soontobered84

I did not think there was room to remove all the bolts either, but lo and behold, Darien did remove the water bridge and the oil filler without removing the intake. Darien had just had it off, and Dwayne's website gave him the thought that the water bridge could be removed without removing the intake again. Had it been my own water bridge, I probably would have removed the intake But it worked out fine for Darien. I'm just not sure there is sufficient room on my cars to get it off without removing the intake.

Seems strange to me that some engines apparently have the space and others apparently do not. I wonder if it's a year model thing?

merchauser

+1 would like to know as well....

DeWolf

Rubber intake gaskets verses paper maybe??

Bertrand Daoust

Strange indeed.

Scott, I don't think that's the case.
Mine didn't have the paper gasket when I removed the intake the first time.

There was no way (and still can't with the paper gasket) to put the allen socket strait and well seated in that bolt.

merchauser, maybe it will work with your car.
Just try the socket and see if it's well seated.
If it is, try it.
If not, don't take the chance to strip the bolt head. Remove the intake.
That's what I would do...

merchauser

agreed.....

Wisconsin Joe

This was brought up not too long ago.

Consensus among those who should know is that intake removal is often required.

General thought was that there is a lot more tolerance for cast parts than for machined parts (at least on the non-machined areas of the cast parts). When the water bridge and intake are both on the 'small' end of the tolerance, it can be possible to remove the WB without pulling the intake.

Darien

merchauser

I got some great news from the PO, that he removed the water bridge a few years ago to repair a leak; so its
been off, and not that long ago!!

there is no way to squarely get a traditional allen wrench, or long socket allen on that allen head. I made a very
minor attempt with those tools, and stopped as soon as I could "feel" it might round out the head.

so, for those of you that have had success removing this bolt, did you use a ball end style allen?? any other tips or tricks?

mike77

I did mine about 2 years ago and used a long ball ended allen key to get to it. I bought a cheap set that didn't work well then a good quality set that worked perfectly.

NoVector

I used a long hex bit socket that I cut to the right length with my dremil using a cutting wheel.

merchauser

how long was it after the cut?? it seems that, in order, to get the allen seated, I would have to cut to a very short length
and then try to grab with an adjustable or a 1/4" socket?

soontobered84

Darien used a long #6 allen socket like the ones above but with a ball on the end and the hand impact to seat the allen socket, break the corrosion loose, and get it started turning. Then he replaced the hand impact with a ratchet and removed it.

mike77

I'd just buy a decent set of ball ended keys. Problem probably solved.

merchauser

SUCCESS!! that awful bolt is off!

not sure if what I did is the best method, but it worked for me: tried a standard allen key, no luck, and then a std long reach allen,
no luck. bought a good set of ball end long reach sockets, but again, no luck. we all know how it "feels" when something is about
to strip, and, unfortunately, the ball ends gave me no confidence. finally I took a 1/4" impact T40 torx bit with a 6" extension, seated
it firmly with a mallet, and was able to crack it with a 3/8 adapter and ratchet. the torx bit felt much more secure than any other tool.
the allen keys just couldn't seat properly with the strange angle I had to deal with.

didn't muck up the bolt, (well maybe a tad), but still ordered a new one for the reinstall.

not sure I should put it back the same way I took it out?????

Dundertaker