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Explorer Addict
- Joined
- December 27, 2009
- Messages
- 3,859
- Reaction score
- 16
- City, State
- Vermillion, SD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 99 XLT V8 AWD
Must Have Tools:
Flat tip screwdriver
5/16" nut driver -- Not required, but nicer to use than a screwdriver for your intake
10mm 3/8" drive socket -- Deep
13mm 3/8" drive socket -- Deep -- 13mm combination wrench is handy too
15mm 3/8" drive socket -- You may want to use a 1/2" drive socket and breaker bar instead with this one.
17mm 3/8" drive socket
Various 3/8" drive extensions
E7 External Torx Socket -- a 5mm 6 point socket will work in a pinch, careful not to strip the top of the studs.
3/8" drive ratchet
3/8" drive breaker bar
3/8" drive Torque wrench with foot lb adjustment
3lb gentle persuasion tool (hammer)
5/8" combination or box end wrench
11/16" combination or open end wrench
3/4" combination or open end wrench
Penetrating oil of your choice -- I recommend a 50/50 mix of acetone and transmission fluid
Pliers
Shop Vac
Assorted profanities -- Optional, but it helps
First drain your radiator and disconnect your battery.
Then remove the intake tube. There are hose clamps with 5/16" head slotted bolts on each end.
The end of the throttle cable is attached to the throttle body. You can see it in the above picture on the left side of the throttle body. The end of one of the cables is red. Use a flat tip screwdriver to gently pry it off the arm, it is press fit and will just pop off.
Next remove the bracket holding the throttle cable to the Upper intake manifold. There are two bolts, use a ratchet and 10mm socket.
On the back of the Upper intake manifold, you have a vacuum line to your transmission and a hose for your AC (if equipped). Remove the bolt holding them down using your 10mm socket. If all is going well, it should look like this now.
From here, you can unhook the plugs for the TPS, IACV, IAT and AC compressor
Next, unhook all the vacuum hoses from the vacuum tree. There are quite a few, make sure you get them all
You don't have to remember which one goes where, it doesn't matter as long as you put them back on the ones they fit snugly on, and you reattach ALL of them. But, for what it is worth, in case you put it back together and can't find one of your lines.... On the front in the above picture. You have the hose to the cruise control and the fuel pressure regulator. The big one on the side goes to your brake booster. The one on the top goes to the transmission regulator. There are two on the back. One goes to factory air box to supply vacuum to the thermostatic element controlling the heat riser, the other goes to your climate control in your cab.
While you are still in the mood to unhook vacuum hoses, on the front of the UIM, on the bottom side, is one more vacuum hose. Unhook that one as well.
Next, remove all your plug wires.
Unplug the coil pack.
The coil pack comes off next. You can remove that using a 13mm socket to get the two bolts out that go into the UIM, and a 17mm socket to remove the bolt on the bottom that goes into the exhaust manifold. You did soak that the day before with penetrating oil, correct?
I have my socket and breaker bar on the bottom nut in this picture, in case you are having a hard time seeing it.
Now you can use your deep 13mm socket to remove all the nuts holding down the UIM. Be sure that all you are removing is the nuts. If it starts feeling funny, like you are getting too much resistance, use a 13mm wrench and see if you are also turning the studs. If so, tighten them back down using your E7 external torx socket, then while holding the stud with your socket, use your wrench to loosen the nut.
Once you have all 6 nuts removed, your UIM may still be firmly attached..... Use your hammer and give it a little whack to break it free from the gasket. Then just pull it off.
You are here!!
Remove the fuel lines from the fuel pressure regulator and from the back of the fuel rail. You need your 11/16" wrench to remove it from the front, and an 3/4" to remove the back line. Also remove the vacuum line from your fuel pressure regulator.
Unplug injectors, then reach WAY behind the engine and unplug the O2 sensor.
Remove the studs from the fuel rail (if you are not planning on changing injectors, this step is unnecessary. The LIM can be removed with the fuel rail attached.
At this point, you should be able to see just how much is in your way.
Time to remove that pesky alternator.
Relieve tension on the serpentine belt by using the box end of your 5/8" on the belt tensioner and twisting it counter-clockwise. Once you have some slack, pull the belt off and slowly relieve the tension on the tensioner. Don't let go suddenly, it will snap and hurt you or break something. I should have taken a picture of the tensioner so you could see what I am talking about... sorry
There are 3 bolts holding down the alternator. Remove them using a 13mm socket.
Unhook the two plugs on the top of the alternator, rotate it forward slightly and remove the nut on the back that holds the power wire using a 10mm socket or wrench.
Remove the upper radiator hose and you should have almost enough room to see everything.
Unplug your temp sending unit and your ECT. In the picture below, the temp sending unit is the one on the left side with a stud coming out the top, the ECT (engine coolant temp sensor) is the one with a round harness with two plugs on the right side of the thermostat housing. The temp sending unit is what controls the gauge on your dash, the ECT is for your ECU.
Pull all the wiring that is strewn about on top of your engine to the front and out of your way. Also move the vacuum lines out of the way.
That was a lot of work, but now you can see everything
Get your trusty shop vac and start vacuuming all the crud off the top of your engine now that you can reach everything. No matter how clean you keep your engine, there will always be debris that accumulates here. Vacuum it away now, because you don't want any of it falling inside your engine.
go ahead and pull out your injectors (if you are changing them)
There are 8 bolts holding down EACH valve cover. Use a 10 mm socket to remove them. The two on the back have long studs coming out of the bolts, so you will need a deep socket to do this. Underneath each bolt is a funny triangular shaped washer. SAVE THESE! They are necessary. They serve two purposes. 1, they spread out the force the bolt is putting on your valve cover, this helps prevent leakage. 2, they have little grooves cut in them and function as lock washers so your valve cover bolts don't un-torque.
Give each of the valve covers a tap with the hammer to break them free of their gasket. (make sure all the old gasket comes off. They may be brittle after all these years, or someone may have replaced them with cork gaskets. If you have the OEM style gaskets with the rubber edge, be sure none of the edge is left behind.)
Remove the valve covers.
I don't know about you, but I am excited, we can see inside our engine finally.
To remove the lower intake manifold, there are 3 bolts on each side that you remove using a 10mm socket, and 2 nuts on each side you can remove using a 13mm socket. Just so you can see them, I circled the bolts in blue and the nuts are circled in red, or have a red arrow pointing towards their location.
The LIM can be removed with the fuel rail still attached. Don't let my pic make you think you need to pull the fuel rail. I only pulled it because I was cleaning and servicing the injectors. The Thermostat housing on the front is held on with 3 10mm bolts.... Amazing how much easier it is to reach now than it is when the engine is all put together.
Use a 15mm socket on a breaker bar to remove the bolts from the rocker arms..... These suckers are tight, don't be surprised.
Remove the rocker arms.
Remove the pushrods.
Installation is the reverse of the removal procedure, and honestly, the hardest part of this whole project is seating the injectors, so if you aren't removing them, you are way ahead.
The rocker arms should be torqued to around 50 ft lbs I believe.... I don't have a manual handy to check. Torque them in stages. First torque all three bolts to 15 lbs, then 25 lbs, then 40 lbs then 50 lbs.
Honestly, I never really pay much attention to the rest of the torque specs for the LIM, UIM or valve covers. I get a feel for how much to torque things through experience, and just do so without measuring. I always ALWAYS measure torque for internal components, or components subject to harsh condition, such as wheels. The less experienced mechanic should always follow the recommended torque specifications for all parts to avoid leaks or over-tightening, which can cause, leaks, breakage, or warping.
If you are replacing pushrods and rocker assemblies, I personally recommend getting them from Delta Cam. The rocker assemblies come preassembled, the parts are beefy, and they are heat treated (hardened) so you don't have so much of the common explorer tick.
Look at the size difference there..... I don't think I'll be seeing any more bent pushrods.
Before installing them, I like to leave the pushrods sitting in a tray of oil and covering the rocker assemblies with oil, just so they have some lubrication at your initial start-up. You can use assembly lube too if you want, but I don't care.
If you want to just buy the rockers and install them on your old assemblies. There is a pin on the end you tap out with a hammer, then grab with a pair of pliers or vice grips and pull the rest of the way out. Remove the wavy washer at the end, and start removing the springs, rockers and hold downs. Replace them in the same order and orientation. Remember to replace the dowel pin with a NEW dowel pin. Don't reuse the old one, it will fall out.... then you will have a different tapping sound to worry about.
Edit: adding the Firing order since one takes the coil pack off to do this, and I wouldn't want someone to forget how the plug wires go back on
When viewed from the front
Engine is laid out as
3 6
2 5
1 4
firing order is 1 4 2 5 3 6
coil pack
3 4
2 6
1 5
Flat tip screwdriver
5/16" nut driver -- Not required, but nicer to use than a screwdriver for your intake
10mm 3/8" drive socket -- Deep
13mm 3/8" drive socket -- Deep -- 13mm combination wrench is handy too
15mm 3/8" drive socket -- You may want to use a 1/2" drive socket and breaker bar instead with this one.
17mm 3/8" drive socket
Various 3/8" drive extensions
E7 External Torx Socket -- a 5mm 6 point socket will work in a pinch, careful not to strip the top of the studs.
3/8" drive ratchet
3/8" drive breaker bar
3/8" drive Torque wrench with foot lb adjustment
3lb gentle persuasion tool (hammer)
5/8" combination or box end wrench
11/16" combination or open end wrench
3/4" combination or open end wrench
Penetrating oil of your choice -- I recommend a 50/50 mix of acetone and transmission fluid
Pliers
Shop Vac
Assorted profanities -- Optional, but it helps
First drain your radiator and disconnect your battery.
Then remove the intake tube. There are hose clamps with 5/16" head slotted bolts on each end.
The end of the throttle cable is attached to the throttle body. You can see it in the above picture on the left side of the throttle body. The end of one of the cables is red. Use a flat tip screwdriver to gently pry it off the arm, it is press fit and will just pop off.
Next remove the bracket holding the throttle cable to the Upper intake manifold. There are two bolts, use a ratchet and 10mm socket.
On the back of the Upper intake manifold, you have a vacuum line to your transmission and a hose for your AC (if equipped). Remove the bolt holding them down using your 10mm socket. If all is going well, it should look like this now.
From here, you can unhook the plugs for the TPS, IACV, IAT and AC compressor
Next, unhook all the vacuum hoses from the vacuum tree. There are quite a few, make sure you get them all
You don't have to remember which one goes where, it doesn't matter as long as you put them back on the ones they fit snugly on, and you reattach ALL of them. But, for what it is worth, in case you put it back together and can't find one of your lines.... On the front in the above picture. You have the hose to the cruise control and the fuel pressure regulator. The big one on the side goes to your brake booster. The one on the top goes to the transmission regulator. There are two on the back. One goes to factory air box to supply vacuum to the thermostatic element controlling the heat riser, the other goes to your climate control in your cab.
While you are still in the mood to unhook vacuum hoses, on the front of the UIM, on the bottom side, is one more vacuum hose. Unhook that one as well.
Next, remove all your plug wires.
Unplug the coil pack.
The coil pack comes off next. You can remove that using a 13mm socket to get the two bolts out that go into the UIM, and a 17mm socket to remove the bolt on the bottom that goes into the exhaust manifold. You did soak that the day before with penetrating oil, correct?
I have my socket and breaker bar on the bottom nut in this picture, in case you are having a hard time seeing it.
Now you can use your deep 13mm socket to remove all the nuts holding down the UIM. Be sure that all you are removing is the nuts. If it starts feeling funny, like you are getting too much resistance, use a 13mm wrench and see if you are also turning the studs. If so, tighten them back down using your E7 external torx socket, then while holding the stud with your socket, use your wrench to loosen the nut.
Once you have all 6 nuts removed, your UIM may still be firmly attached..... Use your hammer and give it a little whack to break it free from the gasket. Then just pull it off.
You are here!!
Remove the fuel lines from the fuel pressure regulator and from the back of the fuel rail. You need your 11/16" wrench to remove it from the front, and an 3/4" to remove the back line. Also remove the vacuum line from your fuel pressure regulator.
Unplug injectors, then reach WAY behind the engine and unplug the O2 sensor.
Remove the studs from the fuel rail (if you are not planning on changing injectors, this step is unnecessary. The LIM can be removed with the fuel rail attached.
At this point, you should be able to see just how much is in your way.
Time to remove that pesky alternator.
Relieve tension on the serpentine belt by using the box end of your 5/8" on the belt tensioner and twisting it counter-clockwise. Once you have some slack, pull the belt off and slowly relieve the tension on the tensioner. Don't let go suddenly, it will snap and hurt you or break something. I should have taken a picture of the tensioner so you could see what I am talking about... sorry
There are 3 bolts holding down the alternator. Remove them using a 13mm socket.
Unhook the two plugs on the top of the alternator, rotate it forward slightly and remove the nut on the back that holds the power wire using a 10mm socket or wrench.
Remove the upper radiator hose and you should have almost enough room to see everything.
Unplug your temp sending unit and your ECT. In the picture below, the temp sending unit is the one on the left side with a stud coming out the top, the ECT (engine coolant temp sensor) is the one with a round harness with two plugs on the right side of the thermostat housing. The temp sending unit is what controls the gauge on your dash, the ECT is for your ECU.
Pull all the wiring that is strewn about on top of your engine to the front and out of your way. Also move the vacuum lines out of the way.
That was a lot of work, but now you can see everything
Get your trusty shop vac and start vacuuming all the crud off the top of your engine now that you can reach everything. No matter how clean you keep your engine, there will always be debris that accumulates here. Vacuum it away now, because you don't want any of it falling inside your engine.
go ahead and pull out your injectors (if you are changing them)
There are 8 bolts holding down EACH valve cover. Use a 10 mm socket to remove them. The two on the back have long studs coming out of the bolts, so you will need a deep socket to do this. Underneath each bolt is a funny triangular shaped washer. SAVE THESE! They are necessary. They serve two purposes. 1, they spread out the force the bolt is putting on your valve cover, this helps prevent leakage. 2, they have little grooves cut in them and function as lock washers so your valve cover bolts don't un-torque.
Give each of the valve covers a tap with the hammer to break them free of their gasket. (make sure all the old gasket comes off. They may be brittle after all these years, or someone may have replaced them with cork gaskets. If you have the OEM style gaskets with the rubber edge, be sure none of the edge is left behind.)
Remove the valve covers.
I don't know about you, but I am excited, we can see inside our engine finally.
To remove the lower intake manifold, there are 3 bolts on each side that you remove using a 10mm socket, and 2 nuts on each side you can remove using a 13mm socket. Just so you can see them, I circled the bolts in blue and the nuts are circled in red, or have a red arrow pointing towards their location.
The LIM can be removed with the fuel rail still attached. Don't let my pic make you think you need to pull the fuel rail. I only pulled it because I was cleaning and servicing the injectors. The Thermostat housing on the front is held on with 3 10mm bolts.... Amazing how much easier it is to reach now than it is when the engine is all put together.
Use a 15mm socket on a breaker bar to remove the bolts from the rocker arms..... These suckers are tight, don't be surprised.
Remove the rocker arms.
Remove the pushrods.
Installation is the reverse of the removal procedure, and honestly, the hardest part of this whole project is seating the injectors, so if you aren't removing them, you are way ahead.
The rocker arms should be torqued to around 50 ft lbs I believe.... I don't have a manual handy to check. Torque them in stages. First torque all three bolts to 15 lbs, then 25 lbs, then 40 lbs then 50 lbs.
Honestly, I never really pay much attention to the rest of the torque specs for the LIM, UIM or valve covers. I get a feel for how much to torque things through experience, and just do so without measuring. I always ALWAYS measure torque for internal components, or components subject to harsh condition, such as wheels. The less experienced mechanic should always follow the recommended torque specifications for all parts to avoid leaks or over-tightening, which can cause, leaks, breakage, or warping.
If you are replacing pushrods and rocker assemblies, I personally recommend getting them from Delta Cam. The rocker assemblies come preassembled, the parts are beefy, and they are heat treated (hardened) so you don't have so much of the common explorer tick.
Look at the size difference there..... I don't think I'll be seeing any more bent pushrods.
Before installing them, I like to leave the pushrods sitting in a tray of oil and covering the rocker assemblies with oil, just so they have some lubrication at your initial start-up. You can use assembly lube too if you want, but I don't care.
If you want to just buy the rockers and install them on your old assemblies. There is a pin on the end you tap out with a hammer, then grab with a pair of pliers or vice grips and pull the rest of the way out. Remove the wavy washer at the end, and start removing the springs, rockers and hold downs. Replace them in the same order and orientation. Remember to replace the dowel pin with a NEW dowel pin. Don't reuse the old one, it will fall out.... then you will have a different tapping sound to worry about.
Edit: adding the Firing order since one takes the coil pack off to do this, and I wouldn't want someone to forget how the plug wires go back on
When viewed from the front
Engine is laid out as
3 6
2 5
1 4
firing order is 1 4 2 5 3 6
coil pack
3 4
2 6
1 5