Amongst all the work that i've been doing to the old 4.6l over the last 6 months, there were some little upgrades which make a nice difference.

A couple of the common ones are replacing the plastic coolant lines from the resevoir with rubber ones and relocating the oxygen sensors on the front banks so they are not being baked at the back of the engine and are more accessible.

I also upgraded the two fittings on the end of the throttle body housing to brass from the plastic.

Since I have secondary air, some new exhaust wrap on the pipes was in order.

All the old wire wrap was replaced and in some areas it was double wrapped with an upgraded wire wrap.

I will be looking at the three way connector with the bleeding screw on the upper rad hoses next, to replace it with something more reliable. I have seen some of the threads for different ideas here before.
If you have any other suggestions for upgrades feel free to share them.

 

If you want to do some more wrapping, consider wrapping the exhaust manifolds to lower engine compartment temps and get better flow thru your manifolds.
Also consider installing a 180 degree soft spring t/stat and new coolant pressure cap. Also look at my major service list and consider doing it all, especially rebuilding or replacing the front drive shaft.

 

Your engine bay.........Its so clean!

 

That all looks good. I wish there were more little post like this.

It's nice to see some easy improvements opposed to just reading about problems.

 

DiscoMike -

Oh well let me tell you, the work that's been done over the last 6 months...

- Head Gaskets were done but they didn't need it (the gaskets were in excellent shape for having 106,000m on the clock), it was more for peace of mind and since everything was off to do the valley pan, why not!

- I had a sludge problem (which you and I discussed last year on the phone) which was and existing one from when I bought it so everything was in a parts cleaner for a day.

- New water pump, fan clutch and a 180 t-stat.

- Front cover gasket and all other gaskets /seals in that area were also done along with the timing (since we were there even though it didn't need it) No I didn't do the oil pump as I didn't have the extra money at the time.

- New idler pulleys

- New serpentine belt

- New alternator

- New Battery

- New SAI solenoid

- New MAF sensor

- New power steering pump

- Spark Plugs (Bosch 4s) and wires were done a couple of years ago

- Sea foamed & Lucas fuel treatment have been run through

- I do have a new front shaft which is going in this weekend.

- All fluids are newer in the last year and a half with the obvious one being new with the head gasket work.

I am going to consider wrapping the manifolds once I have some more time to remove them.

 

Haha yeah it is!

I try to keep it clean and especially so after hitting the gravel roads. Since I just did the head gaskets it was easy to clean everything up with the easier access. At the moment I shouldn't have any oil leaks (praying to the gods!) which will help to keep it clean!

 

I agree!

 

Toss in an aftermarket coolant filter, I've been toying with the idea, can be had for $80-100 or so on eBay or from aftermarket diesel truck sights.

Curious, what size heater hose did you use to replace the pastic lines? I was thinkin about keepin a length as a spare in the trunk for emergency repairs next time i lean on the damned plastic one and crack it.

 

The hose size is 5/16" for both of the coolant lines off of the reservoir. In replacing with the new hoses, you eliminate 4 hose clamps / connections which means 4 less chances of leaks.

Do yourself a BIG favour and replace it before needing it as an emergency. It's gives so much peace of mind knowing you don't have to be so cautious of those plastic lines with the new rubber ones.

 

lol appreciate the hose type/size.

Yea I already replaced it once about a year ago when i smacked it with the back of a wrench while fidling with the throttlebody... drove it bleeding right to the lr dealership haha smoke screen and all!