how to:remove and install IM, phenos, bypass tb, rear mount, rear VCG, etc.

[halfriceboy]

for those of you who are scared to take off your intake manifold because it looks hard, well here is how to do it. use this as a checklist to make sure everything is reconnected. i will also tell how to put in a rear mount, phenos, race kit, rear VCG, and t.b. coolant bypass.

tools needed: 8mm socket, 10mm, 12mm, 13mm, 17mm, swivel, long extension, adjustable wrench (or a set of metric), jackstands (optional), jack, peice of wood.

parts recomended: mazdaspeed rear mount, rear VCG, phenos, race kit, sealant for IM, 2 bottles of powersteering fluid.

to remove intake manifold:
-let engine cool
-(optional), jack front of car up and put on jackstands
-releive fuel pressure by removing relay under hood labeled "circuit relay". it's green. then try to start car.
-remove:
1. front air scoop 10mm
2. VAF harness
3. big vaccum hose on rear of intake elbow. disconnect from elbow
4. FPR harness
5. FPR vaccum hose
6. vaccum hose from rear of airbox
7. PCV hose
8. vaccum hose to #6 runner
9. airbox bolts 12mm
10. airbox and filter
11. intake elbow and VAF
12. throttle cable. (open throttle fully then pull end of cable from the rocker thing, then remove the whole assembly from the IM by pinching the clips together and pulling it through.)
13. hose from front V.C. to IM (forgot name)
14. banjo bolt and washers 17mm. (don't lose the washers)
15. the 2 fuel rail harnesses
16. knock sensor harness (long and gray next to t.b.)
17. tps harness
18. VRIS solenoid harness 1
19. VRIS solenoid harness 2
20. harness next to them (forgot name)
21. fuel line to FPR
22. 2 rear bracket bolts. warning: these are a bitch. they are 12mm just so you know. you can't see them. they connect the back of the IM to the back of the rear head. it works best to crawl on top of the engine and reach back there. one is on top and one is on bottom. they both point towards the front of the car.
23. 2 harnesses from the bracket
24. IAC harness on bottom of throttle body.
25. 3 coolant lines on bottom of t.b.
26. big vaccum hose under passenger side rear of IM
27. little vaccum hose un passenger side rear of IM
28. rear spark plug wires.
29. front spark plug wire bracket screws. only the screws need to be taken out. the brackets themselves can stay clipped onto the wires.
30. big vaccum hose from IM to brake cylinder
31. manifold bolts and nuts
32. manifold. (lift front first then pull up and out. it will not come all the way out because there are still 2 vaccum hoses holding it in. they are connected to the bracket. disconnect them so that the bracket will come out with the IM. the bracket should be dangling from the IM. cover the open holes in the heads with a rag or something.)

now, to do the rear engine mount:
1. jack up engine by oil pan to releive stress on rear mount. note: place the peice of wood between the jack and oil pan. do not jack near drain plug.
2. use a 17mm and remove the bolt that goes through the bushing. remove nut also. if the power steering line is in the way of the bolt, losen the line and set it aside. it's strong, use force to move it.
3. remove the 3 bolts on top of the mount. use a swivel if necessary to get to the bolts. they will be very tight.
4. the mount should just come out. look how crappy is is compared to the mazdaspeed one.
5. put the new mount back in and tighten everything. put the bolts halfway in, then put the bushing bolt through. then tighten the 3 top bolts.
6. put the powersteering line back on if it was removed.
7. after the IM is back on, add powersteering fluid.

to put in a rear valve cover gasket:
1. if you are still motivated to put it in then remove the 11 or 12 10mm bolts holding the VC on. take cover off. oil might drip from cover.
2. take out the old gasket and put the new one in.
3. put RTV sealant on all 90 degree angles around the mating surface.
4. put the cover back on.
5. if you have the zinc plated bolts from
probesport.com (http://www.probesport.com) then use them. but if not, put the old ones back on.
6. tighten them to 72 inch pounds or until you think they are tight.

to install the race kit and phenos
1. the race kit comes with longer stufs to go into the heads. use pliers to twist out the 4 old studs from the heads.
2. this will make metal shavings. do not get them into the head ports.
3. once all four are out, install the new larger ones. i used a pipe wrench to get the new ones in. be careful not to strip the threads.
4. when installing phenos, put sealant around both sides of each port hole. the stock IM gaskets will not be used.
5. use a vaccum to clean up all metal shavings from around the heads.
6. when the intake manifold is back on, put the hardware from the race kit on in this order: insulator, insulator, washer, bolt. same thing with the studs.

[halfriceboy]

to install the intake manifold and bypass the throttle body coolant lines:
1. if you want to bypass them, remove one hose from the head. take the other hose end and put it on that tube. it should be a loop. the hose will come out of the head and then go directly back in.
2. if you installed phenos, then the fuel line will not match up to the fuel rail. so the fuel line must be unbolted from the head to allow it to be raised up and connect with the fuel rail.
3. put the intake manifold back on. be sure that the bracket goes back behind the engine.
4. bolt the IM to the heads. if you installed a race kit, put the hardware on in this order: 2 insulators, washer, then the bolt/nut. (the bolts that come with the race kit are 13mm)
5. put the bracket back on. only the top bolt needs to be put back in.
6. connect all vaccum hoses and harnesses.
7. finish reinstalling the rest of the things from the checklist, but in reverse order.
8. lower car
9. fill powersteering fluid.
10. turn steering wheel left and right with car running.
11. fill again
12. repeat until the level doesn't drop anymore


now you are done, you don't have as much wheel hop, your manifold and t.b. are cooler, and you don't have oil in your spark plug wells.

FYI-the only reason i jacked up the car and put it on jackstands is because it hurt my back to work on it when it was that low. good luck.

[Probe 2C]

This is so incredibly elite it's now sticky.

(especially cool since htis needs to be done to my car :))

[killswitch]

Wow !!

This is exactly what I'm going to be doing very soon, thanks man :thup: :D

[halfriceboy]

your welcome. i knew a lot of people wanted to know how to do it. just some more advice to you.........when you are pulling the manifold off, and the 2 vaccum hoses are attached, pay attention to which nipples they went on, because they have to go back on that same way.

[Fst as sht]

what is a race kit?

[halfriceboy]

well, ya know the phenos, they make your intake manifold sit higher. so, the origional bolts won't go into the heads as far because of the spacers. the race kit is just a $20 kit from Outlaw Engineering that contains longer bolts and studs, insulated washers, and metal washers. they work well with phenos. click here (http://www.probeparts.com/parts/?pid=00000001.004) for a better explaination of them.

[Stugotz006]

Wow. you made it seem so easy:rolleyes:

Just kidding. Good post man:tup:

[THE Probaholic]

Another tip for the pheno's...what I did on mine...grinded down (just slightly) where the mounting holes on the manifold are to allow the nuts/bolts to grab a few more threads. Don't take off too much material or the manifold may crack when tightening down. Also tighten the nuts/bolts in sequence, meaning start in the center and work clockwise going outwards and around.

[Joe Bialy]

now, to do the rear engine mount:
1. jack up engine by oil pan to releive stress on rear mount. note: place the
peice of wood between the jack and oil pan. do not jack near drain plug.
2. use a 17mm and remove the bolt that goes through the bushing. remove
nut also. if the power steering line is in the way of the bolt, losen the line
and set it aside. it's strong, use force to move it.
3. remove the 3 bolts on top of the mount. use a swivel if necessary to get
to the bolts. they will be very tight.
4. the mount should just come out. look how crappy is is compared to the
mazdaspeed one.
5. put the new mount back in and tighten everything. put the bolts halfway
in, then put the bushing bolt through. then tighten the 3 top bolts.
6. put the powersteering line back on if it was removed.
7. after the IM is back on, add powersteering fluid.

1) Jacking the engine up by the oil pan can disturb the pan gasket causing oil leaks. I found out the hard way. Also, you'll find that there isn't much leverage gained by jacking up at the pan. Better to use a point closer to the rear mount, such as the MTX casing much closer in line with the mount.

1-1/2) Remove the VAF

2) No need to mess with power steering lines at all. I took off the right front road wheel and got a clean shot at the 17mm nut holding the bushing bolt in from there. You'll see it just above the R&P, just use about 24" of drive extensions to reach it. The BOLT head on mine was also 17mm, but it was SQUARE- not many square 17mm sockets around. I was able to keep it captive with a pair of Vise grips on 'end', then used a 17mm open end.

3) Access to the the mount's body attaching hardware is easy once the wiring harness that lays over it is moved out of the way. There are 2 captive studs on the firewall that hold the harness's clips- one on each side of the mount. Remove the stud nuts, free up the harness and pull it forward, out of the way. The two 17mm attaching nuts and one bolt will be right there.

4) It goes together much easier than it comes apart!

[halfriceboy]

Originally posted by Joe Bialy


1) Jacking the engine up by the oil pan can disturb the pan gasket causing oil leaks.

1-1/2) Remove the VAF

2) No need to mess with power steering lines at all.



1) haynes says to jack up the engine by the oil pan using a piece of wood as a cushion.

1-1/2) :wtf: the VAF isn't even near the rear mount, besides, that comes out when you remove the airbox.
2) i had to move a powersteering line because when i tried to pull the bolt out of the bushing, it only came out like half way because the line was in the way.

[Joe Bialy]

Your write up starts with removing the IM first.I did mine without removing it, that's why #1-1/2 is there. The airbox or VAF or whatever you guys want to call it is easy to remove and provides a little more elbow room to work in. This whole thing kinda pisses me off, because I had the IM off just a few weeks ago doing VC gaskets!! That's when I shoulda done that mount too!

Haynes, Chilton, All data, and I'm sure the official "Ford" way all have proceedures that sometimes are less than the best. He*l- Alldata sez "remove the engine" to change that mount! How stupid is that??


Which side did your bushing bolt go in at? Mine came out the left (driver's) side with no interference from the PS lines.

I did the front mount in about 20 minutes. Three zips with my impact and it was out. The car rides and runs better than ever now in no small part due to the help from all of you guys on this list!!

[cre3d]

From what I remember, my bolt was square also. A good buddy that can hold the bolt for you with some pliers from another angle works well :)

[halfriceboy]

Originally posted by Joe Bialy
Your write up starts with removing the IM first.I did mine without removing it, that's why #1-1/2 is there. The airbox or VAF or whatever you guys want to call it is easy to remove and provides a little more elbow room to work in. This whole thing kinda pisses me off, because I had the IM off just a few weeks ago doing VC gaskets!! That's when I shoulda done that mount too!

Haynes, Chilton, All data, and I'm sure the official "Ford" way all have proceedures that sometimes are less than the best. He*l- Alldata sez "remove the engine" to change that mount! How stupid is that??


Which side did your bushing bolt go in at? Mine came out the left (driver's) side with no interference from the PS lines.

I did the front mount in about 20 minutes. Three zips with my impact and it was out. The car rides and runs better than ever now in no small part due to the help from all of you guys on this list!!

my bushing bolt pointed toward the passenger side of the car. sucks.

[Probe 2C]

Worked well for the guy who did the install on my car :thup:

[lowerdfool]

i didn't go by these instructions. . . . :lol:

please don't kill me...... :razz:

[Probe 2C]

Originally posted by lowerdfool
i didn't go by these instructions. . . . :lol:

please don't kill me...... :razz:

Surely dieing you wil die.

[halfriceboy]

Originally posted by Probe 2C


Surely dieing you wil die.

:wtf:

[chogan]

Nice post........thanks.

[Fastest95PGT]

You know what'd be pretty slick? If we had pictures of each and every step so that some of us who might not be able to find something, such as the FPR to find the vaccuum hose connected to it, can find it slightly easier. :D Just a thought, but that'd require a ton of pictures I bet. Maybe I'll take a ton if I actually get the balls up to pull my IM off to clean it up really nice and paint it.

[halfriceboy]

ya know what?.....thats a good idea! but i don't have a digital camera. if i find one i'll post pics. thanks

[My_Probe_is_faster]

First time I removed the rear mount I was pissed cause the thru bolt JUST hits the PS line as you said. I started to undo it, then stopped and changed my mind. You unbolt the mount itself and the bracket that holds it can be loosened, then the bolt has clearance to come out as I remember.

:tup:

Next time I do this will be soon, but OUT of the car on my new ZE(if it ever gets here)

Nick

[TakimanPGT]

I can do the pics of the process if I can server space to host them. Cos we are talking a lot of pics here.

[onlyp]

Originally posted by TakimanPGT
I can do the pics of the process if I can server space to host them. Cos we are talking a lot of pics here.

Give me the pix, I'll give u back the link ;)

[TakimanPGT]

In less than a couple of weeks hopefully! :)

Thx, dewd.

[Jarod7920]

My fuel line on my KLZE is not long enough for the spacers. I tried to install them but i couldn't recontect my fuel line. What should i do.

[cre3d]

Did you loosen the two nuts holding the fuel line to the engine? You can safely remove them and then the line will have enough slack for you to re-attach it. This was in the outlaw engineering instructions that came with the pheno's -- worked for me.

[beastlx]

i cant find that dam hidden bold on my im. its starting to make me mad. does anyone have a pic or somthing they can show me?

[halfriceboy]

Originally posted by beastlx
i cant find that dam hidden bold on my im. its starting to make me mad. does anyone have a pic or somthing they can show me?

crawl under your car and look up behind your engine. it's a bracket holding the back of your IM to your heads. it's just to the drivers side of the VRIS harnesses, then go down.

[beastlx]

thanks, its getting to late tonight ill look tomarow. what do you thinkg about BECK/ARNLEY gaskets. are they cheep cork or what? they are really cheap from carparts.com

[halfriceboy]

Originally posted by beastlx
what do you thinkg about BECK/ARNLEY gaskets. are they cheep cork or what?

never heard of them. are they for your IM? if they are, just get phenos instead.

[Lee 93redPGT]

Hey, I just removed my intake manifold, your instructions helped quite a bit, but it was lacking the visual instruction, so I took a bunch of pictures, including detailed pics of that hidden bolt!!!

I would be happy to post them, but the only place I can host pics is Cardomain, and I already have like 100 pics on there, so if anyone can host them, we could get a REAL good VFAQ going with this thread......