I found a nice little YouTube video for the 1998 model. It appears to be the same as the 1997 model. If it is not the same, let me know. It is a pretty straightforward job and you should be able to handle it. I would give you a few pieces of advice though:
1) Make sure that the engine is cold (has not been run for at least four hours) before you do the job. Otherwise you will be hot, miserable, and probably burn yourself on a 200 plus degree piece of steel or iron. Not fun.
2) Put a catch pan under that side of the engine if you do not like having coolant on the ground or if you live in an area where someone might complain about it, like a gated community.
3) Make sure to use a little gasket maker/sealer to go between the new gasket and the engine. A nice, thin bead of the stuff should be enough. A small tube of that stuff might cost you $4.00 and should be more than enough for the job.
4) Vitally important - Make absolutely sure that you get every little piece of the old gasket off of the engine. Use a razor blade or a sharp flat head screwdriver, take your time, and really get that stuff off. A wire brush may work too. It will be stuck pretty well on there. If you do not get it all off, it will leak like a fire hydrant (not really, but you get the point) and you will have to buy a new gasket and redo the entire job. Also not fun.
5) Also vitally important - After the job is done, do not start the car, even just to move it, for a few hours. This gives that gasket sealer more time to cure properly.
6) Be sure and inspect the drive belt, if it is worn, you might as well replace it now while you have it off the car. Here is a guide for that:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-a-serpentine-belt-works.
7) Also it is not a bad idea to replace the thermostat too.
8) Take a good look at the radiator hoses. If they are starting to look cracked, you may want to replace them too.
Here is the link to the video itself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5p3PiVh36A
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask here.
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Monday, August 21st, 2017 AT 2:31 PM
