Zeus | E70 X5D Build Thread

[Socale39]

So the mileage in the X is just about 73k and from my understanding a lot of the mileage came from the previous owners doing travel on the highways. Most of the mileage I have added since ownership has been highway as well and will continue to be. Another thing is that we take ours up the mountains often which surely adds additional loads.

As for this project, I would consider it a two days project primarily because you'll need to soak the manifold overnight at a minimum. This helps soften the carbon deposits and makes removal far easier. It took me a total of around 2-3 hours just to clean the manifold. Add another 2 hours cleaning the EGR/throttle body and swirl flaps, this alone accounts for a good deal of time. I have not been using a service manual as things are relatively straight forward and removal of the manifold doesn't take much time. All that being said, this could definitely be a weekend project and in my eyes well worth it in the long run.

I've been thinking of picking up another manifold and offering an exchange program so people wouldn't have to deal with the cleaning process but I'm just not sure if the interest is there at the moment.

[ZetaTre]

In my experience the best chemical to use to remove soot deposits is acetone. I've tried multiple chemicals to clean the MAP in my diesel engines and throttle body cleaner is the only one that does the job effortlessly. TB cleaners is primarily acetone.

In your quest, did you find something else working better than others?

[Socale39]

Acetone was by far the best. Melted the carbon deposits away. I tried several degreasers and Acetone was by far the winner. For the swirl flaps you could literally submerge them in Acetone and then just using a brush agitate the deposits away.

As for the manifold I just poured Acetone in it and let it set for a while upside down on my bench and then worked it with an assortment of brushes I got from Harbor Freight. This was after I submerged the manifold for 2 days in simple green commercial grade degreaser. This combination seemed to work pretty good.

[ZetaTre]

Originally Posted by Socale39

Acetone was by far the best. Melted the carbon deposits away. I tried several degreasers and Acetone was by far the winner. For the swirl flaps you could literally submerge them in Acetone and then just using a brush agitate the deposits away.

As for the manifold I just poured Acetone in it and let it set for a while upside down on my bench and then worked it with an assortment of brushes I got from Harbor Freight. This was after I submerged the manifold for 2 days in simple green commercial grade degreaser. This combination seemed to work pretty good.

Same here... The plastic is glass reinforced nylon that resists to Acetone without issues. I would have been a bit worried in using acetone one the swirl flaps since they have rubber gaskets: both Buna and Viton don't really do well with acetone.

[Ozer]

ughh, at 110,500 miles i cant imagine how mine look in the diesel.

[Socale39]

The gaskets faired well on the swirl flaps. No sign of deterioration at all. In fact I started cleaning the old intake gaskets with Acetone and it's working incredibly well. I'm only reusing the gaskets because I'll be taking the X in to get walnut blasted in 2-3 weeks and they will replace the gaskets as part of the service.

[ZetaTre]

Originally Posted by Socale39

The gaskets faired well on the swirl flaps. No sign of deterioration at all. In fact I started cleaning the old intake gaskets with Acetone and it's working incredibly well. I'm only reusing the gaskets because I'll be taking the X in to get walnut blasted in 2-3 weeks and they will replace the gaskets as part of the service.

Good to know!!!! Thanks

[Socale39]

I was submerging the flaps half in Acetone while I was scrubbing with a brush which worked well. Prior to that I scraped off deposits with a plastic door panel tool to help speed up the process. Each unit took me maybe 10-15min each and as you can see by the photos they came out pretty clean. All that being said and not seeing any deterioration on the seals I'd still be hesitant to soak the parts in Acetone for a long period time.

Oh and be sure to have a mask as Acetone has a very strong odor.

[G550Mech]

Ever use/hear of Varsol? Although its being replaced with more eco-friendly stuff it works well. We just had the Safety Kleen Co guy come and change out the fluid in our parts washer at work, I'll see what the latest stuff is a report back. I do know its safe to use on silicone and rubber seals, so I'll let you know, and find out if it is available over the shelf anywhere, might remove some of the time involved.

[Socale39]

G550Mech - Never heard of it. If you get your hands on it compare it with Acetone and let us know what you find.

Another option, and the best IMHO, is to find a company that does ultrasonic cleaning. I've called around here in SoCal and there's a shortage of options. Still waiting to hear back from a couple companies but no dice yet due to size of the manifold.