bills928

Hey guys..... I have a 84 US. I need to replace the gasket between the oil fill neck and block... I've got it all disconnected but can't wiggle the pipe through the water bridge ...Has anyone got it out without removing the waterbridge?

Thanks for your help
Billl

Adamant1971

Bridge or intake must come off.

bills928

Plentium and tubes are already off...... whats easier to remove the bridge or intake ??

Adamant1971

Well I can tell you when I did mine I took the water ridge off. One if the bolts is a pain, mine went well but many have broken bolts.

Get the right Allen key and make sure it's seated straight before you remove the bolts.

Search water bridge and will find lots of talk of this bolt.

Pfc. Parts

I just replaced the filler on mine a few days ago, it's an '85. Since I already had the intake off it slipped in with only a little messing around.

On the '85 you need to take the injectors out to remove the intake. If it's been done recently the injectors aren't difficult to get out, otherwise in can take some time and a fair amount of patience. While you're in there you can also replace your intake gaskets, have the injectors re-furbished, replace any worn vacuum lines and maybe your TPS AND ICV ...

I'd suggest draining the coolant and removing the water bridge unless you have a morbid fascination with self-abuse.

Pfc. Parts

PS: Do you already have replacement gaskets? They're hard to come by in my experience (with the 85, other years are easier). I re-used the baffle and ran a bead of permatex ultra-black on both sides instead. Seems to be working OK.

If you don't have a baffle on the '84 there's a fellow who makes them aftermarket:

CARL A FAUSETT
928 MOTORSPORTS, LLC
604 E MAPLE ST STE D
HORICON WI 53032-1151

bills928

Yep... I have a new gasket on hand.... Im not sure if the 84 has a baffle (I guess i'll find out when I get it off)

Looks like I'll be removing the bridge,,,,, along with more gaskets to buy !!!

bills928

Thanks Adam..... I did a search and it looks like the bolt thats a PITA is on the 32V cars only ???

Since I have a 16v will I still run into that problem?

Ducman82

i think the 16v has an allen as well. i know mine does. just make sure its clean and the bit is seated...

jeff spahn

Personally I would do the water bridge. Like everyone says, make sure your allen key is seated securely.

Pfc. Parts

I've been told that installing the baffle on cars that don't have them stock is a good idea, it keeps the crank from throwing oil into your intake manifold. I don't know what year they started putting them in, but they correct a problem that exists on older cars. You may want to check into it since you'll be there anyway.

checkmate1996

You have to do the water bridge. Make sure you put plenty of penetrating oil on there and let sit for a few days. You will regret it otherwise. You may even want to put some heat on those bolts. They are notorious for 'rotting' in that area. You also may need some various length allen heads as some are real PITA to get at. A very rewarding job once complete, though.

bills928

Thanks for all your input guys..... I've started hosing down the bolts with PB blaster... Since I won't have a chance to start it until next week, it will give it a chance to get down in the threads

bills928

Ok..... Headed out to the garage to tackle the removal of the bridge after a week of soaking the bolts in PB blaster
After I got all the hoses and wires removed I tried removing the 4 hex bolts with a Allen wrench with a small pipe on the end for some leverage.... no go ( the Allen wrench was starting to bend so I went to plan B)
The next try was a 3/8 breaker bar with a hex socket..... again no go.
At this point I was terrified that I was either going to break the head off the bolt or worse yet strip the hole. Time to go to plan C.
I rigged up my hex socket to my impact driver (had to use a wiggle extension to get it to set in the hole straight..... Well let me tell you , a quick flick of the trigger the bolts were loose and out.
Thats the way to do it...If I tried this first it would have been a 5 minute job vs a 2 hour job.

Imo000

I thought the 16Vs had a pretty good oil seperator built into the oil filler "tub" and a baffle is not really reaquired.