rotating the engine + broken screw on tstat

[-L82-Loser]

i plan to change the spark plugs when i have the engine torn apart. my haynes manual says i need to rotate the engine to get to the rear plugs but hasnt got any instructions. how do i do this? and since i'll have everything down to the valve covers taken off, do i need to bother doing it?

 

also, i'm a schmuck and broke the head off the air bleed screw on the thermostat housing. how do i fix it, and how the hell am i supposed to drain the coolant now?

[Slade901]

Set the emergency brake and turn the ignition switch to ON and put the gears to Neutral and you can turn OFF the ignition switch.

 

Does your engine has a dog bone in front of it? If it does then remove the bolt that holds onto the engine and loosen the other bolt. The top of the engine usually has a big metal hole used for lifting the engine. Put a bar or crow bar or pry bar in that hole to help you rotate the engine.

 

The bottom of the dog bone has a hole where you can use to put the bolt back IN to hold the engine that position.

 

Some suggests removing the alternator for easier access.

 

 

To drain your coolant? Usually there is a drain plug at the bottom of the radiator. If you have to replace the t-stat or the t-stat housing or if the bleeder screw can be replaced I would just let drain some coolant from the top when you remove the hose and the rest of the coolant would still stay in the engine and in the radiator.

[Robby1870]

if your taking it apart down to the valve covers, rotating it is going to make stuff 10x easier to get to, trust me. Its not that hard. Slade explained it. Go to a junk yard and take off a bleeder screw and put it in your pocket and walk out, problem solved. Mine is 7mm on my 3.1L.

 

Robby

[harrydunn]

Rotating the engine makes life MUCH easier. Like the guy's said, it's not hard at all. Just takes a little brute force. Oh, and make sure you're in neutral. I forgot that part the first time I did it. It may help to loosen up your airbox cover a bit as well.