Does anyone have a trick to remove the lower bolt on the thermo housing without removing the water pump,timing cover, ect???
Thanks Ford nice design!?? Takes a half day to replace the thermostat!! :toilet:
A good quality end wrench (1/2 inch I believe) that won't round off the bolt,and some time and patience.It's really not THAT bad.
Yea, Have to mess with it some more tomorrow. just got home and tried to get at it and it's a tight squeeze!! My AC compressor is DOA so I took that off for more room. Will try in the AM again.
wrong thread but does anyone know if the AC system be converted from R-12 to the new stuff?
didnt somebody have a thread about this whole process not too long ago? i cant find the thread, but i couldve sworn i saw it. had a bunch of little tips and trick on making the ordeal as easy as possible. maybe someone else knows the link, but i dont
you mean this one?
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=15629
The part that gets in my way is the hunk of usless water pump casting that sticks right up in the way of the sweet spot i would get the best benefit from using a wobbly.
I do like the idea of the previous thread,,"allen screws" IE- Cap Screws because i think with my tools i could manipulate better torque on the lower bolt.
My new 20th leaks there,, ironically though, it seems to be stopping itself up the more i drive it.
SO.......... If it continues to just dribble, I'll make good use of myth busters and crack an egg in the radiator.:hick:
Yeah, I think I used a ball-end extension the first time and then switched to stainless hex-head cap screws.
I know I seen that last post somewhere. Thanks for the find. I think the Allen head replacements are the trick. Your lucky if you can turn the stock bolt enough to catch the next slot on a 12 point box wrench! Mine has never been off I'm sure and it's TIGHT!! I'll post how much blood I lost or the results/solution. Nutty company monday morning for some new allen heads!!
Tomorrow I get to tackle the Brake booster, not looking forward to this. First thing I think I will do is pull the front seat so I can lay down and look under the dash.
These cars are fun to work on. Still have not tried to replace the Oxygen sensor.
TED
I just replaced the gasket there.
Three freaking hours.......stupid bolt.
you know what sux the most,, i was eyeballing it and thought , well if i just undo this and that , then the wratchet wrench will do the trick. Nope, tstat housing is too close to the bolt head so theres no room.
You got that right!! Thinking if I take out the AC compressor that needs replacing anyhow I'll get at it..... NOPE!!! still not enough room! Now looking at replacing the 23 year old water pump with a high flow after market one and taking all the acc's off and just going through it all.. timing chain, water pump, belts, ect. Just bought the car and It's never been worked on 77,000 original miles. So it most likely needs it. Still has motorcraft plug wires stamped 1984!!
I gotta get used to the 5.0 I guess because I'm going to put one in my 88 ranger in the next month or two. So I'll have two to keep going.
Soon to be a 5.0L expert I feel...:burnout: :burnout:
:giggle: :rollin: :laughing: :laughing:
I should try that instead of doing the acrobatic thing and twisting myself into a pretzel.
Brian
try it with a rollbar in the way!
Dude, I am 6'5" tall, that just ain't gonna happen.:punchballs: Muh belly is starting to get in the way nowadays also. It was a miracle getting my brake booster in without a freakin roll cage!!
Update....
After another hour of trying different wrenches and penetrating oil it wont budge! bolt. I think it turned a little but has that twisting feel to it. Don't what to break it. I need the car to get to work. So looks like I'm going to order a new flow kooler water pump, Timing chain, Fel-pro gaskets, ARP stainless bolts for everything in the front. And try again next weekend? Then if I can get a straight shot at it I can work it loose without breaking it. Awesome design FORD!!! nice job!
:beatyoass: :beatyoass:
I think I got that bolt out with a 1/2 wrench cut in half. Was still a pain but I got it changed in about an 1 1/2 hours.
Tried the wrench cut in half. No go it's too tight. Has never been off since the factory installed it. I give up for now. It still works just wanted to do some PM. I'll go through the front of the motor next weekend and replace everything with ARP stainless.
That's what I did too, chopped down a 1/2" socket.
5.0 FTL.....
This may sound silly, but have you tried TIGHTENING the bolt? Sometimes a quarter turn tighter is enough to free a stubborn bolt so you can back it iff without issue.
Beware the ARP timing cover/waterpump bolt kit. I ordered one for the aluminum timing cover but somehow the bolts were the wrong ones. Just to let you know before you get into it. Dry fit everything and make sure the bolts fit good.
Thanks for the ARP warning.. ALWAYS something.. AS for tightening ya I tried but still feels like it's twisting and will break. I need to get everything out of the way so I can try to work it loose and if it breaks I'll be OK cuz everything is clear. It looks like I can grind enough off the WP and timing cover to get a straight shot at it with a with a allen for the next time only need about 3/16. Can't believe that Ford did not make that area more accessible.
I don't see how you can even get a cut down socket in there? There's only about a 1/2 inch and the wp/timing cover is 2/3 covering the bolt?
If it was taken off before and anti seized it would not be a big deal but after 24 years of not moving it's stuck and the lack of room is making things worse
Can you get heat on it?
heat might work if there is lock-tite on the threads. heat will melt it but good luck. Smart of you to wait till the weekend cause if its gonna break , its gonna break then your fugged. Might as well hunt down another lower intake/gaskets and have em on standby if your in a hurry. I know thats what id do if this was happening to me.
ok chuck,, we need you to make something like below. This part would extend the intake water jacket then the tstat housing would bolt to it thus relocating the tstat as well.
or maybe a 90deg elbow off the intake. that would lay the tstat housing horizontal. Stock hoses would fit, all you would do is cut off the last 90deg bend on the hose.
whatcha think?:D
on the dohc 4.6 i have, it uses a remote t-stat housing. i would assume you could find one at a junkyard, and use it on any car. you would still need to fix the leak at the manifold though.