Decided to tackle the removal so I can send it out for repair. I've read the instructions on the absfixer website for removal, but I'm wondering if anyone who has done the removal can offer any specific advice, tips or tricks. Any tools work best? Did you go in through driver side? How to deal with the rad and power steering hoses? Unhooking wiring harness tricks? Separating modules tips? Seems like a super tight space especially for the torx on the bottom. Thank you!

 

Ok yours looks very very crowded compared to mine... aftermarket radiator? Oh I see you have the air bridge off so it looks different.. I got he torx screws from the the passages side when doing the lower ones but oddly enough I put them back in by feel from the drivers side. I also used a thin bladed screw driver wrapped in a cloth to help pry the unit loose. I also didn’t remove anything to get it out. It’s not hard just use a little care. I’ve had mine out twice to repair it... soldered the board where the loose connections can happen. I guess I didn’t get it good enough the first time many years ago so had to redo it last year.

 

Thanks. Does the harness pull straight out after pulling up on the gray “latch”?

 

The harness will pull straight out--just wiggle it back & forth just a little after lifting the latch. There is another smaller harness that pulls straight down to release it. Be careful because the plastic can be a bit brittle with age. I did the whole job including removal and install from below with the car on ramps. One thing I found to be helpful was to set the screws in with a little caulk prior to install so one ( or more ) didn't drop into the void when you try and screw them in.

 

Yeah. I’m trying to see how to get to each torx from the top. I know people have done it but that is an awfully tight fit for the lower screws. Getting them back in has to be a royal pain in the ****.

 

Lone rider that’s a great idea for holding the torx screws in while installing the box! I ended up magnetizing the torx driver to hold the screws but I still had to be careful.

Strmlne, I would say just get your arm down in there and unscrew them as best you can if you go from the top. I had to go at it from the passenger side in order to get the lower ones.

 

Thanks. I was able to get it out this afternoon. You’re right. I found it easier to go from the passenger side. The guys over at absfixer suggested driver side but that didn’t work for me. My torx is magnetized which definitely made it easier for keeping track of the screws. Got it packaged up and out for repair.

 

Excellent!

 

Got the module back from absfixer and installed yesterday. It sure is nice to not have the dash light up with the service abs, tc, ah. Haha. Those guys are fast. Received it, fixed it and sent it back within one day.

In case anyone comes across this in the future, I want to give some small words of advice. I came in from the passenger side with a regular autozone torx driver. Nothing special. Top 2 torx are easy. I came in with my right hand and pulled back the rad hose back with my left to see what I was doing.

For the Middle two torx, I put my hand before the water pump on the passenger side and then below the water pump. You obviously can’t see what you are doing. I put an old t shirt below the module to catch the screws in case they dropped. And they did. Haha.

Once unscrewed completely I used a very thin flat head and pried gently on each of the top corners and then pried in the middle. It separated easily.

I pulled the blue “locking plastic tab” out of the wiring harness and then lifted gently on the gray bar. One thing on my car that I noticed (and that I didn’t see mentioned before) was that I needed to use a flat head to pry up a tab to pull out the main harness. I used the same flat head to pry up and remove the bottom harness.

To put the module back in, I did have some help to pull back the hoses. The torx I used was magnetized as stated above which was very helpful. I didn’t need to use any caulk or anything.

I would rate myself as below average in terms of diy but I was able to get this issue fixed. Hopefully this will help someone in the future. 🍺

 

Glad to hear you got the module back and back in. It’s so nice not to have the lights and codes light up.

 

Thanks for the clear info guys. I will be doing mine tomorrow. I have a Torx bit that’s about 2” long so I can chuck it into a number of extensions and a flexshaft if need be. I’m thinking about loosening the air bridge and using bungee cords to hold that and the radiator hose out of the way.

On that big electrical connector, is there a ‘locking tab’ that must be removed before moving that lever?

 

See my post above. Pull out the blue
locking tab (may be a different color on your car), gently lift up the gray bar, use a small flat head to lift up the black little tab that locks in the harness. Pull out the big harness. Use screwdriver to unlock the tab on the smaller harness that pulls straight down.

 

I removed the radiator shroud as well. Only 4 bolts. This allowed me to push the radiator and condenser slightly towards the front of the car to get down toward the ebcm. It doesn’t move much, but any little bit helps down there.

 

are any of these tabs visible?

 

I'm standing on drivers side. Pull this blue tab out to the left. Pull up on the gray bar and beneath it you will see another "clip" in the middle. All of them are visible from the passenger side. The last tab is only visible once you get the main harness out.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Let us know if you have any other questions once you start.