Rivet removal
I worked in a machine shop and this is how we did it. It sounds crude, but it works.
It involves a hammer and a small chisel.
Start tapping on the top of the rivet to loosen it up. After a few light blows with the hammer, take the chisel and place it where the rivet head meets the metal plate. Then tap the chisel lightly until it starts to pull the rivet out of the cast iron. Strike the rivet from different sides. if you notice that the chisel starts to cut into the rivet, try a different spot.
These rivets have a small twist in the shank and will slightly rotate as they come out. When they are out far enough, you can grab them with a pair of pliers and pull them out the rest of the way.
After all of the rivets are out, and everything is cleaned, this is how you reinstall them.
Take brake cleaner and wear safety glasses. Spray the cleaner into to holes where the rivets came out to remove any old oil residue. Blow out the hole with compressed air.
Place the metal plate back into position. Use red loctite on each rivet and tap them back into place.
hope this helps.
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Also FYI.... By removing the metal plate, I don't think it will allow you to gain access to the inside area where the EGR valve port runner is. All the metal plate does is that it is "supposed" to keep hot oil from the lifter valley from hitting the bottom side of the intake, which causes the air / fuel mixture to heat up, making less power and worse economy.
If your trying to clean the burnt carbonized oil from the EGR passageway, simply use a long skinny screwdriver and a small hammer to break it up. A few taps on the screw driver will break up the clumps, and eventually everything will come out. It's pretty labor intensive sometimes.
and again please wear safety glasses any time you strike anything with a hammer. I have had steel shavings drilled out of my eyes 3 different times even though I always wore glasses. Believe me it sucks. You only get 2 eyes.....
