

My PCV valve mounts into the throttle body and the o-ring that seals it to the throttle body was hard and smashed tight so I got a new one.

After doing all that my O2 sensors worked a lot better (solved my untraceable vacuum leak) and my short term fuel trim numbers where back where they should be, no longer running lean. Idles about 300 rpm slower than it used to, which is nice. And my gas mileage jumped about 3 mpg.

Definitely worth doing! I mainly did all this with my 1/4" socket set and used both regular and deep well metric sockets. Needed a swivel once. And you probably already have a torque wrench that reads inch/lbs. I also used a lot of zip ties to help hold things back out of the way, and to retie the harness to the fuel rail (you have to cut the factory zip ties off to take the fuel rail off)

Have you found the web site where the guy chronicled this repair in pictures from start to finish? It's very helpful.

 

Thanks for the detailed instructions and advice. I did watch a video on youtube showing the brake down and it didn't look too bad.

I know there are apparently some differences in the 4.2 mainly with the plastic manifold and the metal one. Mine is a 97 so it has the metal upper and lower.

I didn't think about checking the injectors or replacing the valve cover gaskets but your right it would probably be a smart idea while I am right there.

And really good advice on testing the fuel system before putting it all back. That should be common sense but I am sure I would have over looked it and probably smacked myself latter on.