Dang - so much for my memory, lol! Forgot you had an '06. Thought it was still an '03.

Sorry!

 

Napa has an intake manifold gasket set so I can just replace that doughnut seal today so I only need to lift the manifold enough to swap it out, but now I'm curious how hard it is to get the manifold gaskets to line up properly again and I'm also worried about dirt blowing down into the open holes as it's rather windy out today and I'd really prefer NOT to kill a cylinder or two. Any thoughts on this fellas?

https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/FPGMS96792

 

You just have to be super **** about how clean the valley is and especially between the valve cover and intake. Me personally, I would not take any chances and pull the turbo. It only takes a few minutes and makes everything more visible so you can see what you’re doing. If I wasn’t going to replace the intake gaskets then I may not pull the turbo and simply loosen the intake enough to replace the donut. But that wouldn’t require taking all the intake bolts completely out in the rear. Before you loosen anything use compressed air to blow out the valley. Possibly a few cans of brake klean if you have gunk.

 

Yeah this is going to suck lol. If it was summer it wouldn't be an issue, but being winter and only being able to access the engine bay from the sides and having to do it in just one day is going to be a challenge. Forecast is calling for a good dump of snow tomorrow and after that it's back to frigid temps so waiting for a replacement O ring is out of the question so I'll have to pay over $100 for the intake gasket kit, but at least that gives me a fighting chance of getting it all done today.







Ok, so I:

1. Drain coolant
2. Clean top of engine
3. Remove stainless intake elbow and get CAC tube out of the way
4. Remove cold air intake
5. Disconnect fuel bowl lines and zip tie them to prevent the nuts from sliding down
6. Loosen intake manifold bolts just enough to pry up manifold and swap the doughnut out
7. Make sure manifold gaskets are lined up properly then torque the bolts back down to spec and in sequence
8. Put everything back together and refill with coolant
9. Pray it doesn't leak

Would that be about it you think?

 

First off, the stator bolts are 15mm and there are 5 of them on my 03. The newer models only have 4. The intake manifold bolts are 8 or 10mm. Alternator bolts are 13mm. CAC tube clamps are 11mm. Fuel line mounting bolt is a 10mm. Rigid heater line bolt is 8mm. So you need 8, 10, 11, 13, 15.

If you're not removing the manifold, you only need to be able to lift it about 1/8" at the front, and:
1, No need to remove turbo even on an 03 that I can see.
2. The bolts have enough thread that they don't have to be completely unscrewed and will keep the gaskets in place, as they go through the gasket.
3. On a stock set-up, the only concern over fuel lines is the bolt that mounts the passenger side line to the front of the manifold.
4. It would be a good time to remove the stator and throw it in the trash. It would make getting to the donut a whole lot easier too.
5. You will want to either remove the hard heater line from the front cover, or at least remove the screw that mounts it to the manifold and bend the tab up and out of the way.

So the process is as follows:
1. Drain coolant
2. Remove air filter assembly
3. Remove driver's side CAC tube
4. Remove alternator
5. Remove top stator mounting bolts, and loosen lower ones
6. Remove fuel line bolt at front right of manifold
7. Remove rigid heater line bolt and bend tab
8. Blow the hell out of the areas on both sides of the intake manifold rails
9. Loosen intake manifold bolts just enough to pry up manifold and swap the doughnut out
10. Torque the bolts back down to spec and in sequence
11. Put everything back together and refill with coolant
12. Shake-off the frost bite.

 

LOL - you should try removing the (unmodified) '03 intake manifold with the turbo in place - not happening.

Quote from a flatrate tech:
..
So yeah - just break/cut a tab off (if deleted). Not recommended, unless the intake is already out! EDIT - So obviously, this applies to intakes that still have the EGR cooler mounting tab.

 

I am deleted, what is this tab I should break off? A picture would be helpful.

Thank you

 

SUPER SUPER helpful and will now search YT for a stator removal video.

Thank you

 

You have the later intake manifold, so it is not really applicable to you (more room without the crossover tube).

Here is a pic of the early intake (tab near the crossover tube) fwiw:

 

Gotcha 👍

You have an easy method for removing the stator by chance?

 

I have removed the fan and shroud together, but haven't had to do it in a long time.

Many people leave the stator off, so far no significant consequences have been identified.

Fan AND stator removal:
Remove the four 15mm bolts that go to the block: two on the bottom and two on the top.
Then you need to take a 1 7/8 wrench and take the fan nut loose. Disconnect the radiator hose.
Then unhook the wire connector going to the fan clutch.
Remove the whole fan and stator.

Alternate Inner Shroud Removal:
To remove the outer shroud first (easier possibly), remove the 9 plastic inserts (use a screwdriver or a specific tool for "popping" them out).
Loosen the radiator bolts ( x4 8mm).
Lean it forward and pull off the battery cable that runs along the cross member.
Then pull the radiator back towards the cross member and lift up on the outer shroud.
note: while removing the outer shroud, be careful of the nipple on the radiator that runs to the degas bottle.
Then remove the bolts (x4 15mm ) that hold the inner shroud (stator) to the motor.

 

Well there's only 4 hours of daylight left and the drivers side manifold area is crowded with fuel lines so there's no way I'm getting this done today which absolutely sucks!

This is where I'm at right now:

 

Also is there some fancy way of getting this red tab to lock in again cause I can't seem to get it to slide back over and I don't want to break the damned thing.

 

Also which fuel line am I removing?

 

Have you tried WD40?