A friend of mine is in the middle of replacing the starter on his '96 LS 400. As many threads on this subject has indicated (i've read them all), this is an extremely fun job.

The current situation is that the EGR#1 pipe is in the way. One post (MDRAG?) mentions dropping the exhaust pipe to get to the two bolts. My friend was able to get the bolts out without dropping the exhaust pipe, but the EGR#1 is still the show stopper. Apparently, the wire harness is not an issue, just the EGR#1.

In his own words, "The problem is that the water bypass joint will not lift out because the still-connected EGR#1 pipe is bumping against the back of the r-side cylinder head."

We have all the manuals on the computer, I subscribe to ALLData and we've looked at all the pictures - and we're still stuck.

I haven't seen the car, but will be going over on Friday to help. Any guidance, recommendations, suggestions, moral support, etc. before I get over there?

TIA.

 

I wish I could give guidance - I ditched the idea of doing it myself Monday for these and other reasons - I had the shop do it. My mechanic said he uses a three foot socket extension from below to get to (2) difficult bolts - maybe these are them

Good luck and kudos for having guts to tackle job yourself

 

Thanks, Steve. On this one, the water bypass and #1EGR is held on by 4 nuts. The nuts are removed and the part moves, but it doesn't move high enought to get it over the four studs.