What exactly is in the insides of our intake manifolds, especially for the T2s? I have both the UIM and LIM out at the moment, so I want to clean out the layer of carbon that's coating the insides. I want to just use a dremel with a flexshaft to sand it off, but if there's some sort of special coating over the aluminum, that would be a bad idea. In that case, would it be better to just let it soak in some sort of solution like seafoam overnight? Or is there something I'm completely overlooking?

 

I sprayed mine with Brake cleaner,swished it around inside the manifold and then used a cloth.
(that's one way)

 

Far as I know the manifolds are just bare aluminum, there is no factory special coating.

 

Agreed. I also dont see why one would be needed.

 

Must have been deluding myself then, because it's a FAT layer of black, so i assumed it might have been something. Going to get sanding then!

 

That coating is the Anti-SkyActiv, from a darker period in Mazda history!!!

 

its dirt, brake cleaner, or something like that works better

 

I used some stale gas I had lying around.

 

Turn the pressure down slightly and stick the nozzle of the media blaster into the runners. Worked for me.

 

Got it media blasted, used some brake cleaner for what remained. Thanks!

Also, the guys at the shop said I needed to use an air compressor to clean out the media... But couldn't I just use a hose? The guy who has the air compressor I always use is out of town (ironic since you would have thought he'd stay for the super bowl of all things)

 

Coming from a guy that does high quality builds, I will give you one word of advise...

Send that blasted part out to a place that can ultra sonic clean it. I assume they used a glass bead media to blast it, the glass imbeds itself into the aluminum, they are small pieces, however they will come loose and when they do they will make the way into the motor.... And i don't have to say that's a bad thing.

Also when blasting sometimes you get a pocket that builds up, these can also break loose and I have seen them up to the size of a dime.

Just a little heads up.

 

Oh fk.

I'll call the shop that did them, ask if they used glass beads. If so, I'll see about getting them ultrasonically cleaned. They're a powercoat shop (I had the manifolds powdercoated there as well), so I dunno.

 

Pretty much any media is bad unless they used baking soda, that's what I use... It cost more but dissolves with water.

 

I completely blanked today and forgot about the manifolds, but I'll be calling in tomorrow at my lunch break. I have solid motor mounts in the car, so I'm absolutely certain that if it's not baking soda, whatever they used will fall out of the manifolds. So ultrasonic cleaning will do the trick? And will it affect the powdercoat?

 

Ultrasonic is your best bet, a heated solvent bath with ultra sonic will take out basically everything, I use it on all customer motors.

As for the powder coat, it is possible it may come off in areas if not completely.

 

Okay. Well, I contacted the shop and they said that the media used was an 80 grit garnet, inside and out. I've been calling around, trying to see if there's a shop in town that has an ultrasonic cleaner big enough for the manifolds. So far, I've been sweeping through as many mediablasting and speed shops as I can find, though no luck so far. Any suggestions where else I might look?

 

They don't advertise they have it but some plating shops have pretty big ones. You might find a good size one in a machine shop that does aircraft work. Talk to friends and relatives.


A Google search didn't give a company offering the service in your area? It's not that uncommon, just not common in the automotive industry.

 

If you didn't live so far I would just say bring them over I have one in my shop. I clean all parts before any engine build with it.

 

There's always soap, water and a good, thin glass brush or one that's long, skinny, and flexible enough to fit down the runners.

 

Alright then, I'm going to give the plating and aircraft machine shops a shot. I don't know why directly Googling didn't occur to me immediately. I need more sleep. That, or I need to stop talking to my friend who works on Fords about how badly Fords are built and designed. It's probably infected my head with concentrated, deliberate stupidity.

Unfortunately, the people I know are mostly involved in the geeky world of software development. The few people I know with any ties to the aerospace industry are wee engineers-in-training or wannabe pilots still trying to understand which way to tilt a joystick.

And yeah, Minnesota is a bit of a stretch for Arizona...

I dunno if soap and a glass brush will do anything to the embedded media at this point. That, and I'm not a fan of flexible brushes. They don't do much against 27 year old road grime.

Anyways, calls will go out tomorrow morning then. Thanks again!

 

I don't think I've ever struggled in something so simple as this.

Almost every shop I called didn't pick up or didn't have an ultrasonic cleaner. My faith in Phoenix's industrial capabilities is starting to plummet. On Monday, I'll try again, but this is surprisingly frustrating. If I can't hunt down someone with a large enough ultrasonic cleaner, I'll either buy new manifolds or just ship the damn things to California for someone to take care of.

 

Well if zack rabbit does it call some speed shops.

 

Or send them to him?

 

My bad, I meant 3rdgensleeper.

 

You're more than welcome to send them up if it comes to that. Just cover shipping and like 15 bucks for the solvent.