Thanks for the advice, all. Any special tools other than my torque wrench and ratchet set or extras I should have for removing the intake manifold? I was just looking at the nuts holding it on, thinking I should at least have some penetrating oil.
And I assume I can leave most everything in place and just pull it back towards the fender / strut tower and go to work? I have about half or a whole Saturday to do car repairs at a time.
I just bought the car and am baselining most of the maintenance this coming weekend (front seals, timing belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat&housing, front radiator hoses, cap, rotor, plugs, accessory belts, and new harmonic balancer).Thats all I have time for this weekend, so I want to get the breather box done before I do the rear cam seal and the rear main seal. Is there anything else I should do while the intake manifold is to the side? Maybe get to the heater core hoses since they're nearby? While I have it off I figure there's a handful of other things I could do, preventatively, to save time down the road. The car isn't pushing air out of anywhere strange - yet. I just put my hand over the oil cap and checked - so I'm not too worried about blowing seals. Also I figure a couple weeks later when I have time I'll do a valve adjustment, rubber valve hushers, valve cover gasket, rear plug and rear seal. That way I get the engine seals done around the same time as the breather system (I only drive the car 50-100 miles a week, tops) so I have healthy system.