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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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Socale39 (Post 1063309)

Good to know!!!! Thanks

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.

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.

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.

So since we use the Safety Kleen Company they've got their own proprietary solvents, not sure if its available off the shelf; however I talked to the small maintenance shop on the other side of the airport and he uses this... He recalls buying it at Harbor Freight, you can probably find it online or Grainger or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Socale39 (Post 1063214)

Intake Manifold Decarbonization
After 2 days of soaking and 3 hours of scrubbing and pressure washing, I've finally got the intake manifold near completely free of carbon deposits. All I have to say is thank god I'm done!!!!!!! This process was very laborious and needless to say I could really go for some hot tub time right now with an ice cold Peroni. Anyways, after all the mess, numerous rags and a contact high from an assortment of degreasers even through my painters mask, I couldn't be happier with the results. I just finished drying out the manifold and reinstalling the swirl flap assembly back into place.

My new, repurposed acronym when working on the BMWs: TGIF - Thank God I'm Finished

Onto what you guys really care about....

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...psfaq6vozr.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...psijnmksoy.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...pss5jjws7d.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...pstobuqrxe.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps7xd3wpig.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...pskndwpy4i.jpg

That looks great! How difficult was it to take out and put it back in on a scale of 1-10?

The manifold removal is actually pretty straight forward. I would rate it a 5 out of 10. Once you have all the bolts loosened it comes right out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Socale39 (Post 1063416)

The manifold removal is actually pretty straight forward. I would rate it a 5 out of 10. Once you have all the bolts loosened it comes right out.

Thanks, I'll have to try this during the spring. I have 45k miles but most of the time I use the car is from City driving

The good news is that everything is back together and working. I haven't had a chance to drive it around yet but I'm not expecting any difference. I'll be sure to share more once I get a chance to get some time behind the wheel.