Coolant Hose Under Intake Manifold (Miata)

I'm trying to replace this piddly cooling hose on my Miata that burst at my last track day. One end terminates behind the block. I've been able to access that. The other end terminate near the oil filter under the intake manifold. I can't get the hose clamp off. I have special cable-operate hose-clamp pliers, but there isn't enough room under the manifold to get a grip on the clamp.

Any suggestions on a trick to do this, that don't require me to remove the intake manifold?

Otherwise, how hard is it to remove the intake manifold (it's a 94, so it looks like one piece)? Are there any tricks for that?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Alternately, I could use a hose junction on the piece of hsoe that's in place, since it's in reasonably good condition still. Then I can attache the new hose to that. It would be a bit desperate, but it should make the car drivable for a little while.

Remove the intake already. I wouldn't trust a section of hose that has already failed (farther down yes, but it failed) and is in a higher heat area. When that hose junction or original hose section fails at your next track day, are you going to be in a better position to replace it, or are you going to be kicking rocks in the paddock because you blew $XXX.XX for this track day and that E36M3 piece of hose you decided not to replace packed it in?

I'm wondering the same thing. I've actually had the hoses for a while but never replaced them since I could never figure out how to get to them.

Anyhow I'd replace the hose as well rather than splicing it. Its 16yrs old at this point and I wouldn't trust them anymore. I replaced all of the coolant hoses on mine some time ago except this one.

DrBoost wrote: Remove the intake already. I wouldn't trust a section of hose that has already failed (farther down yes, but it failed) and is in a higher heat area. When that hose junction or original hose section fails at your next track day, are you going to be in a better position to replace it, or are you going to be kicking rocks in the paddock because you blew $XXX.XX for this track day and that E36M3 piece of hose you decided not to replace packed it in?

Yeah, but the directions I'm seeing for removing and reinstalling the intake manifold are... rather intimidating. The best writeup I've seen uses the phrase "Now the nightmare begins!" to describe reinstallation. Not very comforting.

I'm still wondering if there's some better way to remove this hose. I'm thinking maybe seeing if I can spin the clamp around a bit, to where I can get a better angle for the pliers.

In reply to Salanis:

Jack up the car and go in from underneath, you'll need to remove the alternator for full access. While you're there, replace the other 2 hoses to complete the job. One goes from the oil cooler outlet to the throttle body, the other from the TB to the thermostat housing.

Dashpot wrote: In reply to Salanis: Jack up the car and go in from underneath, you'll need to remove the alternator for full access. While you're there, replace the other 2 hoses to complete the job. One goes from the oil cooler outlet to the throttle body, the other from the TB to the thermostat housing.

Oh yeah, use the OEM molded hoses if at all possible.

Dashpot wrote: Jack up the car and go in from underneath, you'll need to remove the alternator for full access. While you're there, replace the other 2 hoses to complete the job. One goes from the oil cooler outlet to the throttle body, the other from the TB to the thermostat housing. Oh yeah, use the OEM molded hoses if at all possible.

Aha, in from underneath sounds like a good plan. The alternator is definitely easier to remove than the intake manifold. I have not found an OEM molded hose for the real pain hose (oil cooler). I have the TB -> thermostat hose on order though, and it should be here tomorrow, along with new heater core hoses.

For a bit more room, pull the intake manifold brace off. And leave it off if you'd like. It just gets in the way.

Pulling the intake manifold isn't that bad. But it sure helps if you know where all the fasteners are

Keith wrote: For a bit more room, pull the intake manifold brace off. And leave it off if you'd like. It just gets in the way. Pulling the intake manifold isn't that bad. But it sure helps if you know where all the fasteners are

Is the brace on the underside? Where is that located?

Yeah, all the fasteners are crazy; not to mention the hidden bolts. It also says that I need to plug some fuel lines, and that sounds like a pain. How long do you estimate for removing the intake manifold?

I'm thinking of getting creative. I'm going to try dropping a loop of safety wire down between to intake pipes, and spinning that to squeeze the ends of the hose clamp.

I just got super-proactive and replaced the coolant hoses on the Golf with superpimp Samco versions. The first autocross afterwards, the plastic heater line/heater core fitting burst...the plastic itself was crumbly.

(shaking fist at sky)

Per

The intake manifold brace goes from the bottom/side of the intake manifold to the block. It passes by the oil filter.

If you pull the fuel rail, you'll have to deal with the possibility of fuel leaking. That's not a big deal, especially if you depressurize the system first. On my Locost, I can have the intake manifold off in about 15 minutes. Double that for a Miata due to access constraints. Then again, I can pull the whole engine in 70 minutes...

Keith wrote: . On my Locost, I can have the intake manifold off in about 15 minutes. Double that for a Miata due to access constraints. Then again, I can pull the whole engine in 70 minutes...

Showoff!

I guess I'll pull the alternator and the manifold brace and see how it looks. Probably wait until the timing belt is due in a few months though since i'll have it half apart then anyhow.

Keith wrote: The intake manifold brace goes from the bottom/side of the intake manifold to the block. It passes by the oil filter.

I think that chunk is the primary culprit for making this job difficult. I'll have to take a closer look tomorrow.

SOP in the GTX world is to toss the intake manifold brace immediately. I've been running without them on my Miata(s) for about 13 years now. I think Bill at FM pulled his in 1989.