More mechanic work on the '08 Astra

I mentioned in a previous post that the oil cooler on my 2008 Saturn Astra is leaking coolant and oil, so the seals need replacing. That's my job for tomorrow. I also mentioned that it doesn't appear to be too difficult a task, but it is "steppy." Below are what I believe to be the steps (the major ones at least). You can see that I still have a couple items to purchase.
  1. Disconnect negative terminal on battery
  2. Drain coolant--not all coolant will drain from block, so some will leak from tubes when disconnected from block
  3. Disconnect O2 sensor plug
  4. Remove heat shield
  5. Remove oil dipstick tube (oil pan underneath!!) and place rag in the dipstick hole to keep debris out
  6. Disconnect exhaust pipe at bottom of catalytic converter
  7. Disconnect retainer bolts/nuts (from underneath) from midway up catalytic converter
  8. Remove exhaust manifold retainer nuts
  9. Remove exhaust manifold and front catalytic converter (topside) and set aside
  10. Remove oil filter housing, including coolant pipes and oil pipe (lower left-hand side (technically engine's right side)) -- pan underneath to catch coolant!
  11. Remove oil cooler from back of oil filter housing
  12. Remove old seals from coolant pipes, oil pipe, and from oil cooler
  13. Thoroughly clean the oil cooler seal channels and mating surface(s)
  14. Seat all new seals
  15. Reattach oil cooler to oil filter housing (9 ft-lb torque)
  16. Reattach oil filter housing and coolant pipes to engine block (tiny bit of wheel grease on o-rings) (19 ft-lb torque on bolts into block; water pipe on right side 71 in-lb (about 6 ft-lb))
  17. New exhaust gasket (need to buy one from O'Reilly's)
  18. Reattach manifold to block (15 ft-lb torque)
  19. New exhaust pipe flange gasket (buy from O'Reilly's)
  20. Reinstall heat shield
  21. Reinstall oil dipstick (might need a little smear of grease on o-ring)
  22. Plug in O2 sensor back in
  23. Check oil level (prob need a 1/2 qt to 1 qt)
  24. Refill coolant level (prob about 1 gallon) -- fill into expansion tank (slowly) until reaches filler neck; top up to KALT/COLD line
  25. Reconnect negative battery terminal
  26. Start car and run at 2000 to 2500 RPM until fan comes on
  27. Check for leaks under car (pray for no leaks and that none will form later 🙂)
  28. Run engine about 2 more minutes
  29. Stop engine, allow to cool, after cooled, check level again
  30. Clean up the (probably rather large) mess in garage
A mechanic whose YouTube channel I watch, Eric O. at South Main Auto, often says, "Plan the work, then work the plan." Of course, sometimes plans go awry, so I'm really hoping and praying that this all goes smoothly. I'll keep you posted!