I've had enough..

[Izzmo]

So, I was working on getting the surge tank off from about 8:30am to 7pm yesterday. This is the first time I've done it, so I imagined it would take bit, but I could get anything off for the sake of my life!

For those of you who have taken off the surge tank before (the first time you did it):

1. How hard did you have to pull to get the main surge tank hose off? I wrestled with that thing for about an hour and wore myself out, still not being able to get it off.

2. The bottom bolts of the surge tank stays: how did you manage to loosen them? I had my crescent wrench in hand and could not loosen it.

If I could have just loosened both bottom bolts of the stays and got that damn hose off, I would have been home free!

But now I think I might just take it in and have a mechanic do it, save me the trouble!

Could Ford have made it any harder to work on this engine?

 

[wymjym]

2. The bottom bolts of the surge tank stays: how did you manage to loosen them? I had my crescent wrench in hand and could not loosen it.

If I could have just loosened both bottom bolts of the stays and got that damn hose off, I would have been home free!

Could Ford have made it any harder to work on this engine?

The easiest approach is to remove the wipers and the plastic cowling. It takes around 15 minutes and then you can see almost everything and get your hands in there a little easier. Working with a cresent is going to be a rough job. The bottom right stay on my 97 is actually a stud where a ground strap also attaches. In my case the smaller nut needs to come off first then remove the ground strap then loosen the entire stud. This might be what is tripping you up. I just removed the rear tank in order to replace the rear plugs and to plug in new O2 sensors. The r&r for the tank + cowling was less than 60 minutes total.
good luck
wj

 

[sandrew]

it takes me 30 minutes max to remove the whole intake on a 3.2.

Gen 3.

That fat hose on the rear of the tank can be stubborn the very first time you remove it. I got situated on the driver's side to where I could put two hands on it then had somebody push on the other end with a big standard screwdriver.

The bottom surge tank stays I went out and bought swivel-headed ratcheting crescent wrenches for since there is almost no room to move around back there

 

[Izzmo]

Please tell me what's your definition of a surge tank , cause it takes me 30 minutes max to remove the whole intake on a 3.2.

And please tell tell us what you did steps by steps , so we can help you out.

My definition of the surge tank.. is the surge tank. Not sure what you were getting at there

I just did step by step of the valve cover and gasket replacement on v8sho.com. Seemed easy enough till I got down to the bottom screws of the stay. I spent about 2 - 3 hours trying to remove the screws and just said the **** with it. I did take back the vent cowling, which helped a lot, but not enough for that down there. There are just too many thing in the way down on the bottom right (passenger) for a ratchet to even move.

 

[Exitwound]

I just did it for the first time Friday and at first it was looking like it was going to be an especially hard job but as it turns out it really isnt that bad. The 2 support brackets it the back do not even have to come off. Just take the bolts out of the top or the brackets and just loosen the bottom bolts enough to let them fall to the side and thats it. as for the hoses, the ones I couldn't pull off I cut or broke and replaced. I figured if they were in that bad of shape they needed to be replaced anyway.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Ignore the V6 kooks who can't tell which part of the forum they're in... :shakehead

If you're talking about the main vacuum hose on the rear of the tank, you can use a pair of 45 degree long needle nose (about $7 at AutoZone) to remove the hose clamp as well as to give the hose a little twist to unstick it from the ******. Once that's done, you can just stand by the drivers fender, grab it tight, and keep pulling on it until it comes free. Don't be afraid to break the hose.

WRT to the rear tank straps, just remove the two top bolts, and then using a long piece of pipe or something (I use a pair of 24" long 1/2" socket extensions) knock over the two straps while standing at the passengers fender (use the pipe/whatever to hammer at the sides of the straps). If all else fails, you can still pry the tank free of the front runners even with the straps still standing up straight. Just put a prybar between the tank and the rear valve cover and pry towards the windshield.

Removing the cowling is absolutely, positively, not necessary and a waste of time. I don't even remove them to do a motor swap.

For a first-timer, surge tank removal shouldn't take more than an hour.

 

[Izzmo]

Hmm, that would have probably worked Mr. Anonymous! I wish I would have just done that from the beginning. I will definitely remember that next time.

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[SuperHO]

IIRC, my first time yanking the UIM on a gen III (having never touched ANYTHING under the hood of one before) took me about 30 minutes, give or take.


Of course, I can pull a gen II MTX intake on my 95 in under 10 minutes...less with Huntervf helping me.


But yeah...it's pretty easy. I think the hardest part was getting the DPFE sensor off.

 

[Silvapain]

You should see how easy it is to pull the surge tank when you don't have an EGR or SAI system anymore

 

[Aleffewmo]

IIRC, my first time yanking the UIM on a gen III (having never touched ANYTHING under the hood of one before) took me about 30 minutes, give or take.


Of course, I can pull a gen II MTX intake on my 95 in under 10 minutes...less with Huntervf helping me.


But yeah...it's pretty easy. I think the hardest part was getting the DPFE sensor off.

This mean you can yank my intake off if I asked you to, so I can paint it?

 

[Phoenix]

whoa my bad , I didnt noticed I was in the GEN3 section :booboo: I deleted it for less confusion , sorry again.

 

[SuperHO]

Sure can. I can even disassemble it and REassemble it after it's painted (which is a pain in the ass to get everything lined up).

 

[Izzmo]

Damn, if only you all lived around Kansas City!

 

[LJRuddy]

Im available if you need some help... I've done some work on Gen 3 SHOs and might be able to help ya out... I've got small hands.

And no, ladies, the size of your hands do not mean i have small... uhm... yea... I'll just back away now.

 

[Exitwound]

Im available if you need some help... I've done some work on Gen 3 SHOs and might be able to help ya out... I've got small hands.

And no, ladies, the size of your hands do not mean i have small... uhm... yea... I'll just back away now.

What are you talkin' about. I always heard a man with small hand has small GLOVES.

FWIW, I have really really large hands.

 

[Off Road SHO]

I've got small hands.

They don't smell like cabbage, do they?



Tom