PCV time means question time! Topic is solved

[hu5ker555]

Did this a few months ago. I studied several youtube videos beforehand, and it still took about 8 hours under the hood. The passenger side bottom manifold bolt is a bit challenging to reach and requires some patience. The banjo bolt requires a ton of patience and I found a helper was beneficial to hold the manifold steady while I used a stubby ratcheting wrench with some duct tape of the backside to hold the bolt in the wrench. Getting the new banjo bolt in place took at least an hour, felt like more. Many tries, much cussin' and fussin' as they say.

[TisMe]

Oddly enough, removal of the passenger side banjo bolt wasn't too rough. I managed to maneuver a closed Hayco wrench into that area and had it loosened with a few tugs. I've already counted my blessings multiple times. Given the nature of cars though, I'm assuming I'll give all that time back to the car gods while trying to put it back on.

I'm also not looking forward to putting back on the leftmost manifold bolt, that seems to be a big time sink for many mechanics. I'm hoping I can manage to dig up a 10mm wobble bit to ease the headache.

No one mentioned that when you remove the driverside banjo bolt, you'll release a flurry of mildly pressurized coolant. Perhaps if I followed the line correctly I'd have put 2 and 2 together, but there are worse messes to be made than coolant. I'm going to assume this means I'll need to do a coolant flush to remove any air I let in, but I'd like to hope not.

Also for the driver side banjo bolt, all I needed was a standard 17mm wrench and a small pry bar to ease the armload. The hardest part was getting it situated firmly amidst all the hoses running past it.

Hope no one minds my mental meanderings, I'm sure there will be more by the end of this.

[volvolugnut]

I bought the IPD kit for my ‘07 and it came with the long horizontal hose, both banjo bolts, and 4 new copper crush washers.

That hose looked like it would be hard to replace but it was pretty straightforward. Getting the banjo bolt into the intake manifold was the only part of the job that had me yelling profanities under the hood. I’m not proud of it but I probably spent 2 hours getting that one bolt seated.

Yup. The banjo bolts and washers are very hard. I think I had two 2 hour sessions (complete with profanities) getting mine together. I finally removed the alternator and it was easier.
volvolugnut

[abscate]

Remember the bottom intake manifold bolts don’t need to be removed. The manifold is slotted on the bottom to slide over the bolts in place.

The banjo is simple with the alternator out. Another tip is to use a sacrificial o ring to hold the stack of bolt, washer, Union, washer together while you start it. Use a pick to remove the oring once it threads

[TisMe]

Since my last post, I've successfully threaded both washers onto the banjo bolt. In fact, I've redone this so many times that I might say that I'm competent at repeating the process.

However, I thought threading the washers was the hard part. I've been twisting this bolt for hours trying to find the correct angle to match the threads. I feel stupid at this point. My index finger feels like overcooked toast. Someone thought I had a black eye, but it's simply grease. I thought once I hit the second hour I'd have somehow managed to find the right angle, yet for some reason all I find are left angles.

In fact, I even removed my intake manifold again to make sure that a mis-sized banjo bolt did not somehow materialize into my workspace. Turns out I wasted steps to verify what I already knew.

What's the dirty secret? I have plenty of clearance, both arms fit fine into that tiny crevice. I have ample pressure to apply at every which direction. What the heck? This is straight up wild. Play it again, Sam.

[jkatz]

I also pulled the manifold off to confirm! And your comment reminds me that my finger tips also were worked raw. While the manifold was off I used sharpie to draw a line on the side indicating the angle the bolt needs to start at. That didn’t help. I remember climbing on top of the engine for a different working position. That also didn’t help.
Eventually I got lucky, the threads caught, and the whole ordeal was over. Now I wish I had replaced the voltage regulator while the manifold was off, but there’s no way I’m going in there again until I need to!

[TisMe]

Now I wish I had replaced the voltage regulator while the manifold was off, but there’s no way I’m going in there again until I need to!

You tell me this AFTER I already made the expedited FCP order for oil pan o-rings and sealant. Ask me why I did it...

short answer, because I cried.

longer answer, I'm not cranking this engine until I de-sludge the oil pan.

Compressed air AND manual lung compression insinuate a blocked oil pan chimney. Perhaps this is where my horsepower was being bled, all signs point to yes. Logical diagnosis is a beautiful moment!

[abscate]

I remember putting the banjo in once while the intake manifold was not yet bolted in. That seemed easier

[TisMe]

At this point, I'm tempted to take off the alternator. Per suggestions, my manifold is not bolted. I'd think the wiggle room would help, but clearly I have butter for fingers. Considering I have ample room to apply pressure, I'd think taking off the alternator is unnecessary, yet if I had begun with that step, I'd likely be finished and already be working on removing my oil pan.

Is perhaps my problem that I'm trying to thread it be finger? I'd think that would be enough pressure, and removes the variable of dropping the wrench and bolt/washers.

[abscate]

Don’t even think of trying to thread it with a tool. That’s a guarantee of cross threading it and crying gobs of sobs.

Battery terminals off
Upper alternator bolts
Lower alternator bolts
Get alternator out of way
Start banjo to finger tight
Return alternator
Position manifold
Install alternator
Tighten banjo
Tighten manifold