How hard can coolant tank replacement be?

[78F350]

After reading all the horror stories, I was disappointed with how easy mine was when I did it.
These two two threads were very helpful:
DIY Coolant Tank Replacement in Under 2 Hours
Another coolant tank replacement DIY

Here's notes from when I did mine:

Notes:

• Disconnect the oil fill tube in the engine compartment first. Less stress on the hard plastic portion.
• One of the rubber hoses has a quick disconnect in the engine compartment. Easy to use that and get the clamp after it's all out.
• Use flexible hose clamp pliers.

The oily grit is probably left over from the blown and partially disconnected AOS when I bought the car. That's a hard to see/clean spot. The bottom 3 hoses came off pretty easily from here.


The last hose could be pulled into the trunk far enough that it was easy to remove after everything else was freed.


Here it all is, with the tools I used.


It was not bad at all. For the installation, I put all the hoses on the manifold, then pushed them through to the engine side. Easier to reach the hose to hose connections. I tried using a screw-type hose clamp. Bad idea. It is so much easier with the original clamps and hose clamp pliers. I wore 7 Mil nitrile gloves and didn't lose any skin or blood. Topped it off with Peak Long Life that I had picked up on the way home from the track. No need for the pink stuff in this car.

Lastly, many people have tried to save a little money buying a cheaper coolant tank. Many of those people have posted their regrets.