How did you remove the gasket that seems to be superglued to the back of the motor? I cannot get any of my tools back there to grind it off! Can't spray it with "Gasket Remover" and can't find any threads on it.
Any suggestions?
Begi kit, coil pack removed and all lines and wires pulled clear. I even have the exh man and turbo off!

 

get some razor blades back there. break off the old gasket as much as you can with your hands back there. I found putting some cardboard over the valve cover gasket and pretty much sitting/kneeling on the engine while I scraped away helped. it's a pain in the butt

 

For a little extra clearance you can unbolt your transmission from the power plant frame and jack up the back of the transmission. This tilts the engine away from the firewall. This trick is used to make tightening the bolts a little easier, so I'm not sure how much help it'll be for gasket removal.

 

Thanks for the great info guys! Greatly appreciated. I'll try all that tonight.
BMX: Any special tool to hold the blade? or is this a bare hand job? I have a blade handle but it doesn't fit back there.
Curly: When I unbolt the trans from the brace and raise it, is there anything else I need to disconnect or move?

 

Nope. You should be able to just disconnect the two bolts connecting the ppf to the differential or disconnect the bolts from the ppf to the trans. The jack away. When i do coolant reroutes, usually we just remove the head. It makes life easier. If you don't feel like tearing your engine apart, pull the engine out as a single unit.

 

Would a tool like this help?

 

I find that it's still difficult to get any kind of handle in there. A bare blade usually works best.

 

Scraper wouldn't fit back there so I just used a razor blade in my hand. Didn't pull the head or tilt the motor forward. Pain in the ***, and back, and took a while, but it worked.

It was as much of a PITA to squeeze my hands under the back side of the intake mani to pull the remote t-stat housing (I have the m-tuned reroute) when I got a coolant drip because of a cheap crappy t-stat gasket and the two halves of the housing having minimal thread engagement. If you use a similar housing I would recommend some permatex on the rubber gasket around the edge of the t-stat, and some teflon thread sealing paste on the housing. Having to do any of this more than once, with the motor in the car, is not enjoyable.

 

I was smart an reused a gasket when I did when, I have a leak there and need to replace it one day...not looking forward to it. But ill did my leaky CAS o-ring and VC gasket at the same time...and my motor will be drip free again.

 

Pull the coil and lay on a blanket/cardboard on the valve cover

 

OK, all done. Best way was to uncomfortably lay on the valve cover with some towels and cardboard with right arm under CAS. That was almost as frustrating as removing the transmission on a gravel driveway. Thanks again for the help!