I was removing the EGR valve off my 97 4.6L to clean out the passages, and the bolt holding it to the TB (toward the front of the engine) snapped. It was backing out OK, but then got VERY hard to turn all of a sudden, and when I tried to tighten it again to help work it loose, it snapped. Can the TB that the valve attaches to be removed from the intake manifold easily? I can probably get the busted bolt out if I can get it to a bench to work on it.. If so, am I looking at more potential broken bolts? I don't want to go into a death spiral here...

 

There are 4 4 bolts holding the TB to the elbow. Remove them and this will make room for you to remove the elbow. There are also 4 bolts holding the elbow to the intake manifold. The EGR is bolted to the Elbow and no the TB. You should stop at the dealer to pick up a gasket for the elbow to manifold and one for the TB to elbow. What does the EGR gasket look like?

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

OK, so you are saying to first remove the TB from this 'elbow' thing, then remove the 'elbow' from the intake manifold, right? How many gaskets are involved then, 3? I didn't pull off the EGR valve yet, I stopped after the bolt snapped. But I would rather get all new gaskets for what I will disturb, and replace them. Also, will there be a connection or pipe that needs to be removed where the exhaust gases feed into the EGR system? Is that a bolt on thing? It is very hard to see what is going on back there under the firewall overhang.....

 

You should be able to get away with only unbolting the EGR and pulling it away with the tube still attached. It is prudent to have all 3 gaskets available just in case.

JMC

 

Thanks, I'll give it a shot as soon as I get the gaskets.....

 

I got the elbow thing out, and I can't get the broken bolt out. I tried to drill it out, impossible, at least with the drill bits I have, and now it is a mess. I guess I have to replace the elbow thing, but I can't seem to find a listing for it on the online parts catalogs. The thing is stamped with PN F65E-9A589-AF. Does anyone know how much this thing will cost? I did see a listing for an 'upper intake manifold', I hope that is not it, it was like $300! It is for a 97 4.6L, Vin digit number 8 is a 6...

 

Call the dealer and ask about a throttle body elbow. If you have any machine shops in your area try them for a price on removing the bolt.

JMC

 

I dropped it off at a machine shop this morning, the guy told me he would get the broken bolt out and put in a stud for about 30 bucks... I just wonder why they use a steel bolt in an aluminum part, given that the two metals react with heat over time and tend to fuse together... Thanks for the tips on getting everything apart, that helped a lot...

 

Don't use a stud. It will be difficult to line up with the stud sticking out. You may have to loosen the tube and that is a major PITA. Using the proper bolt is the simplest way to go.

JMC

 

All fixed, the machine shop had to put in a helicoil insert.. Cleaned out the elbow passages thoroughly, new gaskets, success...