4.0 sohc intake plenum removal

[strakill]

Hey, I am trying to replace my lower thermostat housing on my '02 ranger 4.0 and it seems I need to pull the intake plenum off to do it right. I need some good info on how to do it and as well as torque spec to put it back on. I just wasted 21 dollars on the Haynes online manual that is zero help other than getting rid of money and leaving me with the cover picture every time I need directions. Does anyone have a write up on this?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

No need at all to take the upper intake off to change out a thermostat. If you want more room to get at it just remove the throttle body. Torque on the thermostat housing is 89 inch pounds.

 

[strakill]

No need at all to take the upper intake off to change out a thermostat. If you want more room to get at it just remove the throttle body. Torque on the thermostat housing is 89 inch pounds.

I'm changing the thermostat lower housing, the part that has the sensors that the thermostat drops into. I got it out but there are these three little tabs on the bottom that were worn away thus making it a sinch to pull out and I don't see it being an easy task putting it back in. There is very limited room. Plus if it is not very difficult to pull the plenum than I might as well replace the seals for the intake runner, truck has 153,000 on it.

 

[adsm08]

Most of the bolts are no hard to take out. The EGR valve is a pain, and the rear most bolt on the driver's side requires a fair amount of contortionism to reach.

I say don't touch it if you don't have to.

 

[Tee Rev]

I just replaced the lower thermostat housing on my 06 last week.
Trust me, you'll want to at least loosen the intake to get a little extra clearance.
I undid the EGR tube & the two bolts holding the Coil pack bracket on the top of the intake.
Then I loosened the 4 T30 torx bolts for the intake almost all the way out, but still slightly engaged. I could tip the intake up just enough to give me the clearance needed.

Other than that, here's a good write up. http://bengrosser.com/howto/fordthermostat/

 

[strakill]

I just replaced the lower thermostat housing on my 06 last week.
Trust me, you'll want to at least loosen the intake to get a little extra clearance.
I undid the EGR tube & the two bolts holding the Coil pack bracket on the top of the intake.
Then I loosened the 4 T30 torx bolts for the intake almost all the way out, but still slightly engaged. I could tip the intake up just enough to give me the clearance needed.

Other than that, here's a good write up. http://bengrosser.com/howto/fordthermostat/

That is a great write up. I am probably going to go ahead and pull the plenum anyways to get new seals on the runner. I haven't made my mind up about that quite yet. The seal kit is $8.99 it is just a matter if I should do it or not considering the high mileage on the truck. Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

My bad...I just read thermostat housing....

 

[strakill]

My bad...I just read thermostat housing....

No problem. Would you happen to know off the top of your hear the torque specs for the plenum bolts? I'm still searching for that.

 

[strakill]

Well I got everything out and to be honest it wasn't hard at all. I put all the new parts in including new intake seals and fired her up, then coolant started pouring out of the sensors. Oriellys sold me a bad thermostat housing so I went back to test the other three they have and none are any good. The brand they stock is Murray and it is complete junk. Looks like I will have to wait 12 -14 business days at the earliest to get my hands on a Motorcraft part and that is from the local dealer.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

One of my co-workers made the same claim, yet the dozen or so I've done have been perfect.

Turns out he was over tightening the bolts. I also use I light layer of blue permatex RTV on every sealing surface. (even hose connections, 3yr comeback free!)

I've also found this is a great time to replace the plug on the DS head. I've come across a few that corroded through. I sell them together every time now, unless it's a 3rd gen Ex cause intake removal isn't necessary for the thermostat housing.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tee Rev]

Well I got everything out and to be honest it wasn't hard at all. I put all the new parts in including new intake seals and fired her up, then coolant started pouring out of the sensors. Oriellys sold me a bad thermostat housing so I went back to test the other three they have and none are any good. The brand they stock is Murray and it is complete junk. Looks like I will have to wait 12 -14 business days at the earliest to get my hands on a Motorcraft part and that is from the local dealer.

Did you replace the sensors or at least the O-rings on the sensors?
This is pretty much mandatory.

 

[strakill]

One of my co-workers made the same claim, yet the dozen or so I've done have been perfect.

Turns out he was over tightening the bolts. I also use I light layer of blue permatex RTV on every sealing surface. (even hose connections, 3yr comeback free!)

I've also found this is a great time to replace the plug on the DS head. I've come across a few that corroded through. I sell them together every time now, unless it's a 3rd gen Ex cause intake removal isn't necessary for the thermostat housing.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

It is the holes for the two sensors do not seal right, they are the push in type. They fit very loose and coolant runs freely from them.

 

[strakill]

Did you replace the sensors or at least the O-rings on the sensors?
This is pretty much mandatory.

Brand new sensors and O-rings. The guy at orielly's told me after about 10 minutes of checking the fit on the others in the store that this is a common problem. Oh well I will wait for the Ford part.