Intake manifold removal tools..

I'm attempting to remove the intake manifold to replace a suspected rotten o-ring coolant seal and so am wondering what tools people have used to undo the hex bolts.

I hve allen keys long enough to reach the bolts but there is simply not a straight path to the bolts it would seem - i see the end of the key at the bolt but it arrives too low to go in and there's no room to move the key about.. This is the second bolt from the left and assume the bolts are all as tricky.

Is there a knack to it or do I need to use a special combo of tools?

Secondly, the nuts holding the warm air deflector (1.6 auto cabrio) are rusty but seem to have a double nut system going on, a thin nut of smaller size after the main 12mm nut. Is this the case? Because of the corrosion, i can't quite see or feel if this thinner piece has flat sides as a nut or it is some kind of other gizmo or even just part of the main nut, like a nylock nut shape..

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

The inlet is just a bit tricky!

I used a allen bit, various 1/4" socket extenders and a ratchet. There is only one that was a b1tch to get at… It will go in at a slight angle and you need patience and luck on your side.

Thanks for the reply - not been back on here for a little bit.

I finally got it off! Definitely need the Allen keys with the rounded ends ( for using at an angle) which is what I didn't have before. But then you do need to extend it somehow to get the torque. I used an adjustable spanner on the end.

My main problems though were a rusty nut on the mounting bracket that started to round off and an already rounded off Allen bolt on the manifold itself. Had to hammer in a sharp edged Allen key into the end of the bolt to make it's own hole - thankfully a bolt that was easy to reach. A while to work that trick out after no luck with mole grips..

One bolt, the tricky one, must have taken me about 15 minutes just to locate by touch.

But done. Definitely a bunged up coolant channel so hopefully I can solve the stalling problems.