[syliconex]

does anyone know how difficult it is to remove the intake manifold on the 6? over spring break i'm planning on taking it out and painting it with high temp paint so i was wondering how hard the removal was?

 

[superflymx6]

I know i have said this before but i will do it again.
GO BUY A HAYNES REPAIR MANUAL FOR THE MX6. you can get this at an autp store near you. you might have to order it but it will help out with anything you ever want to do. good luck.

 

[JPMX6GT]

Actually, I don't think they have a Haynes manual for the 93+ Mazda MX6. if anything they have it for an MX3 which might be a little different. The one that I have is for the Mazda MX6/626 - Ford Probe, and has a pic of a PGT in the front.

Anyway, here are my suggestions.

1. Give yourself a lot of time. Upon first removing the intake, it will take you about 3-5 hours for the removal, maybe less

2. Clearly label each and every hose that you remove. I used paint to label each hose and it's proper connector. Trust me, i think there are somewhere in the neighborhood of lke 17+ hoses.

3. The infamous hidden bolt. OK, I'm sure everyone who's removed their intake has come accross this. The thing is... after you have removed and unbolted every visible bolt, you'll find that you still cannot remove the manifold. What you have to do is reach in towards the back of the manifold, underneath the TB linkage and VRIS valves, next to the firewall and feel around... After a while, you'll find one bolt that you cannot see. you have to feel around and remove that bolt before th emanifold can come out. Good thing is that you don't NEED that bolt when you're putting it back together again. (That bolt took me so long to find and remove that once I got it out, I chucked it halfway down my block)

Other than that, it just takes time and patience. if I had to do it agin now, i could probably get it out in like 30-45 minutes. It's rather simple, just a matter of labeling everything before removing them and finding the bolts that keep it in place.

 

[Mike 94PGT]

does anyone know how difficult it is to remove the intake manifold on the 6? over spring break i'm planning on taking it out and painting it with high temp paint so i was wondering how hard the removal was?

Removal takes no special tools, fixtures etc. It's simply nuts & bolts. Of course you'll need new gaskets & whatnot...but it's a pretty simple operation really. Here are a few notes off the top of my head:

1) Be very careful to clearly mark (use masking tape tags) each and every vacuum line you remove from the manifold to aid re-assembly. Draw a little diagram if you need to.

2) There's a little-known bracket on the back of the manifold that is quite hard to see and harder to get to, but which is used to support the back of the manifold. You must remove the bolt holding this bracket to the manifold to get the manifold off.

3) Use extreme caution when removing the fuel connections to prevent fire. Relieve the system pressure (start the car, then pull the fuel pump relay out and run it till it stalls. This will get rid of most of the pressure though some residual will remain.) During re-assembly, use new copper washers on all banjo connections and try to cover open fuel system connections while the manifold is out to keep spooge out of the fuel system.

4) I wouldn't recommend high temperature paint for the manifold. It's not very durable and when it starts peeling, will look bad. See if you can find a local shop to do powder-coating on it. I think you'll much prefer the results and you can get some pretty neat colors if that's your bag. You'll probably have to remove the fuel rails and mask all vacuum fittings and other openings, but you'd do that for painting anyway.

5) When putting the manifold back on, be very careful of the single-wire (easily missed) of the knock sensor. It's easy to pinch it when the manifold goes down and the result will be a code 05 and crappy performance.

If I think of anything else, I'll post/edit.

 

[superflymx6]

Actually, I don't think they have a Haynes manual for the 93+ Mazda MX6. if anything they have it for an MX3 which might be a little different. The one that I have is for the Mazda MX6/626 - Ford Probe, and has a pic of a PGT in the front.

same thing i have and it tell you just how to do it. best thing you can buy for the do it your selfer.

 

[syliconex]

high temp paint

mike, will the high temp paint really not work? i found some stuff i used for my valve cover and its like 1500 degree paint. you spray it on and let it dry then you bake it in an oven. anyways will this stuff not work either, its doing good on my valve cover.