98 Lesabre fuel rail, throttle cables,etc. removal during intake removal

[scederas]

Hi. 98 Lesabre Custom. I have the famous coolant leak around the plenum, etc..
I am in the process of removing the fuel rail in order to remove the plenum.
I have discharged the pressure in the fuel system. There is a fuel line that lays across the plenum from the back side of the plenum closest to the firewall over to the front side of the plenum and it attaches to the bottom of the pressure regulator.
I am at a loss as to how I disconnect the line. I am attaching a photo that shows what I am talking about. I do not want to damage anything so I am at a stopping point until I have the information needed to remove this.

Additionally there is a torx bolt that secures the fuel rail to the intake....do I try to turn the torx bit or do I turn the nut at the base of it....picture attached.

Finally, can I just remove the throttle body from the plenum so I do not have to remove the throttle cables and just leave that assembly laying loose and then secure it to the new plenum after the new plenum is installed. I do not know how to remove the throttle cables . Photo attached
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Sam in Cary, NC.

[scederas]

Okay so I got the upper air plenum off and WOW....now I got to take off the lower intake manifold....just posting picture updates......

[scederas]

Ok....I am now stuck. I CANNOT get the lower intake manifold off. I took all the bolts off EXCEPT for the 4 studs with hex drives. I have attached a picture. These are the studs that you screw down the upper intake with ....but these are studs screwed in to the lower intake.....DO THEY HOLD HOLD THE LOWER INTAKE DOWN ALSO????

[Tech II]

No, those studs are just for holding the fuel rail.....

Did you get the two "hidden" bolts? Facing the engine, look at the upper left hand corner and the lower right hand corner......these are the two areas where the coolant "pools"......if there is oil/coolant in there, remove it and you will find the two bolts...

[scederas]

BINGO !!! I found those two bolts accidentally this afternoon when I was sopping up the puddled up coolant. I had just gotten through removing the belt tensioner and was stumped .....so I decided to clean up the coolant that had collected in two pools and THAT IS WHEN I FOUND THEM.

To my surprise the valley was pretty clean .... I took the intake to the carwash and highpressure washed the heck out of it and it looks night/day different.

I will post some more pictures tomorrow but unfortunately I will not be able to post any pictures of the lower intake removed before I cleaned it.

Thanks all....the saga continues...

[scederas]

Just wanted to show the location of the two bolts that were hidden by the puddle of liquid that had collected on top of my lower intake manifold.
This was driving me crazy and once I removed the liquid buildup I then saw the bolts.

[scederas]

Got a question .......what is the rectangular shaped box below the egr pipe called?
The gasket set I have does not include a gasket for that.


Google search with the number on the cover 24503123 calls it a coolant bypass....not sure what that is for but that is what it is .

[enslow]

Originally Posted by scederas

Got a question .......what is the rectangular shaped box below the egr pipe called?
The gasket set I have does not include a gasket for that.


Google search with the number on the cover 24503123 calls it a coolant bypass....not sure what that is for but that is what it is .

It is a coolant bypass. I'm also not sure exactly what it's for either. The GM LIM gasket kit contained a gasket for this, so I changed the gasket when I did my 97 Lesabre. My 99 Lesabre, which had gaskets done before I bought the car, did not have that gasket changed. That gasket is now leaking.

[enslow]

Originally Posted by scederas

...
To my surprise the valley was pretty clean .... I took the intake to the carwash and highpressure washed the heck out of it and it looks night/day different.
...

Why didn't I think of that.....

[scederas]

I bought the GM Brand elbow from Hendrick today and the coolant bypass gasket. Now I have everything to start putting it back together.

I also borrowed my friend torque wrench...mine does not go down low enough.

I don't mean to carry on like a soap opera...it is just that I want to share my whole experience so that it might help someone else some day.

I am so thankful for this forum. It rocks !!!

[happydog500]

Remember there is "updated" torque specs. Make sure you have the right ones.
Chris.

[scederas]

UPDATE: I contacted Hendrick this morning and the GM part number is 9440227 and it is only $4. Going by later today to pick it up.
UPDATE 2: Got the bolt. Threads are the same however the drive is 10mm. The length of the bolt and the threads matched up. Worked fine.


I am looking for a the part number for one of the 12
3/8drive lower intake manifold bolts.

It seems that I have lost one of them and it is driving me crazy.

Anyway.... if anyone can tell me the part number so I can see if I can get one from GM locally.

THANKS.

[scederas]

So I got the upper and lower intake manifolds back on. I also replaced the valve cover gaskets.

I got an issue now where the NEW pcv valve is not going on properly. Has anyone else ever had a problem putting a new pcv valve on a new Dorman Upper Intake Manifold?

I have to be careful and do not want to break anything on the upper because that would mean I would have to buy ANOTHER new upper.

I push the pcv valve down on the intake and just cannot get it to allow me to get both tabs pushed down all the way. It can be broken so I am having to side with caution when exerting my force.

Turns out the proper way to get enough down force is to use a 17mm socket on a ratchet ....there is a 17mm nut on the top of the unit and when using a ratchet and a socket ...you will be able to push down hard enough and then turn the unit until it locks on.

[scederas]

I got everything back together now. I have no bolts left over. I ended up having to purchase another tensioner because the metal inlet tube on the tensionerbroke off inside the water pump bore. It was a pain to get the piece out but I was finally able to. After that I had to use a dremmel tool to get the nut off the positive power cable that screws in to the alternator because the bolt sheared off when I was originally removing it as the beginning of this project. So
I installed a new alternator and put some "NO OX ID" dielectric that will
prevent the bonding of dissimilar metals again because the nut bonded to the screw that was screwed in to the back of the alternator and the bolt sheared off inside the original alternator.
I found this thread to be exremely helpfull. http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic663401.htm

Also if looking for the alternator in the service manual make sure you use
the term "generator" for your search criteria otherwise you will not find it discussed.

Does anyone know what the plastic check valve type insert that is inside one of the outlets from the tensioner assembly?
When removing the heater hoses from the old tensioner assembly I noticed a plastic insert that had a spring and a smaller opening that looked like some type of restriction. I cannot find it listed anywhere and the new tensioner assebly did not come with one. This plastic piece crumbled apart and I need to replace it....but like I said I cannot find any documentation telling me what it is.


Now that I have everything put back together I have 2 issues.

1. I do not know what the plastic insert with a spring is called that is inserted on one of the heater hose pipes on the tensioner assembly.
2. The radiator drain cock is leaking coolant after pressure builds up. I tightened it as much as I care to since it is plastic.


I suspect it is not much more than me draining the cooling system and pulling out the old drain cock and putting a new one.



Thanks everyone. I look forward to some feedback about 1 & 2.

Sam in Cary,NC