Gettting the intake plenum off a 02 freelander
My 2002 Land Rover Freelander V6 thermostat crapped out as well and I decided to replace it myself.
The plenum is deceptive, but after 3 hours of looking and trying I
finally got it off. Of course there are many hoses and electrical
connections that need to be removed, but that's the easy part because
you can see them all. The bolts that hold on the plenum are what your
worried about and I will now tell you where they are. Read this and you should take about 30min to remove the plenum.
There are a total of 6 bolts to be removed that secure the intake plenum to the intake manifolds.
First remove the 4, 10mm large and obvious bolts at the top of the
plenum. Now here is the tricky part, there are 2 bolts that are at the
back of the plenum near the fire wall. As you are looking at the intake
plenum from the front of the car, they are on the back side of the
plenum near the fire wall on the passenger and driver side of the intake
plenum.
Both bolts your looking for are 8mm bolts. If you remove a 10mm bolt,
your removing the bolts that secure the rear spark plug coils.
The driver side rear intake plenum 8mm bolt is secured to the plenum
itself. Fell with your hand about the back of the plenum on the right
side for a lone bolt that is in the plenum with a metal tab that goes
down to the back of the rear cylinder head. Remove the bolt that is
attached to the intake plenum, not on the rear cylinder head
The passenger side one is a bit different. Feel on the back of the
intake plenum about the passenger side for a metal support tab that
comes down from the intake plenum and secures to the rear cylinder head.
Where the support tab attaches to the head is a 8mm bolt that you
remove.
Now here come the leap of faith. If you have the 4, 10mm obvious bolts
removed and the 2, 8mm from the rear of the plenum removed, and if you
can rock the plenum up and down about 2-3 inches,but it still feels like
its attached to the intake manifolds in the middle of the engine, then
you have removed all the bolts that secure the intake plenum to the
engine. This is good.
The intake plenum is now being held on by the rear intake manifold by 3
O-ring gaskets. Push onto the back of the intake plenum near the
firewall to expose a gap at the front of the intake plenum at the front
intake manifold. Put 2-3 long flat screwdrivers into the gap or a small
pry bar, and ever so gently but forcefully, apply prying force as to not
damage the mating surface of the aluminum intake manifold, until the
intake plenum pops off. It will just POP off.
Now that the intake plenum is popped off, take careful note of all the
electrical plugs and hoses as to where they attach. You will not need
any tools to disconnect the electrical plugs or hoses. To remove the
hoses, push down the red ring with you fingers that the hose goes into
and pull on the hose, it should come out very easily. The electrical
connectors, push on the metal clip down and pull the connector loose.
The electrical connectors only plug into their own plug, so you cant
mess them up.
Tools you will need to replace the thermostat;
1. 8mm combo wrench. Make sure its not too long, shorter is better.
2. 10mm socket, shallow. 10mm combo wrench
3. 2-3 flat screwdrivers, for prying off the intake plenum
4. Ratchet wrench
5. 1 foot long worth of socket extensions. 2 6inch extensions will work as well
6. Universal socket joint
7. Angled needle nose pliers make it easier for hose clap removal, but straight needle nose pliers will work
8. Diagonal cutters to cut securing zip ties for the wiring harness
Take you time, once the plenum is off it goes pretty smooth after that.
We removed just the forward intake manifold and that was more than
enough clearance to remove the thermostat. You do not need to remove the
fuel rail or spark plug coils from the manifold but you will need to
disconnect the electrical connections to move the intake manifold out of
the way.
Take pictures, there's a lot of hoses that go all over the place. The
electrical connectors are only long enough to go where their supposed to
go.
Then take that UK piece of **** to the dealer and trade it in for
anything made in the USA or Japan. Changing a thermostat in any of those
will only take 10 min and require 1 tool.
Repair provided by KPCYCLES.com of Honolulu, HI
