Replaced my PHH with the blue silicone kit today, wasn't much fun. I have some new tips and have to disagree with some of the other tips I read on the forum prior to the job, YMMV.
- Buy a 12mm 12-point socket ahead of time. It sucks trying to get a 6-point socket on a bolt you can't see, even if you already have a flex-head wrench as I did.
-Someone said they had a hard time draining the radiator without making a mess. Maybe they don't know about the petcock on the DS bottom corner of the radiator? Look up through the holes in the crossmember below that corner of the radiator and you'll see a little nipple. Push a length of small diamter hose over the nipple, put a large bucket under the hose, then open the white plastic valve on the back of the radiator. You might have to move some foam weatherstripping around to find the valve tab. No mess radiator drain.
- Have a buddy handy to look down the back of the cylinder head (the lower pipe bolt is below the end of the fuel rail) while you attack the lower pipe bolt with the flex-head wrench from the DS wheel well, he can direct you to the bolt right-left-up-down and make your life a lot easier. Getting the socket on this bolt by myself was BY FAR the most time consuming part of the job. I almost got out my helmet cam and camcorder so I could get a view of the bolt & socket, but I'm sure the batteries were dead... If you decide not to get the 12-point socket and use a 6-point, use White-Out to make lines on the outside of the socket showing the position of the internal hex, so your buddy can help you line up the hex with the bolt head.
- Before removing the pipe bolts, I used a long pry bar as a chisel and hammered off the factory pin clamp. I used a small vice-grip to hold the spring clamp open while I sliced the original hose lengthwise with a razor blade. Then I grabbed the hose with a needle-nose plier and pulled it off the block.
- I don't see any reason to loosen the lower pipe bolt without removing it completely. If you only loosen it to get more wiggle in the pipe, you don't get much more anyway because the top of the pipe hits the EGR valve nut. Getting the socket on the bolt was the hard part, removing the loosened bolt and threading it back into the hole during reassembly was EASY (from the DS wheel well), and there's no magic in my fingertips. No more than 10 seconds to thread the bolt back in, and my hands/arms are average size. Also, removing the pipe allows you to slide on the new hose at your convenience, then you only have one end to deal with at the block. (Heck you could even tighten one hose clamp while you're at it, though I like to tighten these things installed on the vehicle so I know I can undo the clamp later if I have to.) I reinstalled the pipe/hose combo from below, via the DS wheel-well. (It could be tough to line up the hole in the lower pipe tab if the tabs are bent after a round of forceful "wiggling" though.)
- Initially I tried to wiggle/pull/manhandle/bend the pipe without removing the lower bolt, which didn't get me the enough room between the block and the pipe. All it did was create problems later during reassembly, when I noticed the bent tabs on the pipe were creating a fairly substantial downward side load on the new hose (once the bolts were tightened). I definitely didn't want the soft section resisting the rigid steel, so I removed the pipe again and enlarged the lower mounting hole and vertically slotted the upper hole with a round file. Presto, the pipe lined up with the block tube again and the hose was relaxed and happy.
- At least with the blue silicone kit, there's no reason to "boil the hose" first to soften it up. Seriously, it slides on easily even dry (the first time I used spit).
- Some recommended tightening the hose clamps on the hose just enough that they don't fall off prior to sliding the hose on the pipes. Bad idea, unless you enjoy fighting to get the hose over the pipe barbs. (Maybe this is where the boilling idea came from? Trying to compress the silicone hose wall between the clamps and the pipe barb?) Leave the clamps LOOSE on the hose (or even slide them off the hose and up onto the pipe) until you have it slid into place, then tighten the pipe bolts, then position and tighten the hose clamps. I positioned the clamp heads pointing down, toward the front of the vehicle as others recommended. Probably the only way to do it.
- I tightened the clamp bolts from under the truck with a long extension (placed in front of the rubber hoses but behind the wiring loom) and a swivel at the 8mm socket (not deep well), worked great.
- I wonder if it's really even necessary to put the lower pipe bolt back in, I'll bet you could leave it out for the rest of the life of the vehicle and never, ever have a problem. I almost just left it out, but wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I reattached it. (There are some seriously anal/paranoid/fanatical guys on this forum, lol. Look out for me on the road; I *gasp* mixed front brake pad brands/types when they wore unevenly.)