[ddk632]

So, been a while since I've continued my documentation.

Going to break out the posts more or less by the work I got to complete on different days. Some days, I only had a half hour to tinker, other days more time.

The last update, I had gotten 2 of 3 of the diverter valve bolts out, and called it a day after barely loosening (getting enough initial torque on my allen wrench to unseat the bolt and turn it ever so slightly).

Came at it from a different angle the next day, and realized that if I used a shorter allen key, I could get it in the bolt from the short end, reach up with my hand and pull down on the long end of the allen wrench.

The previous day, I was using my ball ended allen wrench (it's about 1" at the short end, 4" at the long end with the ball), but really could not get it to do much as

(a) it was too long if I used the short end, and I could not fully insert the short end into the bolt and

(b) if I used the ball end, I could easily get the allen into the socket, but then I did not have any leverage and simply could not make the bolt turn, at all.

Thus, using a shorter allen wrench accomplished the task of having more leverage (being able to pull down on long end of allen key) and also better fitment of allen key to bolt (since I could fully get it in there).

It was still a tedious process to get that bolt out, turning basically 1/6th - 1/3 of a turn at a time.

You can see in the two photos of the allen wrench and diverter valve solenoid, the zoomed out photo shows how far up there this thing is.

Also included a photo of the empty space that dropping the water pump and being able to move it around can create - absolutely imperative, and with some force, it'll move a significant amount, while still connected to all the hoses, so there is no coolant flush needed at all.

Lesson learned - when fighting with a stubborn bolt, calling it a day, grabbing a beer (or vodka), and then coming back with a fresh mind and a different approach the next day - highly recommended!