I want to clean out my plenum & runners of all the carbon, it is very caked in there and I know I could get some better flow out of them if they were cleaned, what can I use to clean thier insides???

I was thinking of hot soapy water, leaving them sitting in there for a bit to loosen the carbon, then getting a tooth brush or something and scrubbing the stuff off, what do you guys think??

 

Bead blast it or use Valvoline's Synpower Carb and throttle body cleaner, it works great.

~M~

 

whats bead blasting??

 

Bead blasting refers to....well...blasting whatever it is you want under very high pressure with very fine (read: small) beads; usually glass or steel. Stell beads do an OK job, but I just did an entire TPI manifold setup with glass beads and it is gorgeous. It took me about two hours and looks brand new. Unless you can do it yourself, it is pricey though. I am cleaning the stubborn throttle body on mine right now and am soaking it in lacquer thinner. Its doing the trick, though brake cleaner works really well, and I would be willing to bet carb cleaner works well too. Good luck with it

 

Wish i would have thought of that other stuff before i put mine back together Hot soapy water will do jack to clean those things(i tried with a small steel brush..no good), I even used Alum wheel cleaner..that kinda worked but not to great...was worried about doin somthing to the alum so i stopped with that..oh well now i know what 2 use next time

 

Try Castrol Super Clean in the purple bottle. Most auto parts stores carry it. You won't believe how well this stuff cuts carbon deposits. Barely any need to scrub anything. Just be careful, it WILL etch aluminum if you leave it on too long.

 

Thats what I was going to suggest. That super clean does a heII of a job on the carbon. I took my parts to the carwash and washed them off after using the super clean.

 

I've just finished using 3 bottles of super clean


It rox

 

I bead blasted my intake manifold, accessory brakets, and plenum and they look better than new

 

Cool, thanks guys for the replies.

I don't have time to bead blast them, so I guess the super clean will do

Now, how do I clean it, just spray the super clean in the plenum and runners and let it do it's work, then hose it out???

what happens if it etches the aluminum? I'm only going to clean the inside, how long can I use it/ let it sit before it etches the aluminum????

 

I sprayed it through everywhere I wanted clean, with a wet rag wiped off all the machined surfaces just so it wouldn't pit and cause air leaks, let it sit for about 5-10 minutes (thats all it takes) and hosed it out. If you let it sit to long and it dries it just dries all the crap back to the metal and doesn't help much, so just spray, rinse, with a few minutes lapsed.

 

I used paint thinner.... you can get it by the gallon at the hardware store. Let it soak for an hour and use a firm bristled brush. It will look like new in no time.

 

Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner is the ****. That's what I used and works wonders. Spray it on and rinse off after 15-20 minutes. No scrubbing! Works for oven crap, why not engine carbon.

Important Note: Use rubber gloves and be careful when rinsing so none gets in your eyes or on your skin. If you do get some on your skin, you will know it after a few minutes when it feels like somebody put a cigarette out on your arm

 

Bead blasted mine clean then applied Eastwood's Diamond clear for bare metal to the outsides so they wouldn't stain again, looks great.

~M~