[lwhitetrash88l]

okay guys so everyone probably knows now thtat im changing my head gaskets....im only at the air intake manifold and i have a problem.....theres the four bolts up top and the bottom right hand one is broken off already as if someone tampered withit before. what do i do about it? and also what are the next step to remove the air intake manifold? oh! before i forget, in the haynes manual it instructs that i take the exhaust manifold off next. how can i do that while on flat ground cause it tells me to raise it on ramps....however....the car definently isnt in condition to be started?

[97TunedMustang]

You dont have to raise the car up to take off the exhaust manifolds, it'd just be easier that way.

also for the bolt thats broken off. just take the rest of them off and then remove the whole intake plenum assy. with the broken stud still in place. then once you have that out of the way just put a pair of vice grips on the stud and back it outa there. Thats assuming it broke off near the head of the bolt. if its somehow broke clean off inside lower part of the intake you may have to tap it out, which is no fun

[lwhitetrash88l]

yeah it broke off down by the bottom of the bolt where the threads start. there might hopefully be enough to grab onto though after i take the manifold off

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by lwhitetrash88l yeah it broke off down by the bottom of the bolt where the threads start. there might hopefully be enough to grab onto though after i take the manifold off

you have fun with that hope u have a tap and die kit. cuz ur going to be drilling that cock sucker out if it snapped its cuz its rusted\coroaded into the manifold cuz some one put muscle on it with out freeing it up with some penetration oil first or heating it a bit.

[stephen]

The broken bolt is apparently in the lower intake manifold.

Unless it comes out easily, which it probably won't, I would take it to the machine shop along with the heads and have them drill it out and tap it.

[RichM]

I concur, they should be able to get it out relatively easily for them. If you can't find one, find a local repair shop and ask where they get their machining done. If you try it and you screw it up... well, just don't if you haven't used a tap or bolt remover before.

oh, I hate to state the obvious... but you can always jack the car up one side at a time and put ramps under each wheel the exhaust is much easier to get to (but still not easy) from underneath.

you might want to put bolts going to the same type things in ziplock bags to keep them together. You can also spray some rust remover/liquid wrench in there so they can soak in that, they'll be nice and clean when you get back to them. If you stay organized, you're less likely to have a handful of "spare" bolts when you're done ;-)

Another thing... the haynes says to remove the rocker arms, IIRC, you don't have to. Just loosen them. And (as someone pointed out to me today) when you tighten those back up, the piston for each cylinder as you work on it should be at top dead center (TDC). There is more info on that here when you get to it. I have to go redo mine... I had heard something about this once before but totally forgot about it/didn't realize it applied to this car...

[lwhitetrash88l]

i didnt think TDC applied to our V6 motors?

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by lwhitetrash88l i didnt think TDC applied to our V6 motors?

no dude that wrong TDC on the v6 too dunno where u heard that but you were misinformed

[RichM]

I just did this, and what I found was that if you just watch the rocker arms, you can see when they lift. Most of the time they are "resting" (for lack of easier way to put it - i.e. the valves are closed) and that's when you torque them. It's easy to turn the alternator pully with a 23mm socket, and that will turn the crankshaft (if the belt is on, of course!).

all engines have TDC, and if you could easily tell where it was, I guess that would still be one way to set it. From doing it last night, I think it would be harder to tell where it is, because of the position of the spark plugs. This is just my opinion based on my experience last night, of course... the point is to torque the rocker pivots when the valves are closed, and you can easily observe when they are closed on the V6.

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by RichM I just did this, and what I found was that if you just watch the rocker arms, you can see when they lift. Most of the time they are "resting" (for lack of easier way to put it - i.e. the valves are closed) and that's when you torque them. It's easy to turn the alternator pully with a 23mm socket, and that will turn the crankshaft (if the belt is on, of course!). all engines have TDC, and if you could easily tell where it was, I guess that would still be one way to set it. From doing it last night, I think it would be harder to tell where it is, because of the position of the spark plugs. This is just my opinion based on my experience last night, of course... the point is to torque the rocker pivots when the valves are closed, and you can easily observe when they are closed on the V6.

hows the ride after we told yah how ot torque the rockers correctly?

[RichM]

Haven't started it back up yet. Bad news (maybe) is that when I adjusted each of them, they seemed to all be torqued ok. I loosened each with the valve closed, and then torqued it back (4 ft/lbs and then 21-29 ft/lbs), but it felt about the same as when I loosened it.

I'm wondering a little about the injectors though... I'm going to post a new thread rather than hijack this one though...

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by RichM Haven't started it back up yet. Bad news (maybe) is that when I adjusted each of them, they seemed to all be torqued ok. I loosened each with the valve closed, and then torqued it back (4 ft/lbs and then 21-29 ft/lbs), but it felt about the same as when I loosened it. I'm wondering a little about the injectors though... I'm going to post a new thread rather than hijack this one though...

keep it in the same thread bud it will be easer for us with the knowledge to help you to keep track of the series of events and suggestions.

[RichM]

ok then, here is from that thread...
I looked at my injectors last night. The electrical plugs all appear to be connecting ok, though I have not put white electrical goo in each like the haynes manual says to do on connectors, and some of the connectors look like they've seen a few miles. But as I said, they all appear connected and feel like they are making contact.

I checked the resistance on each, Haynes says 13.5 - 19 ohms, every single one of them reads exactly 15.

I did not change the o-rings on each when I replaced the gaskets, my helper said they didn't appear to need changing and they might be too hard to change if we tried. I have 6 new o-rings on my workbench...

The injector bodies have some mild discoloration and grime, not a lot, but I'm talking about how metal tends to look after a long time in the elements, if it's not rusting - corroded, but not to the point that it has actually eaten away anything. They're just not shiny silver, so you can tell they are old. But if they work, and if they're expensive, then what's the point in changing them??

I did try to remove one of the injectors from the rail. It didn't want to come off, and I didn't force it. I figured it was just a clip holding it on, and it would pop out, but there seems to be something else inside. Can they be tested if I can take them off? Is that a common thing for shops to do?

The rails are connected by grey rubber hoses. Do those hoses come off the rails? I don't want to break them by trying if they're not meant to be taken off - but if they come off, it would make removing the assembly much easier.

[RichM]

looks like these babies are about $67 each for new replacements... guess I'd better be careful with them...

[Juggalo_X]

dont buy new ones if they dont look fouled and they test ok then they should be fine.

[RichM]

ok.

do you have any hints about how to get to the exhaust header lower connections to the pipe? My hands don't fit down there from on top, and I'm not sure I can get to them with the bottom. I must be missing something....

another thing... when the engine was running before, it definately had a bit of a... wobble?... to it. Does that sound like one of the cylinders was not firing?

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by RichM ok. do you have any hints about how to get to the exhaust header lower connections to the pipe? My hands don't fit down there from on top, and I'm not sure I can get to them with the bottom. I must be missing something.... another thing... when the engine was running before, it definately had a bit of a... wobble?... to it. Does that sound like one of the cylinders was not firing?

wobble could be because timing was a bit off or the valves rockers were torqued improperly but u have resolved that. also could be from a fouled plug or a slightly dirty injector.... also o2 sensors did u replace them they will make a big difference in engine running and drive ability. and for the lower nuts on the manifold use an extension and a flex socket or flex adapter and then a normal socket... if not go from the bottom it is possible to do it from underneeth.

[RichM]

No I didn't replace o2 sensors. The one on the passenger side header (heated o2?) has a new (clean) looking plug on it, so it might be fairly new. Not sure about the other one.

[Juggalo_X]

Originally Posted by RichM No I didn't replace o2 sensors. The one on the passenger side header (heated o2?) has a new (clean) looking plug on it, so it might be fairly new. Not sure about the other one.

i just did hte o2 sensor on my escort and the damn thing idles like a dream now and no more engine shake.

[RichM]

really. Well maybe I'll look into that. I found some for $100 for the pair... I think I'll test them first...