so, awhile back i had posted about carbon build up in a vacuum line, which ended up with me stripping out the evap system.

well this time, i decided to do the lower intake gasket. and im pretty much at a standstill here. there is a copper line that runs around the right side of the engine, and wraps around the rear, then goes around the left side into what looks like the exhaust manifold (not pictured). there are several brackets that hold this line on. and there is a bracket with two bolts that face away from you on the very back side of the engine that is holding this thing on. my issue is that there is absolutely no room to work with to get any socket or extension back there, you can fit a 13mm wrench on it, but you get no leverage whatsoever to break the bolt loose. and this copper line is literally in the way of me pulling this intake off.

how am i supposed to remove this line? and whats it even used for? couldnt they have routed it elsewhere?

im not sure how the attachment uploading works, but i hope you guys can see the pics

 

well i downloaded the PDF with locations of everything on the car. and it looks like its just an air pipe. either way i gotta get it out of the way....

 

Looks to me like the EGR tubing. You could try hammering it in the spots the intake is catching. But it should disconnect from the exhaust manifolds and be able to be set aside.

 

what do you mean hammer it? like hammer the area and like bend the line outwards? i mean, i do have a rubber mallet....hmmm lol. it does sound like a good idea, considering its barely snagging on the line.

and as for it just moving aside, theres a bracket in the first picture, thats a huge pain in the *** to get to.

 

Yeah if you can get it to bend a little you should be okay.

As far as the bracket, is the bracket actually attached to the pipe? Or is the pipe just being held in by it? I will look in my manual real quick to see what he says.

Edit: Haynes manual doesn't show me any pictures (go figure), just on how to clean and diagnose. I'll try to find something else.

 

finally got it. i reached in the back and fit the closed end of the wrench on the bolt that was holding that bracket on, and took a rubber mallet and banged it loose. the line was able to be pried upwards just enough to get the intake out of there.

now my next question is for the rocker arm nuts. are those a one time torque nut? or can they be reused? because they are 6.99 a peice at autozone, and having 12 rocker arms....thats a good hunk of change for some nuts lol. i remember the rocker arm nuts on my 3.1 LH0 was a one time torque nut, so i bought a pushrod removal tool to get the pushrods out, but with the way the engine is in the camaro, i dont have the clearance to release the ones that are in the back of the engine. so i gotta remove the rocker arm nuts.

 

Book doesn't say anything against it. Just make sure you number where every thing comes off and make sure it all goes back in the same spot.

 

okay, i still got to make sure that they are reusable. dont wanna put it all back together and they start coming loose on me. lol. im sure ill be able to find something that reassures me.

*edit* checked the autozone website and took a look. it says nothing about replacing rocker arm nuts, so im assuming they are reusable. which is good news to me. i should have this bad boy put back together tomorrow....hopefully lol

 

so, another question before i proceed. i was reading up and my question is about valve lash. now that i removed the rocker arm nuts, can i just tighten them down normally untill the play in the push rod is gone? or do i really have to get into the timing and rotate the engine untill its at the number 1 firing position? because from what i read the valves have to be in the closed position before tightening the nuts down. please tell me this isnt the case....

 

also, in the intake valley, where the pushrods seat and where i think the lifters are, there are big chunks of carbon buildup, or at least what seems like carbon buildup, or really thick grease buildup where the block and head meet. what would cause that?