C4S_fan

I decided to do the SAI flush and Scott (a fellow rennlister) was kind enough to help me. I haven't even started the flush yet, because of what happened... read on!

I'm not a man of patience, but this project completely changed that.

Here is a pic with the airbox completely removed.



Here's that nasty check valve... we spent about 4-5 hours getting it out. I had never seen anything so difficult to get out in my life. We sprayed it with Liquid Wrench, and worked the crows foot back and forth numerous times. We ended up using a 3/8" -> 1/4" reducer, two extensions, a large ratchet and the handle from my jack to get extra leverage.. and it still wouldn't budge. The worst part is that we slightly stripped it once. We decided to back and and call it a day when it started to move! We were pretty excited when we got it out..







Here's the socket where the check vavle gets screwed in... notice anythiing wrong yet? We didn't either.... we dropped the heat exchangers (no problem at all) and hooked up the tools that Scott (campbesl) was so kind enough to send. (I'll take some more pictures and post pictures of those... brilliant idea)... we connected the aircompressor and could feel a gush of air. We figured that we didn't create an adequate seal between the check valve inlet and the PVC pipe... well, wrong.

Then we saw the crack in the metal. At first, I shocked to the point of being sick, because I thought the check valve screwed directly into the engine block. We quickly looked at the parts catalog and realized that it sits in an air distributor housing and that we had cracked the housing. I was so relieved that it was just a part with a couple of bolts.

We figure that the extension point of the crows foot rotated around and hit the lobe of the air distributor and cracked it.



After 8-10 hours of tinkering around, I was finally able to remove the air distributor housing. Remember earlier in this post I had said that the check valve was the most difficult removal of a part in my life? That was until I had to get this sucker out. Long story short, here it is out..









So, that's where we are currently. I've orded the new housing and its shipping from the factory. We'll install that next weekend and continue with the flush!

Now, you might be asking yourself.. was it worth it? For me, yes. I consider it a great learning experience and a cool story

Cool shot of the exhaust valve..

Sonic dB

Yikes! Im sorry to hear about this and I admire your patience and positive attitude.

epj993

What a hassle, but good work & nice pics!

Dan V

Fun, eh? I spent at least 8 hours getting my SAI valve changed. I still have nightmares about breaking things like the air distr. housing. Congrats on making it "over the hump", I guess it's all down hill from here.

Greg Fishman

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, would it not have been easier and possibly quicker to have just lowered the engine and done this work with it out of the car?

C4S_fan

Having never lowered the engine and with no rennlister around who has, I was hesitant to do so. But yes, if someone who had done it before (or if I had detailed instructions) I would probably have done that

kkim

Dennis,

Very sorry to see that. Are you sure your wrench fit the valve properly and you weren't trying to turn the air distributor housing, too? Regardless... must be a real junk feeling when you realized what was happening. I admire your positive attitude on seeing this to completion.. it will be worth it.

Did you get enough pressure through the system to see if any of your ports are blocked? Just curious as it seems people have been having problems with 4-6. With the air distributor out, you might want to check the passages where they go into the engine to see if you can do some cleaning there.... may as well use the distributor removal as a positive occurrence, which you already seem to be doing.

As said, seems all downhill from here... just remember to check that the vacuum line that goes behind the hose leading down to the check valve is still connected.

Please keep us informed on your progress. Good luck!!!

C4S_fan

Yup, I'm sure the wrench fit the valve correctly. I had two crows feet and tried both to get onto the valve.

I wasn't able to pressurize the system because of the crack. As soon as I tried, the air would be coming through the crack.

So here's the really interesting part... there doesn't seem to be any passages through the housing into the engine. The only holes in the housing are for the SAI valve and the two aluminum hoses. The engine itself has "no entry points" beyond the two holes for the bolts which hold the housing in place. The rest is a solid piece!

Thanks for the tip, I was going to remove that piece to get some more room, but as soon as I realized there was a line connecting it, I left it in place. I'll be sure to double check it before I button it all back up.

kkim

Hmmm... have you tried blowing some air through he aluminum pipes to see if they are connected to the ports? Logical assumption is that they would be the carriers of the air to the heads... but then, logic and these cars don't always mix. Just trying to help you get a jump on the flush process while you wait on the distributor.

If yours are blocked anything like mine was, you'll want to get some fluid in the passages to let sit to soften up the crap that's blocking the passages. What solvent have you decided to use?

viperbob

Sounds like a pain Dennis, but glad you are on the home stretch.....

epj993

Dennis,

I'm not sure this was mentioned in previous SAI posts, but my SAI valve had a crush washer on it. Same size as the oil plugs, 22mm I believe. I think this made the removal easier. My valve was on tight, but it came off pretty easy - one or two good pushes on the rachet without extra leverage. You might consider using one when reinstalling.

Edit: I just checked my PET CD and it *does not* show a crush washer with the SAI valve. However, I think it's probably a good idea to install.

kkim

Yes, I can confirm mine had a crush washer, too, and I'm pretty sure my SAI valve had not been changed since leaving the factory. If these valves can get this stuck due to corrosion, perhaps some never seize on the threads in addition to the crush washer when reassembling is in order.

chris walrod

I have done four of these valve changes and all of them had crush washers on them. Same part as the oil drain plugs. I also apply a little copaslip (anti seize) on the threads for good measure.

C4S_fan

Mine had the washer on it as well.. I'll be getting an extra from the dealership when I pick up my new air housing.

So, when we're putting pressurized air through the system, it must be going through those aluminum hoses into the engine?

epj993

Yes - the distributor is basically a highly-engineered German "T" . That short tube that blocks a full wrench turn on the SAI (which you removed) is for the right side and the other tube runs behind the VarioRam to the left side.