I thought now would be a good time to give a quick how-to on getting the intake manifold off. This can be used to get to a carbon clean or better yet the install of the JHM intake spacers.
Paul F started a How - to C6 S6 and basically S8 intake manifold Removal how to. Since paul sold his S6 to get an RS6 I thought I’d take what he started and add to it for this section of my thread with some expansions.
Below is a combination of Paul F and myself on how to do the following. Paul’s original thread can be found here
http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=3221.0
First - here are the tools you will need:
3/8 or 1/2" drive ratcheting wrench
1/4" drive ratcheting wrench
1/4" Drive Torx T30 (picture later)
Long bit Torx T30 (I used 1/4" drive - picture later)
Short (normal) bit Torx T30 (I used 3/8" drive)
M8 Triple Square/12 Point
M10 Triple Square/12 Point
10mm Wrench/Spanner (stubby is better)
14mm Wrench/Spanner
17mm Wrench/Spanner
Needle Nose Pliers
Flat Screwdriver
Precision (tiny) flat screw driver (for clips)
Extendable magnet
Before you start - repeat the following 10 times: “I will not drop any screws.” I haven’t (yet), but it’s not like an old Nissan - every screw is important!
Another thing to note is that a lot of these screws are aluminium, so be sure your bit is well seated, that there’s no debris in the screw head, and use lubricant before excessive force. If you do strip one, you can hammer the next size Torx into the hole and the material is soft enough to allow a new imprint to be made.
Give yourself about 2 hours.
Step 1 - Take off engine covers. One at the front, one at the back. Remove intake pipes between the manifold and air filters.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/842997973.jpg
The passenger side air intake is a little more tricky to take off and will require some time. There are two PCV attachments to the inlet pipe that are on the back side and they’re very hard to get to.
Here is the picture of the motor with the covers off. We’ll be looking at the passenger side. Egnore the yellow square box. That was in the picture for something else. Just take note of the passenger side inlet pipe comming from the air box to the throttle body.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/59604440.jpg
When you look down the back side of the intake pipe you will see two PCV lines attached to the inlet. Take care pulling these off. They are prone to break and are usually brittle.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/79215949.jpg
Quick Tip: If you pull these off when the motor is hot the intake will be a little softer and that helps the fittings come off a little bit easier.
Once off this is what it looks like.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/354041629.jpg
Note the connections location on the intake tube after you remove them. Also, the lines are not very long at all so, you don’t have a lot of room to pull on them.
Quick Tip: keep careful note of the coolant Y located right in the path of where you’re working. Remove that from the expansion tank and move out of the way. If the car is still warm be careful of coolant pressure.
Step 2 - Unclip the wiring harness on the left side. Unclip the two clips circled in red. You don’t need to remove the ground wire circled in green. The two arrows point to clips attached to the fuel lines. Gently pull these off. Lift the wiring harness over the fuel pump to the left side and leave there.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/294443031.jpg
Step 3 - Do the same on the other side. There are no fuel line clips on the right side.
Step 4 - Remove the PCV vent hose from the left-hand side (squeeze and pull). You need to remove it from the valve cover and from the oil separator. Move the hose out of the way. You can leave the right side connected. Put a rag or something to block debris from going into the opening in the valve cover.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/880719920.jpg
Step 5 - Remove the valve/hose. Squeeze the clamp with the pliers and pull the hose up.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/76174001.jpg
Step 6 - Remove the ‘air distribution housing.’ There are 8 Torx T30 bolts holding it to the manifold. You will also need to remove the bracket connecting the oil separator to the right-hand side throttle body. Remove the two M8 12-pt bolts on the throttle body and the Torx T30 on the oil separator.The housing should now lift away. It may be a good idea to replace the bolts onto the throttle body so you don’t lose them.
Quick Tip: most people don’t like to put back the oil separator mount to the throttle body. That is fine as it makes for easier service. Just remember to put the bolts back into the throttle body as listed above.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/558325984.jpg
Step 7 - Remove the oil separator. There’s very little clearance between the firewall and the oil separator, so this is where you will need your 1/4" ratchet and 1/4" drive Torx T30. Remove the bolts (be careful not to drop the bottom one), and pull/push the oil separator towards the firewall to remove it.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/715313875.jpg
Step 8 - Fuel lines. The factory service manual says to remove the fuel lines and the fuel pumps, but I found this wasn’t necessary. Nonetheless, you must remove one line and loosen the others in order to free the manifold. We’ll do this step now so you can let the fuel drain out while you do the rest. I was expecting these lines to be under high pressure, but they weren’t. Put a rag around the connection as you loosen it in order to soak the fuel. When you do the rear connection, be aware that more fuel will come from here than from the pump connection
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/40925352.jpg
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/438001649.jpg
Now loosen the two lines on the left-hand side, at the pump only.
Step 9- Now move to the front of the intake manifold. Remove this little hose and move out of the way.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/516554899.jpg
Step 10- Remove the module at the front left of the manifold. sort of a vac sensor - It controls the air box flaps and ties into the SAI system. Unplug the connector, the two hoses, and then remove the bracket it is attached to. One 10mm bolt and one Torx T30 hidden underneath. To remove the 10mm nut, use the stubby wrench, rather than a socket. Using a socket will cause you to foul the hose barb sticking off towards the right, and you don’t want to break it.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/451343568.jpg
10b - remove the engine lifting brackets. Otherwise, this will foul the manifold when you try to remove. 2x Triple square/12pt M10
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/938121494.jpg
Step 11. You’re going to need to remove the intake manifold bolts. You’ll need a longer neck tool for this as there is little room to get to most of the bolts. It’s also a good idea to make sure you have a magnet to help pull out the bolts once you’ve loosened them. There are 6 bolts on each side of the intake. This picture shows you their location and also the next step. That’s removal of the passenger side HPFP.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/853273554.jpg
Loosen all the bolts and remove them with your extendable magnet. It will be hard to get to some with your fingers, and you may need a friend to wiggle the manifold and fuel lines to help you free a couple of them. Be careful when removing the rear screws - DO NOT DROP THEM. The rear left one has the highest danger of dropping into never-never land.
Once you have the 12 bolts removed from the intake, you’ve removed the fuel lines and HPFP out of the way the intake manifold will be able to move but will still be unable to come out.
You’ll need to unplug all the sensors and plugs on the front of the intake. Due to the reduce ability to see these plugs with the front end of the car on and overall the reduced space to even unplug these plugs, I have a picture of what the intake and the plugs look like from the front of the car with the front end off.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/987256986.jpg
Quick Tip: I put the bracket bolt location in this picture to help suggest removal of these bolts. This will help in getting these sensors off the intake.
Once you’ve removed all the bolts, the brackets, plugs, fuel lines and passenger side HPFP you’ll be ready to pull out the intake manifold. The best method is to slightly pull the intake manifold forward rotate the intake clockwise as you pull up and out the intake. With the passenger side HPFP off, you’ll use that side to pull the intake to when you pull it out.
When you’re done you’ll be left with it looking like this.
http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/892541809.jpg
Quick Tip: take notes of the cap off points for the fuel and for the HPFP location. Lots of people run into issues when they put the cars back together. They get debris in the fuel lines and that can take out an injector. Capping off the fuel lines is a good practice.