Good afternoon to all, I'm about to get into the Waterbridge/thermostat gasket replacement. I looked at Dwayne's write up in the DIY section (Oil filler gasket and Thermostat housing R&R), He kicks *** with his writeups. My main question concerns the fuel lines, If I open the lines are they under pressure? I would guess that they are, my thought would be to pull the fuel pump relay and crank the motor for a bit and this would relieve the pressure. Any thoughts or info would be of enormous help, THANKS Brian

 

under pressure, no, jest as long as the car as been off for some time 35min or so

 

+1 on the limited pressure.

When I did this, I put several rags underneath the ends of the fuel lines since some fuel can (and did) trickle out when the line was disconnected. Temporarily covering other open holes - like the breather holes for the TB - seemed like a good ounce of prevention too since fuel, oil, and anti-freeze outlets are exposed once the bridge is off.

For what its worth, I tried to replace the bridge seals a few months ago, but one of the bolts on the bridge just would not budge - there is a thread with lots of suggestions from RL members on how to proceed. In the end, I gave up until I pull the manifold off in the fall - I dread the thought of drilling it out.

Hope you have better luck with your bolts than I did!!!

Cheers,
Dave

 

Yes, the best way is wait a day or so before opening the fuel lines. Pressure will have dropped, but you'll still get a bunch of gas from the lines ... I think half a pint or more. I found a long, narrow funnel whose top fit beneath the FPR connection and got the gas to run down the funnel into a small bottle.

On the four bridge bolts, be very careful not to hose them up. Harbor Freight sells a set of very long (5" or so) allen-head bits. I found on my car these provided enough clearance to go straight down into the hardest one, the rear bolt on the driver's side (no other tool I know of will get in there solidly). I'd suggest you start with this one and see if it will behave before trying any of the others. Before starting to turn any of these, seat your allen-head bit fully into position and then tap the top several times with a hammer. This is reputed to help jolt loose any place along the threads where the steel bolt is fused to the aluminum.

 

Well said!

On mine, someone had gone after the bolts before me, and had damaged the the hex fitting. The right tools, and some careful work are key to success given how inaccessible several of these bolts are.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Well I was lucky...ish. I got the bolts off fine, was real careful with the hex head ( a few prayers too), the water bridge is out and cleaned up. In the morning I'll replace the thermostat and try to get her back together. Now for the bad news, As I was removing the bracket that holds the diagnostic port(my guess?) the connection at the back of this rig just fell apart. The male end of the plug is in a hundred pieces. I've gotten all the bits cleaned out ( nothing in the motor), now I've got to diconnect the other end and replace this wire. It looks to be connected to the throttle body at the passenger side to the front. I believe the only way I can get to this is to partially remove my cold air intake. Any ideas or thoughts on this job? I have another complete wire from a spare motor, I've just got to get to the connector. Thanks for the help. AADDPP I hope you can get yours apart with out much heart ache! Brian