Coolant Pipe replacement

[Ray_huge]

This is the support topic for the DIY Tutorial Coolant Pipe replacement. Please post here if you have any questions or feedback.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Ray_huge

[RFM]

There is no need to grind down the intake manifold, if ALL the tubes are correctly placed.

[Dennis C]

There is no need to grind down the intake manifold, if ALL the tubes are correctly placed.

I look forward to seeing the pics.

[SWFLHOMES]

Ray,

Any update on this job you did? I may have to tackle this and am curious if there are any necessary gaskets to replace, special tools or tricks with the fuel rail etc. I have a coolant leak (see my topic coolant leak) and can't seem to pinpoint where it's coming from. Since I also have a starter bushing noise I figured I might as well pull the intake and do both at once.

Thanks,

Craig

[Ray_huge]

Sorry I don't have the pictures.. the wife accidently erased them when she used the camera last. Here is a brief write up. Hopefully this will give you an idea of whats involved. No special tools required.

1.Drain remaining coolant. Take the belly pan off and on the passenger side of the radiator (bottom) is a plastic drain plug (blue I think).

2.Take all the plastic around the perimeter of the engine off. (Lots of quick release plastic bolts)

3.Take the plastic engine covers off. I removed the secondary air injection units (black round things near the fire wall) from the bracket and just moved them aside without disconnecting them. This gave me enough room to get the plastic engine covers off. On the passenger side you have to remove the engine support ( 4 bolts that go into the head) in order to take the plastic cover off. Don’t worry the engine isn’t going any where.

4.Take the Y pipe off that goes to the throttle body. The 2 plastic bolts on the throttle body simple turn till you line them up to the key way then pull them straight up. Under the Y pipe is a hose that you have to disconnect so be careful when removing the Y pipe.

5.Undo the electrical connections to the throttle body and remove the various emission tubes that cross the intake. You squeeze the connection and pull straight off. I think there are two or three tubes.

6.Remove the throttle body… 4 bolts and it comes right off.

7.Remove the 4 bolts that hold the injector rail in place. You won’t be able to remove the injector rail until you loosen up the intake manifold and move it forward a bit. I simply pried up the injector rail with the fuel injectors left attached to the rail. Of course undo the electrical connections to the fuel injectors first!

8.Undo the bolts holding the intake manifold on. The bolts don’t come out they remain attached to the intake manifold. Once loose move the intake manifold up and forward to give you enough room to take the injector rail off and move it to one side. I used a piece of wire and hung it off the hood on the driver’s side.

9.At the back of the intake manifold are two vacuum connections. One is a hard pipe and the second is a rubber pipe. Undo these and the intake manifold will come right out.

10.Now you will see the 3 coolant pipes. They are held down by a plastic clamp at the back of the engine. I think there are 3 bolts you have to undo and there’s a wire harness that is also attach to the plastic bracket. Once removed you then can get at the hose clamps and slide those back to remove the rubber hoses from the plastic pipe. Then remove the 3 coolant pipes.

11.Now you have access to the large coolant pipe which is probably the one leaking. To remove this pipe you need to break it into two pieces. I guess this is why they use to remove the engine to get to this pipe in the early days. The new pipe comes in 2 pieces with a piece of rubber hose to connect the two. I used a large screw drive to break the pipe and then some tin snips and pliers to take out a large enough part of the center section of the pipe. (In order to not make a huge mess I broke the top of the pipe off and then sucked out as much coolant with a vacuum pump before completely breaking the pipe in two.) The pipe is very brittle so it will break away in large chunks. Then twist the pipe as you pull it – it will be very difficult, just take your time. Otherwise, it will snap off and leave a nice chunk lodged in the inlet of the engine. (I did this what a pain in the butt to get the remainder out). Do the same with the other half of the pipe.

12.Clean everything up. When putting the new aluminum pipes on I oiled up the o-rings so they would slide in to place a lot easier. It takes some force to get the pipes on and in place. Make sure you install the pipe that goes into the front of engine first with the rubber connection already on it and the hose clamps as well. When tightening up the hose clamps make sure the screw body on the clamps is nice and low otherwise it will interfere with the 3 coolant pipes above.

13.Now install the 3 coolant pipes and the new bracket that holds the pipes and reinstall everything else :)

Hope that helps! :)

[SWFLHOMES]

Ray,

I will be doing this job this weekend. Thanks for the breakdown. I will try to remember to photograph everything to add to this post. Your post should help save me a bunch of time as well as guides me on how to handle the lower tube!

Thanks again!

Craig

[mudman2]

Dealer is working on mine right now. Telling me the parts list has grown since the last time they did one. Expecting about $850, their quote.

Ray,

I will be doing this job this weekend. Thanks for the breakdown. I will try to remember to photograph everything to add to this post. Your post should help save me a bunch of time as well as guides me on how to handle the lower tube!

Thanks again!

Craig

[SWFLHOMES]

Mudman,

The parts for mine totaled around $350. One of the local dealers wanted to charge me $650 (just for the parts)! I have the job 1/2 complete and am just waiting on parts. I expected the job to be a lot more complicated than it was. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the teardown of the motor. I can't believe the starter is where it is! I will be doing a follow up to this post with photo's and any additional info I come across after the parts arrive.

[mudman2]

Mine was $850, just got it back

Mudman,

The parts for mine totaled around $350. One of the local dealers wanted to charge me $650 (just for the parts)! I have the job 1/2 complete and am just waiting on parts. I expected the job to be a lot more complicated than it was. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the teardown of the motor. I can't believe the starter is where it is! I will be doing a follow up to this post with photo's and any additional info I come across after the parts arrive.

[SWFLHOMES]

Ray,

Can you tell me if I need to remove, what appears to be a piece of the end of the lower tube? Is this metal piece part of the plastic tube?

Thanks,

Craig

[RFM]

Craig,

The metal part is the inner reinforcement of the old plastic tube, you have to remove the metal ring and the rest of the plastic tube. If you install the update light alloy tube, make sure that the starter can be removed later if necessarily, you can rotate the tube slightly on the rubber sleeve for perfect fitting and adjustment. Success.

[Ray_huge]

Ray,

Can you tell me if I need to remove, what appears to be a piece of the end of the lower tube? Is this metal piece part of the plastic tube?

Thanks,

Craig

Yeap the end of the plastic tube broke off. You need to get that out of there. I used a small chisel and "cut " the metal ring so you can collapse it and pull it out. Then just break apart the the plastic. Be careful not to scratch up the housing or let any plastic bits fall in the hole.

[SWFLHOMES]

Ray,

I ended up doing exactly what you said on the ends of the old lower pipe. I took a chisel and cut the top and collapsed the metal inner then removed the remaining plastic. To anyone who reads this:

Follow Rays 1-12 instructions and pay specific attention to the placement of the of the hose clamps so they don't interfere with anything that goes in after. Also, slide the rubber coupler and clamps on the lower pipe to the end and then back it over to where it should be after you line it up with the other end. You aslo need to install the "short" end first! Getting at the rear tubes is not easy!. There is a clamp that holds all three tubes together, that separates into two pieces (upper and lower). If I were to do it again I would remove the top piece of the clamp then squeeze the factrory installed hose clamps (to remove). Putting the upper tube back together, I tried installing the rear rubber tubes to the upper tubes first but I think I would have done them last. Make sure you grease up all ends of all the tubes with the appropriate lube. Definately hang the fuel rail off the hood with a wire hanger. The fuel rail rear screws can also be accessed after unbolting the manifold and moving it forward as Ray said. Then just slowly lift the fuel rail off of the manifold. The two screws or "PINS" that hold the throttle body and the y tube together are like and old-fashioned key. Turn the pin slightly so the key lines up in the holeand lift it out. I did not realize what Ray was talking about until I removed it. One of mine got damaged because it is a torx head and the pin is plastic so it stripped one of the heads. No big deal, I will replace that but the y tube can be held in place until then by any similar sized bolt. I am attaching the photos I took and you will notice I covered the valve openings with blue tape as a precaution. Good luck and I hope this helped.

Tools needed:

1 torx bit set (Home depot US $12)

Metric socket set (7,8,9,10 and 13 a must)

[isakpede]

Hi.

Could anyone list up all the spareparts (with numbers) needed for this job?

Thanks in advance!

[Loren]

Hi.

Could anyone list up all the spareparts (with numbers) needed for this job?

Thanks in advance!

Instructions and a parts list are in the TSB.

TSB 45/07 1961 Coolant Pipe Leaking -- dated Feb 22, 2008

[isakpede]

Hi.

Could anyone list up all the spareparts (with numbers) needed for this job?

Thanks in advance!

Instructions and a parts list are in the TSB.

TSB 45/07 1961 Coolant Pipe Leaking -- dated Feb 22, 2008

I am not sure if cracked coolant pipes really is my problem, but I have experienced alarm on low coolant level on two occasions now. One time in mid january and last time in the end of march. Both after start up in cold weather (-10 Celsius). Had to fill two liters of coolant each time.

Could it be other reasons for loss of coolant than cracked pipes?

Thanks for any answers.

[bigbuzuki]

I had fluid leaking (although not as heavy as yours) from the coolant pipes and also a porous water pump.

I had both items replaced about six months ago and I haven't had any coolant loss since then.

If your coolant pipes are the plastic type and have not been replaced, expect cracking at about 80,000km or more, maybe a little longer for colder climates. Here in hot Australia mine had cracked at 90,000km.

I have been told that some coolant loss is normal especially on the turbo models due to the high operating temperatures. Still I would have thought this would be a minor loss.

Is there any sign of leaking coolant under the vehicle when parked for a period of time?

Is there any wetness on the cover panels under the engine?

Is the coolant reservoir and associated plumbing in good condition?

When its all said and done, I still would recommend getting the pipes changed for peace of mind even if they are not cracked at this point.

They will eventually fail and the coolant loss is immediate and will require stopping the engine immediately otherwise the engine will fail.

I suppose it depends on how long you intend on keeping the vehicle.

Edited April 13, 2009 by bigbuzuki

[isakpede]

The car has been driven i Spain most of the time. Just passed 90.000 km. Guess its due to change the pipes. Leakage probably increases due to freezing temperatures (crack opens as the pipe gets smaller at low temperatures). Have not seen any signs of leakages/ponds under the car. But still, 2 liters in two months is yet not that visual. The car is also usually not parked in a garage.

I guess an internal leakage in the engine is not a big issue on the CS, since it is not often discussed in the forum.....

[993BillW]

This thread should be added to the DIY section too.

[superbri777]

Mudman,

The parts for mine totaled around $350. One of the local dealers wanted to charge me $650 (just for the parts)! I have the job 1/2 complete and am just waiting on parts. I expected the job to be a lot more complicated than it was. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the teardown of the motor. I can't believe the starter is where it is! I will be doing a follow up to this post with photo's and any additional info I come across after the parts arrive.

Can you tell me where you got your parts for $350? (Or anyone else tell me where to get less expensive parts). My dealer is quoting me $700 for the "kit".

My tubes just went out last night, dumping coolant everywhere... I'm stuck!!

Thanks

[TAB]

I just got the news from Braman, need cooling tubes, these jokers want three thousand dollars trying to find an independant to do this repair.

Edited June 10, 2009 by Loren
Removed ALL CAPS - please do not post in ALL CAPS

[the head]

Well mine let go today. I have CPO. but this marks the 10th trip to the dealer for a repair since I bought it in October. This is pretty much the last known (regular) failure with the 2004s so I'm crossing my fingers it will be trouble free.

[the head]

A nice surprise. The dealer is telling me that this particular failure isn't covered by the CPO warranty. I'll ask them to show me when I'm there picking it up but I'll be ordering parts tonight.

EDIT: I called back asking them to make sure this isn't covered under warranty. After a few minutes on hold they said it was. Apparently the CPO warranty for anything bought after August 2008 is bumper-to-bumper. I think the service writer thought I had bought it earlier than that cut off. So mine's under the knife, free of charge. :)

Edited July 21, 2009 by the head

[mudman2]

Try sunsetimports.com

Mudman,

The parts for mine totaled around $350. One of the local dealers wanted to charge me $650 (just for the parts)! I have the job 1/2 complete and am just waiting on parts. I expected the job to be a lot more complicated than it was. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the teardown of the motor. I can't believe the starter is where it is! I will be doing a follow up to this post with photo's and any additional info I come across after the parts arrive.

Can you tell me where you got your parts for $350? (Or anyone else tell me where to get less expensive parts). My dealer is quoting me $700 for the "kit".

My tubes just went out last night, dumping coolant everywhere... I'm stuck!!

Thanks

[isakpede]

Hi

I just want to add one additional sparepart you should change out while you are at this job. Change out the cooling breather pipe with the part number 948 106 016 03, see part 20 in the attachment below . The price is just around 35$. This pipe and it's connections gets very brittle and cracks just for a good word, due to long service with hot fluid and hot environment. I experienced a leak on the test drive after installing all the parts.:angry:

One tip of getting the upper old pipes out is to saw them in two, drill a hole trough them, put a big screwdriver in the hole and jus bang the pipe out with a hammer.

On lower bigger pipe, you have to be careful so you don't damage the knocking sensor and wires that is hidden under the pipe. I also experienced that the ends of the pipe got stuck left in both ends. :censored:

Safety

Also disconnect your battery ground connection, cause the starter still has power on it even if the ignition and key is out. If you i.e. get your watch between the + connection on the starter and the engine block, the watch may melt stuck to your wrist....... or at least blow some fuses and maybe damage the electrical systems on your car.

Thanks for a good description, I would never dared to try without it.... :thankyou:

Regards

Edited October 29, 2009 by Loren
made image viewable