Reaching the hoses going to the back of the engine, the ones you are about to replace, are much easier to reach with the intake manifold off.

If I were you I would do the VPG with the hose repair. You don't have to remove the water pump/fan ect. For the VPG repair all you need is a tube of gasket maker. However, I would recommend replacing the 4 orings on the two pipes above the valley pan along with the intake gaskets. I didn't plan on replacing my intake gaskets, but they were pretty hammered, so......

If you start early, this is an easy one day job that is really not that expensive.

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2001 E53 4.4 Alpine White, Sports Package
2000 E36/7 2.8 5 speed Bright Red w/ a HT!