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Part 2
Disclaimer: This was my experience, make sure you do enough research that you are confident to attempt this. I have written this to help those who are researching or are unsure if they have the skills to do this. I take no responsibility if you damage your car.
Injector removal and new seals
All four injectors came out with the manifold. They needed a lot of effort to remove them from the manifold. Once out I sat them in a jar of carby cleaner for a week and gave them a polish with a clean rag
Installing new injector seals
I tried to clean the injector port with a small plastic brush, the carby cleaner and a rag It sort of worked but using the right tools would help.
I did not have the injector seal tool so I did it with the old pen trick -not recommended. I did get them on in the end, but I struggled with compressing the seal back in the groove. It did feel like the seal compressed as I put the injectors back in the head. And it is so far so good. So for peace of mind, try and borrow or buy the proper kit for this job.
Carbon clean and DIY blaster
Make sure the valves are closed on the intake port you are looking to clean - it is very obvious which ones are open and closed. Look at my before videos to see the differences in open vs closed.
I used the walnut blast process because it looked easier and cleaner than spending hours scrubbing with carby cleaner. I had to mod the ozito blaster nozzle, I used an air gun nozzle and glued it in with a metal 2 part glue.
This worked really well, the hardest part of the carbon clean process was directing the abrasive to the area that needs it. The way I did it with the vacuum cleaner attachment, meant that i was flying blind. Later I thought that it might be good to use a clear pipe, that way you could see what you are doing.
This is the blaster with walnuts in it and the diy blaster nozzle connected
In the blaster video, I was just trying to show how quick it is to clean using this process - a lot of the carbon is gone after a short time using the blaster.
I also used a pick and small flathead screwdriver to scrape down behind the valve stem and at the back of the port. Then it was easy enough to just vacuum out the carbon gunk.
I didn’t really keep track of the time doing the carbon cleaning, but I think I probably spent about 15 mins per port. You can see from the vids my ports were not perfect, especially at the top of the intake port as I couldn’t get the blaster nozzle to point up there. But much improved over what they were like before the clean.
Intake runners clean
I soaked these in carby cleaner for about a week (only because I had to wait for the walnuts to arrive) and the carbon just wiped off with a rag.
Turning the motor
I used a 24mm socket on the crank bolt, turned it clockwise a small amount which moved the valves I needed.
Intake reinstall
Pretty much just the reverse of removal. I did attach everything that I could before putting it back on the car. This included - throttle body, fuel line and the bracket that goes from manifold to block. I attached the bracket to the manifold loosely and very carefully guided it in to place as I couldn’t really see how I could get the bracket in place after putting the manifold on without losing my mind. Again I struggled with the triple square, I put the bolt in with the tips of my fingers and wound it as far as possible using my fingers then used the ⅜ socket extensions and unijoint. Not fun.
All the manifold bolts and nuts went on no problem. I bought the additional manifold breather hose for the extra vacuum that is for the new solenoid design. I routed this to sit on top of the motor between coils 2 and 3.
Fuel pump prime
I just turned the car on and off about 5 times before attempting to start it. It started quickly, I cleared the faults and took it for a drive, fixed. BUT the engine light came on with new fault code about fuel flap runner. I had forgotten to plug in the manifold solenoid plug - replugged and cleared code and another drive.
Results
Big difference in fuel economy, also now there are no misfires or stutters between 1-2k rpm, it’s just smooth. Also massive difference in power and responsiveness - the carbon buildup happens so gradually that you don’t notice how much it impacts over time.
Random thoughts
Having the correct clamp pliers, good lighting, strong magnetic pickup tool, lots of patience, will help.
Work out the method for removing the electrical plugs - make sure you understand which part to press because some of these you need to do blind.
I also changed the air filter and the coolant expansion tank (the plastic of the old one was heavily crazed). Part numbers are listed above.
This is the walnuts and carbon in the vacuum barrel. I only used about 2kg of walnuts of the 20kg bag.
I am happy that I did it and it worked! Also saved a ton of money. I hope this helps anyone who is on the fence over doing this themselves.
Videos I took
Intake valves at 160000 kms before
https://youtu.be/NzIRe6_1cpY
Walnut blaster process
https://youtu.be/MjERtmx_WBs
Cylinder 2 Before cleaning, 3 and 4 after cleaning
https://youtu.be/G1OWPUsnGyg
Old intake manifold, oil buildup and dirty injectors
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