And in rolls the SaaBeeru ... by Bradcr

2 minute(s) of a 145 minute read

Finally tearing into my intake manifold and valve cover removal. First I realized I needed to fix a crack once I took my bumper cover off:

I ground out the sharp edges of the crack itself with a dremel, cut out some gutter mesh for reinforcement, slid a piece of flashing underneath to prevent epoxy from sticking to my front lip and sanded the surrounding area with 120 grit:

Next was the bondo bumper repair and pressed the mesh in, seems to be a pretty solid reinforcement now that it's dried. 

So far so good on the manifold removal. I used the factory service manual instructions, and even those have a couple of missing steps. Fortunately, I plan to replace any old hoses I haven't already so cutting here and there to make removal simpler wasn't an issue. The valve covers were as easy as they'll ever be and I'm so damn glad I combined all this work. Here's how the engine bay looks now:

To give you an idea, here's a pic of my bolt pile so far: