Removing intake manifold...

[Romanova]

How the hell do you do this? Is there an easy way to get to all the bolts on the underside? Seems like everything is in the way... starter, AC compressor, hoses, wires... at my wits end here...

 

I've done this PITA job when I had the stock mani/ac etc.

This list is by no means complete but its off of memory:
Remove the fuel rail and IC piping. Drain the coolant since the throttle body is coming off (unless your lines are looped). Unhook coil and stuff but they don't have to come off. Take off all top bolts, take off all bottom bolts that are easy to reach. Cuss at 4 others. Drink a beer. Cuss some more. Go out and buy ratcheting box end wrenches (I did it the first time without them so it can be done) if you can. Remove the support bracket on the intake manifold to block. Manuver your hand over and over again to get the other 4 bolts loose with an open end. I couldn't get a socket on the tough ones because even if I did I couldn't turn it.

It sucks in there. It's very tight, easy to drop sh*t and dark. It took me 6 hours to R&R the first time. Now that my AC is gone and I have the magnus it's a sub 1 hr R&R job. Make sure to replace the intake manifold gasket while you are in there and pull the AC compressor if you want. No easier way than when the mani is already off.

Good luck!

 

[ken inn]

first, and foremost, disconnect the battery. you WILL hit the power cable to the starter, and sparks WILL fly. next, try to remove the surge tank bracket(under the manifold, braces it to the block). there are 3 bolts on this, i think they are all 14mm wrench size, and it is hard to get leverage. i had to get at the top 2 from under the car, with really long extensions. watch out for the knock sensor, it is clipped on that bracket in a wierd way. also, if you are still running all the vacuum lines, i feel for you, cause they all join on that bracket. you WILL cuss that sucker, and the mitsu engineers. removing that bracket gives better access to the lower nuts, which are the hardest. after all the peripheral stuff is removed, take off the 2 end bolts, and 2 of the 4 nuts on the top row. leave 2 of them on, but back them off at least half way. the only way to get at the bitch nut, lower row, left end, is from the left side. i got this really skinny box wrench from a bmw tool kit that works perfect, i also have use a swivel socket and extension, 1/4 in drive. you just need to loosen it, cause the bottom of the manifold prevents it from coming off. the other 3 are accessible from the right side of the car, and are easier to loosen. get them all loose, then tilt the manifold upward, and you can get them all off. the top 2 nuts hold the manifold as you tilt it. the 2 top nuts will be the last ones to come off. i have never been able to reattach the surge tank bracket.

 

I was able to get at everything from the top with a standard craftsman combo wrench but it was a bitch. And do as Ken says, disconnect the battery. I always do that when working on the car no matter what. It only takes a second.

 

[Romanova]

Battery is gone, TB is off, fuel rail is off, injectors are off, removed all the emissions stuff so the vaccum lines are gone. Hopefully I can get the rest out tonight.
Will sure be able to change the knock sensor.

Thanks guys!

 

[turbowop]

Why are you pulling the intake anyway, Tyler? You get something different?

 

[Romanova]

Dear God,
Hi, it's me again. Why do you hate me?

What a pain in the ass this is. Those bolts are cursed. All I accomplished tonight was removing that surge tank bracket. Air rachet made quick work of that. Try again tomorrow night.

Mark, replacing the gasket, knock sensor, new powdercoated intake, your old 550s, powdercoated fuel rail, general cleaning, etc, etc. So much going on with this damn car...

 

[number3]

Gearwrench wrenches, quality swivel head sockets, and a mirror are what you need to pull an intake off AND still have some sanity left.

Harry

 

[ken inn]

yo, tyler, you work at a bmw dealer, right? snatch one of the 12 x 13mm heyco box wrenches out of one of the tool kits in the trunk of a bmw. the 12mm end is really thin, and works great on those lower nuts. actually, all those wrenches in the tool kit are really slim, and i have a set in my toolbox, they have saved the day several times.

 

Everyone has pretty much mentioned the tips for removing the intake manny. Time, perserverence and patience are all good things to have for this job. If you think removing a 1G USDM manifold ("ECI Multi") is fun, give the Cyclone manifold a shot some time. The longer of the two sets of runners come much farther down and block off quite a bit of space in front of the flange bolts. I had to bust out my monkey-boy, Chineese contortionist skills for that job. At one point I was laying on/in the engine bay with my hand squeezed into a place it physically never should have fit into. *refrain from crude sexual joke Nate; REFRAIN!*

 

[ken inn]

i gave up and disassembled the cyclone. it was easy then, just a lot of nuts. also, i removed the 2 long studs, and replaced them with bolts. i have reused the gaskets i made 3 times now, i just coat them with hylomar on both sides. with the first 2 parts off, the last part that bolts to the head is really easy to get off/on.