So, today I had enough. Getting smoked at a stoplight by some ******* in a Honda Odyssey finally pushed me over the edge. I thought, hell, I'm gonna slide my stock plate all the way up and see what happens. I was unsuccessful, but I'll get to that in a minute.

First issue, some of the bolts for the horn came out with oil on them. Is this normal? I wouldn't think so. My valve cover gaskets are toast, so I'm assuming it just penetrated down in the bolt holes, but if it isn't that, should I be concerned?

Second, which I don't think is a big deal, is that the air horn gasket ripped taking the horn off. Half stuck to the horn, half to the intake. I bolted it all back together and ran it and it doesn't seem to be leaking, but again- should I worry? I'll order a new one, just wondering if I should park it in the meantime for any reason. It seems pretty solid, but what do I know?

Now the crux of the problem: couldn't get the tamper proof screw out. Mine genuinely does seem to be tamper proof. I used a chisel and hammer to get a groove in it, but it's so soft that I couldn't get it out with a screwdriver. I kept going a little more and a little more with the chisel to try to get a deep enough groove to get a bite with the screwdriver, but ended up popping half the head off. Now what do I do? It isn't a problem as it is, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get the damn thing out now whenever I get motivated to tackle this again.

Secondly, the 7/16 bolt just to the right of it won't budge either, and despite the fact that nobody to my knowledge has ever tried removing it, it seems to be stripped. Can't get it out with a socket or a flathead. Didn't even try for the lower two. Anybody else encounter hardware this stubborn on their AFC? I've got them soaking up some WD40 right now, but I still don't know how I'm going to get that tamper proof one out with half the head gone, there isn't exactly a lot of room to work in there and I don't want to muff up a fuel line or anything. I'm deflated.

Thanks for reading. Ideas welcome!

 

Can you break the rest of the head off the tamper screw and remove the AFC housing then use some vise grips to remove the threaded bolt out. Seems like you could but you are working with very limited space. I have done a few housing removals and all the screws are very tight and take some muscle to break them loose.

 

The space is my concern. I'm sure I can pop the rest of the head, but I'm not sure if I could get anything on what's left without taking off the injector lines and I reeeally don't want to go there. At this point though, I can't even get the one next to it off either though, so...

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

I'm also a little worried about working the stub without the housing in place to keep debris out of the pump. Last thing I need is to brake off the nub that's left and have it drop down inside

 

i ran mine without a screw where the tamper screw broke in my pump and wouldn't come out until i rebuilt it just recently..

 

Hm. So if you'll forgive the pun- I won't be totally screwed if I can't get that one out.
Good to know.

 

The bolts are metric, so maybe that's why 7/16" seems like it's stripped... try a 10mm socket.

 

It was the only one that wasn't either too small or way too big. I actually heard that it was 7/16 in a Dynamite Diesel Performance video.
Regardless, I picked up new gaskets and all four bolts, so I don't care if I trash them now. That said, I still have to get them out...

 

1. Remove the injector lines. 5 minutes at most. Front 3 lines stay together, rear 3 stay together. Very easy. Bleeding them later isn't that big of deal. Jam that primer!! crank then jam some more. If you went for that Raptor pump you were considering a while ago, you wouldn't have to push nothing. Just let it prime with the key, then tighten the injector line and fire it up.

Either way removing the lines isn't a big deal really, and lets you in to that damn tamper proof bolt.

2. I wouldn't worry about a flim of oil on the horn bolts. Some of mine do too.

3. Get a new grid heater gasket. If its ripped, its leaking. I got me one of them boost leak tester things... Every connection I touched was leaking. Hmmm.. ran for years before I got the leak tester. Leaked the whole time. Even the heads of the bolts in the intake horn were bubbling. rtv bolt heads.

I've leak tested 3 of my buddies trucks.... every one leaked around the grid heater gaskets. but they have all been off and on many times while wrenching. Probably just mashed the gaskets over time.

4. AFC screws... they are metric. I broke the head off and got the rest out with vise grips after removing the housing. Replaced with new bolt at a later trip to the store. Not a big deal.

Hope that helps. Its easier than you think.

 

Thanks a lot for that. I did get the grid gasket as well, wouldn't have thought to RTV the bolts though. Hm. My main concern with removing the injector lines is my main concern with everything under this hood: it ain't new, most of it's never been off and a lot of it's a little rusty. I don't like to remove anything I don't absolutely have to, because everything I screw with I risk breaking. I like to have new already lined up to put back on in these cases. I'm going into the timing cover this weekend to take care of the KDP and my leaking crank seal, and I bought every piece of hardware for the cover in advance. This will probably mean that I don't break a single one, but I digress. And although they look like crap, I don't really want to replace my injector lines or anything associated with them. That all being said, I may not have a choice if I want to get that stupid tamper proof bolt out.

 

take a long small headed flat screwdriver and tap the tamperproof screw head. from the side parrell with the valve covers. i had to originally do this to mine. you just have to get it to move a hair then it will come right out. and if you want just pop the rest of the screw head off! once the AFC id removed i bet the broke screw is finger tight if not a small pair of vise grips will remove it.