Stupid Q: Coolant Crossover Removal

[3B99SVT]

OK, I've changed the thermostat and the water pump, but the coolant crossover is not budging. Any hints on removing it? I've already taken off the hoses and the two bolts. It looks like there is some black sealant on it. I'm not the original owner so I'm wondering if it's been off before. The new coolant crossover has o-rings only. Any hints?

 

[sleepin 4.6]

It has a black o ring on both sides as it enters the motor. Mine was in there pretty good also. If you used a rubber mallet and tap on each side upward it should come out.

 

[3B99SVT]

It has a black o ring on both sides as it enters the motor. Mine was in there pretty good also. If you used a rubber mallet and tap on each side upward it should come out.

Thanks. I pried up on the temp sensor so the driver's side is loose. It doesn't look like I can get a mallet in there but I'll give it a try.

 

[3B99SVT]

So I finally got the coolant crossover out last night and I wanted to post what it took just in case someone else has a problem removing theirs in the future. There was some black sealant on both sides (that I still have to remove). There wasn't enough room to get my rubber mallet in there as sleepin 4.6 suggested (I really appreciate the suggestion though). Maybe my mallet is too big? I ended up tieing some rope around the coolant crossover and used my BABB (big ass breaker bar) looped through the rope to pry the passenger side up. I put a socket on the alternator bolt for something to pry against and it all worked w/o cracking anything.

I'll also post about the water pump pulley bolts. I could only break one free when the serpentine belt was on. I couldn't find my strap wrench (it doesn't typically work that well anyway), there isn't enough room to get my impact in there, and my usual placement of a square shaft screwdriver between two of the bolt heads didn't work. So I tried a method that maybe some of you have used but I've never heard about. It worked like a charm. I used two ratchets, one w/a 3" extension (set to loosen) and the other w/o an extension (set to tighten). I used my long handle ratchet as the one w/o the extension since that's the one that needs more leverage (if you try this, you'll see why). Put the one w/o the extension on one of the bolt heads and the one w/the extension on the bolt you're trying to loosen. Rotate (try to loosen) the ratchet w/the extension until it hits the ratchet w/o the extension and now you have something to hold the pulley from turning. It may sound complicated, but it's only difficult to set up the first bolt. The rest are a piece of cake.

If any of you know a better way, please post away! Until I hear about something easier, I'm going to use this method whenever there are multiple bolts on something that spins.

 

[sleepin 4.6]

I used that same method to put the pulley back on. Once the belt was on though i was able to turn it with one without the pulley turning.