RZRX7TT

Hi guys, I think my coolant leak is from a hose that is located underneath the manifold and the only way I will be able to get to it is if i remove the manifold. I really want to start doing stuff my self on this car and I would also like to say that I dont have any mechanical background. So is removing the Upper Intake Manifold an easy task? and is there any place that i can go to that can show me step by step process to remove the Manifold. I have been on Rob Robinettes site but he doesnt go through it step by step. Let me know if you have found or know of a site that can help me with this task or weather i should bother or not, or leave it to my mechanic. I want to save money by doing repairs on my own, I fixed by boost problem and man does it ever feel good to fix your own car, so I am up for the challenge again, hopefully this time I'am not going over my head!

jr

The only coolant hose I can think of that would appear to come from the back of the UIM is the throttle body coolant. To pull the UIM you first have to remove the elbow and throttle body so you'll see those 2 coolant hoses and be able to tell if they are leaking. As far as a step by step guide it's pretty simple, let me see if I can remeber it all:

1 - Loosen hose clamps on the intercooler pipe that goes from the IC to the elbow and remove the hose.

2 - Remove the elbow from the throttle body, should be held on by 4 10mm nuts. The bottom 2 nuts also hold an oil catch tank so just move it out of the way and make a mental note to put it back on later. There is also a large black hose that connects to the back of the elbow for the AWS system loosen it's clamp and remove it from the elbow.

3 - Remove the throttle body. This is held on by 4 12mm nuts. Also here is an electrical connector for the TPS, 2 coolant hoses (probably causing your leak), and a vacuum line or 2. Also you'll need to remove the cables for the accelerator and cruise control, just push the cam with your finger and slip the cable out.

4 - If you still need to remove the UIM it's held on by several 12mm acorn nuts, one of which is actually a long bolt. There are also a few vacuum and electrical connections in the back and underneath so remove it carefully to make sure you have them all disconnected.

5 - Cover up the holes in the lower intake manifold so you don't drop anything in there.

6 - Install is the same in reverse. The metal gaskets between the UIM and LIM and UIM and TB can be reused unless they are broken or badly deformed, the rubber O-Ring between the TB and Elbow should be replaced.

RZRX7TT

Ok forget about removing the Upper Intake Manifold, seems to much to take apart, I just want to expose the two coolant hoses that go to the throttle body, so all i have to do to expose these two hoses is remove the pipe that connects to the throttle body to the intercooler correct? please correct me if I am wrong.

jr

Yeah with the elbow disconnected from the TB you should be able to see the hoses on firewall side toward the bottom of the TB. I don't know if you'll be able to replace them without removing the TB though.

RZRX7TT

Ok the throttle body is the part that is attatched to intake manifold correct? it has the the three holes know as the butterflies, so after removing the intake elbow what do i do next to remove the the throttle body alone, please show me the steps of just removing the throttle body, I know up to the point of removing the elbow to the throttle body, then what? again thanks so much jr for you help so far

paw140

If I remember right, after taking off the elbow, there are four 12 mm(?) nuts that hold the throttle body on. You have to take these off, unplug the throttle position sensor, disconnect two coolant hoses, disconnect the throttle cable / cruise control cable... pretty much just remove anything else attached to it. I think there's a few vacuum lines as well. Just make sure you label the vac lines if you're not familiar with how it all goes together.

Good luck. Its very straight forward.

RZRX7TT

Paw I am just after exposing the two coolant hoses that go to the throttle body, checking to see which one is leaking. Seems to me to get two exposing the two coolant hoses all i need to do is remove the intake elbow. I will see what has to be removed as i go along, thanks guys for your help.

paw140

The other end of one of the hoses that goes to the throttle body is buried DEEP under the upper intake manifold. Its very had to get to... hopefully its not that one.

JONSKI

If I had to do it again, I would remove the throttle body before I took of the UIM.

R1Outcast

Here:
http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/manifold.htm

And since we're on the subject, how do you remove the electrical cable hooked up the the throttle body? And how to remove the coolant hose on the throttle body...mine is stuck...I can't even move the hose clamp because the hose has taken the shape of the clamp.

JONSKI

I moved most of my clamps by squeezing them with a pair of needle-nosed pliars and then wiggled them back and forth. When removing hoses, you need to "break the seal". Gently twist the hose that is in contact with the nipple. Try to push hoses off rather than pull them. Pulling hoses tends to have a sort of chinese finger trap effect. You do not want to damage your hoses, and you REALLY don't want to damage any nipples.

-Jon

R1Outcast

Thanks JONSKI, I'll try that on the hose. But how about the electrical cable...what part do you apply pressure to to get it loose?

paw140

Are you talking about the TPS sensor plug? If I remember correctly, there should be some sort of snap fitting release tab that you press with your thumb (or pull up... I can't remember), and then pull on the plug and it will come out. It should be pretty obvious if you look at it closely. Actually, if you can't figure out how to unplug a sensor, maybe you should get someone with experience to help you....

As far as getting the hose loose, like jonski said, remove the clamp with needle nose pliers, then twist the part of the hose attached to the nipple. Sometimes I just use needle nose pliers to twist the hose at the nipple to break the seal. After that, it should come right off.

jspecracer7

Good advice there hairman. You'll notice once you take all that stuff out that there is a hose going from the engine block to the throttle body, and from the throttle body to the front of the engine(the nipple will be facing towards the firewall). I bypassed that by taking the hosing going from the lower part of the engine and running it straight to the front of the engine. That way, there's no coolant going to the throttle body. It's only there to keep the butterfly's from sticking in COLD weather...something you or me shouldn't have a problem with.

spyfish007

Ok, I have to chime in on this conversation ... removing the coolant from the throttle body also makes it more difficult for the car to idle when cold. The fast idle cam gets the coolant at the top of the throttle body and cracks the throttle plates open more so it can have more air and hold a higher idle. I really have never seen the benefit of this mod.

I always pull the the UIM and throttle body together. I really can't believe one would think it faster to seperate these two. Granted with 100% stock equipment it can be a little time consuming to pull the UIM off, if you start blocking off things and removing useless junk the amount of time required to do this will shrink. I take the UIM off all the time ..... so without further delay .....

The easiest way to get that lower coolant hose is going to the be the following. Remove the intake elbow (4) 10mm nuts. Remove the the (5) 12mm that bolt the UIM to the LIM. Remove the (1) 12mm bolt from the UIM to the support (located in the front by the throttle body). You should have enough play to lift up the UIM to allow you to slide that coolant hose off. If necessary you might need to disconnect one or two of the electrical connectors to get more play with the UIM. Otherwise leave the other stuff connected so you won't even have to worry about messing it up. (most stuff is keyed up anyway!

jspecracer7

Benefit? Heated coolant going into the throttle body warming up the air coming into the UIM can't possibly good for horsepower. Besides, I modified my Throttle body so I don't have any of the unnecessary crap on it. Either way, before I even did anything to my throttle body, I never had a hard time with idle.