Awesome. Thanks a lot for the info. Couple more questions...
Did either of you use sealant of any type to bed in the new gasket or just straight gasket swap?
And which hex bolts were you referring too? the male ones showed in red or the female with the ratchet and torx bit in it?

 

Cause the ones in red look like E-Torx.

 

heres pics of when i had mine done

 

The picture of the bracket above brings alot of memories back. Take a good look at the tension adjuster(s) on the bracket. It is visable in picture above...uses hex wrench to adjust. Anyway, the adjuster should be backed off prior to reinstalling the bracket. Then it should adjust to snug (NOT tight) against the mating surface prior to torqueing the other bolts in the front flange of the bracket...hope all that makes sense. DEFINATELY A PITA!!!

 

The ones in red are for the motor mount. I was referring to the one bolt that holds the BACK of the power steering pump - that was a PITA.
Yes, we did use a tiny bit of silicone sealant for added protection, not really a bead - just a thin layer along the entire gasket.

 

These are the hex bolts your both referring too? And they should be backed out all the way prior to re-installation?

 

did you have to completely remove the motor mount? I removed all the bracket bolts including the from two from the motor mount, but the bracket will still not come free from the engine. I can't see how you can get at the rear bolt of the motor mount.

thanks

 

Well, that's when you have to raise the engine a bit. Make sure you have a 4x4 block of wood to distribute the pressure across the strongest part of the oil pan. You DO NOT want to crack this baby. I was able to raise the engine a good 3-4 inches at which time it became a lot easier to get at the bolts in the back. You will have to attack the rear lower one from the front. And the rear top has to be attacked through the tie-rod/tension strut shroud. Having a swivel-head joint socket adapter goes a long way there.

 

Thanks for the fast reply and great advice. That is the real Coup de Grace for the real bolts. I just removed the wheel and then lower plastic panel and I can see the top bolt nicely and with good access.

 

I replaced that gasket a month or two ago. Pretty close to the most difficult operation I've done on a car in my 40 years of amateur auto wrenching. And the irony of it all is that judging by how clean the block was around the gasket under the alternator bracket, it apparently wasn't leaking at all, confirmed by the fact that the engine still leaked from somewhere. The good thing is that after that ordeal nothing seems difficult anymore. So this weekend I replaced the upper timing cover gasket (should have done that to begin with) along with the Vanos solenoid o-rings. I've got my fingers crossed, but it looks like the oil may be leaking from behind the lower timing cover, up close to the head.