Best products for cleaning out inlet manifold

[VRSD30]

New turbo going on this week and I'm wanting to clean all the crap out of the inlet manifold & EGR when it's off. Any good cleaning products you'd recommend for the job? I've seen someone use Mr Muscle oven cleaner for the inlet manifold and it foamed up in the pipes and seemed to do a good job! May give that a try but any advice welcome 

[sepulchrave]

I soaked mine in a bath of degreaser then used a bottle brush to get everything super clean before shoving it in the dishwasher.

[devonutopia]

If you can get manifold off, a soak in diesel for two days will clean it as the gunk that clogs it up is diesel based

[VRSD30]

Yeah the manifold is coming off when the turbo gets replaced so going to clean ASV, EGR & manifold. Had a look in the ASV and it's proper clogged up with tar! Is that the exhaust gasses mixing with oil/diesel to create the sticky gunk?

 

On another note I've got my new turbo this morning so had a look at it and there's some slight play on the shaft which is enough to feel a rock in the shaft, is that normal?!  

Edited 2 March, 2016 by VRSD30

[sepulchrave]

Yes, it's normal, once the bushes are pressurised with engine oil that play will vanish.

[VRSD30]

Yeah seems it's quite normal, just spoke to Turbo Dynamics and they confirmed shaft play is normal until you get oil flowing through it, they get loads of phone calls about it.... Got a bit worried then! 

Edited 2 March, 2016 by VRSD30

[sepulchrave]

An oil pressure bearing won't work unless there is sufficient clearance for the pressurised oil film it's this clearance you can feel when the bearing is dry.

If they get loads of phone calls about it you'd think they'd whack a sticker on the unit to warn people what to expect, it'd be a lot cheaper than answering phone calls about it.

[12345Jay]

Id be more worried that people calling them about bearing float are fitting a turbo in the first place

[felicia16v]

Fire. .. to totally clran the inlet manifolds i usually soak in red diesel for a few hours then put the manifold on a shovel and light it with a blow torch.

It burns the majority of the built up carbon away and turns the remaining bits to powder that can be removed with a small wire brush.

Worked on the last 4 or 5 i did with no problems.

Anything left in there will just crumble away when you scrape at it afterwards much less messy

[StevesTruck]

Dramatic - I like it!

 

I just use brake cleaner, because I'm a pansy.

[VRSD30]

Got a phone call from Rory at Turbo Dynamics this morning to discuss the shaft play and the metallic rattle noise inside the turbo I also had concerns about, said it doesn't sound right for a brand new turbo and he's not happy for me to fit it to the car, so sending a new one out tomorrow and the other one is going back. 

[sepulchrave]

You didn't mention that the new turbo was rattling! That's not good at all.

[VRSD30]

Sounded like something loose inside and at first I thought it may have something to do with the shaft & bearings needing oil, he said it doesn't sound right so send it back for a replacement. They know a lot more than me so will see what the replacement is like, if it's the same then probably nothing to worry about but never had my hands on a new turbo before so nothing to compare it to. 

[hutchysrs50]

Dramatic - I like it!

 

I just use brake cleaner, because I'm a pansy.

 

Same here, just finished cleaning mine today, got the thick of it out with a screw driver then used a tooth brush and brake cleaner to clean up the rest.

left it sitting in the tub over night and cleaned it again before fitting, was about £10 for a 5L bottle of brake cleaner from euro car parts so was worth getting.

Used it to clean the EGR valve, boot pipes and intercooler as well while they were off the car.

[VRSD30]

New turbo came and exactly the same as the last one, rattle inside and slight shaft play. The guys in the Turbo Dynamics factory say it's fine and it's the VNT ring as it's not fixed. Getting it fitted on Monday along with the clutch & DMF, not cheap! 

[hutchysrs50]

I bet its not cheap for all that, around £1000 id think?

its just cost me around £450 for DMF and Clutch fitted!

[VRSD30]

The parts alone were around a grand! £400 for fitting both...  :'(

[hutchysrs50]

£400 labour isnt bad i guess.

Will be like a new car when you collect it

[VRSD30]

I shopped around for a decent price and surprisingly a VAG specialist was one of the cheapest, some were quoting close to £600! 

[hutchysrs50]

Mine was done by a VAG and Bently specialist also, they wernt the cheapest but wernt that far off by £30.

Edited 5 March, 2016 by hutchysrs50

[VRSD30]

Dropped it off this morning and should get it back tomorrow, got a VW Polo 1.2 TDI loan car and it's ridiculously slow! Saw the TDI badge on the boot and thought this shouldn't be bad, how wrong was I... Nice solid car and well put together though. 

[VRSD30]

Just got the car back, bank balance even lower :(

 

Got the old turbo back and was surprised it was in such good condition, reasonably clean inside with barely any shaft play, up down in or out and no damage to the impellers. What causes the siren noise as it was noticeable when driven from cold? New one much quieter. 

 

Old inlet manifold was proper gunked up, the inlet pipes were really narrowed down it's a wonder the engine wasn't choking! Fitted new EGR & ASV onto the cleaned manifold.  

Edited 8 March, 2016 by VRSD30