Exhaust Manifold Removal 96 5.0 AWD

Been trying to get the left (driver side) manifold out to replace gasket.

I tried following the removal procedure from alldatadiy.com, but can seem to
get the necessary clearance to get the manifold past the steering shaft.

Has anyone else done this procedure and know of some trick that the books
may not be revealing?

At this point (and all the associated frustration) I just may do it that way
Ashton. I do have enough clearance, and I do have the copper gasket
sealant.

Thanx for clearing my OCD head for me with some KISS advice.

Vito

"Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
news
> On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:39:12 -0500, "Vito"
> > wrote:
>
>>Been trying to get the left (driver side) manifold out to replace gasket.
>>
>>I tried following the removal procedure from alldatadiy.com, but can seem
>>to
>>get the necessary clearance to get the manifold past the steering shaft.
>>
>>Has anyone else done this procedure and know of some trick that the books
>>may not be revealing?
>>
>
>
> Why waste your time removing the manifold. If you leave it connected
> to the exhaust system you can most likely just unbolt it, move it an
> inch or two away from the head, remove the old gasket, slip the new
> one in (spray it with copper gasket stuff if you want to increase the
> odds of no leak, I think I used permatex), and bolt the manifold back
> on to the head. I've done this on two different vehicles over the
> years. On one of them that had headers I didn't even replace the
> whole gasket, just teh section that was leaking. If it doesn't work
> you can always do it the hard way later.