Vacuum hose job chronicles:

I tried to apply as much pressure as I could to get the little devil off but rounded it. It is the screw ing the back on the right as if you were looking at it from back to front of the car. It was the only screw left and I rounded the tiny piece of metal.

Anyone have any suggestions on getting that screw off? Since it is in such an obscure location, what do I do? Chisel the head off or something?

Oh, and one more slight obstacle. How do you get the Air Control Valve off? I've only been able to find 2 bolts and am assuming there are more holding it on. Or where is the removal of it in the manual? (what page) I can't find it.

Thanks, (now off to drink heavily)

garrett

 

why dont u jus remove the whole rack... u dont need to separate it into 2 pieces u should jus be able to get both levels in one whole thing... tehere are only 3 bolts that hold the rack on.... u have to remove the ignition tho

 

I am trying to remove the whole rack. My problem is that I rounded off a screw and cannot get the rack off because of my mistake.

 

I rounded one when I did my hose job. I used a Vise-Grip to grab the head and turn it, though I imagine that might be more difficult for some of the screws. Hopefully you'll be able to get a Vise-Grip in there to break it loose. I grabbed the head like a wrench would, perpendicular the the screw's axis. You might be able to do it head-on, but it would be much better if you can do it wrench-style. I replaced all those screws with SS hex head screws so that it would be easier if I had to do it again.

There is a third 10mm nut under the ACV. I used a 1/4" drive socket and ratchet with a small extension to get it on the nut. Once I broke it loose, I used some tape inside the socket to reduce the chance of dropping the nut into never-never land when removing it.

Hope that helps,
-Max

 

Thanks max, would I have to remove the solenoid rack to get to the 10mm nut under the ACV?

I tried looking for a third screw but to no avail. Maybe since now I know that there is one, I will find it.

I hate never-never land. Lost 2 screws to it already during this adventure.

garrett

 

You don't need to remove the solenoid rack to remove the ACV, but it would probably help. Use a flashlight or something to shine it under the ACV from the driver's side and find the nut. The nut is straight down and just slightly toward the front of the car from the ACV nut on top of the unit. It is nestled between the round cover held on with the 4 unevenly spaced screws and the only part where a wire comes out of the bottom of the ACV. The nut is right between those two parts, about two inches inward.

-Max

 

i dont know what screw u are talkin bout here cause i only have 3 12mm head bolts holin my rack in.....

 

goto your local hardware store and buy a "easy out" a little tool that will get your screw out.. its like $10 good luck

 

Yeah, I'll try that. Hopefully it works. I am becoming very disillusioned about this vacuum change.

 

I use one of those magnetic extensions. What I usually do is stick it to the side of the socket arm, charging the entire socket including the nut while unscrewing it. So when the nuts come free they don't drop.

Kinda of strange, but it works for me. I've also used the same process in reverse to get nuts on in some of those hard to reach areas.

 

Dude just get tha special Sears tool I saw BOB VILLA get a bunch of stripped screws out with it!!! Its gotta work I saw it on TV with my own eyes!!!

 

I just had that same prob.... just take side cutters and pinch the head of the screw ... dig it in a bit then turn them out!....Worked so easy for me DOH should have finished reading the whole thing. Needle nose vise grips would probably be best for that spot. I used a #2 phillips end from a multi-driver and stuck it in a socket then used a 1/4" ratchet to turn them loose. If it isn't too rounded out. Then you don't have to worry about keeping it straight and can apply good pressure.

 

I got the screw out. That was after I removed the solenoid rack. Instead of removing just the rack I removed the bars in was mounted on along with it. It took alot of prying and not to mention a severed fuel line (don't even ask, but I replaced it) to get it out. That is when I finally got those screws out. It was fairly easy to remove the whole thing.

Hey, when I remove the double throttle control can I just remove the solenoid devoted to it and its unit on the side of the throttle body? Will my car run different?

Also, what belt do you recomend for using when I remove my airpump?

 

when you put the rack back in use these kinda allen head screws:


and you should leave the double-throttle solenoid and plug it in so that the ECU stays happy...I removed the entire double-throttle system (but not the solenoid, as i mentioned) and plugged the UIM hole with a bolt.

 

For future referance, use PB Blaster on any screws that want to **** your day up. That stuff works. I wanted to shoot myself when I was doing the hose job because of those screws. I was using needle nose visegrips and having a hard time. Plus, I couldnt get to some of the screws with them anyway. Once I sprayed some PB blaster on them, they required little effort to get out.