Cleaning your intake manifold & egr valve

[Bhavick]

Am thinking of giving my egr and manifold a clean soon and was wondering what you guys used to clean inside the manifold. Because of the shape how did you guys get right inside to clean it? Am going to buy this brake cleaner for both parts , hope it's ok?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Holts-Brak...rds=brake+cleaner+holts&qid=1587498718&sr=8-1

 

[eddieleephd]

It's easiest to use a torch and a bicycle brake cable chucked up in a drill to get the ash out. Any other method takes a lot more effort. Unless it's ultrasonics...

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[Bhavick]

It's easiest to use a torch and a bicycle brake cable checked up in a drill to get the ash out. Any other method takes a lot more effort. Unless it's ultrasonics...

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I didn't want to use a torch if possible I dont mind getting it out by hand but what's the best thing to use to get right inside the manifold to scrape all the crap out?

 

[eddieleephd]

A brush created with the frayed end of a bicycle cable chucked in a drill...

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[BobnOH]

You can pull it off and tank it, or clean with blasted beads or even torch it out. In areas where TDIs are common, some shops have exchange for a clean unit. But if it's just dirty, not clogged, leave it be. If any passages are anywhere close to 1 cm, it's clogged.
Cleaning the EGR is a bit more delicate, there are paper/rubber bits in there.

 

[Bhavick]

You can pull it off and tank it, or clean with blasted beads or even torch it out. In areas where TDIs are common, some shops have exchange for a clean unit. But if it's just dirty, not clogged, leave it be. If any passages are anywhere close to 1 cm, it's clogged.
Cleaning the EGR is a bit more delicate, there are paper/rubber bits in there.

For the egr I was gonna spray it with some brake cleaner and then use a tooth brush to gently clean it out I don't wanna run the risk of breaking anything inside as you said there are paper/rubber bits in there. For the manifold could you use a long flexi wire brush or wouldn't it be strong enough to scrape out all the stubborn crap from inside?

 

[KrashDH]

Unless it's ultrasonics...

I was lucky as I had a small machine shop that had a tank for the purposes of cleaning hard to get gunk off vehicle parts. I was NOT wanting to torch it out as it would leave an absolute mess and I rent my current house I'm in.
They charged me $25 and went 3 or rounds of cleaning with it for a few hours at a time. You could eat out of it when it was finished. It wasn't their first ALH manifold they had cleaned either...

 

[super1]

I didn't want to use a torch if possible I dont mind getting it out by hand but what's the best thing to use to get right inside the manifold to scrape all the crap out?

Torch is best in my opinion, It’s a lot less time-consuming than brake clean, but you can try this instead or along side brake clean


https://www.ebay.com/itm/222161442248


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[Declan023]

I torched mine and banged the ashes out with a dead blow hammer, also doing an egr delete seems to clean it out well, I had tons of soot in my intake ports that I couldn't get out and when I took it apart again 10k miles after the delete it was clean.

 

[Dh4276]

I have seen oven cleaner used as well, have not done it myself. Watched several videos from guys in Europe doing though. Looks like it works well.


06 Golf 5MT, BEW, Kerma tune, Catectomy, Bypass oil filter system

 

[Nero Morg]

Don't use heat on the egr valve, as it'll ruin the diaphragm in it. If you don't want to burn it out, scrape as much of it out as you can, then degreaser. It'll want to sludge and smear a lot, so it'll take a lot of scrubbing. If you have a heated pressure washer, use it too.

 

[Bhavick]

I have seen oven cleaner used as well, have not done it myself. Watched several videos from guys in Europe doing though. Looks like it works well.


06 Golf 5MT, BEW, Kerma tune, Catectomy, Bypass oil filter system

yeah me too i watched a bmacvags video he uses mr muscle on his manifold however there seems to be mixed reviews about using this stuff some people say it reacts with the material of the manifold but not sure how true that is!

 

[Bhavick]

Is it necessary to clean the ports on the head when cleaning your manifold to stop a chunk flying in to the engine and destroying it?

It seems like quiet a daunting task as I've never done anything like that before so now am in two minds about what to do, i don't want to just clean the manifold and then run the risk of ruining the engine! Is there an easy to do it?

 

[Mongler98]

Is it necessary to clean the ports on the head when cleaning your manifold to stop a chunk flying in to the engine and destroying it?

It seems like quiet a daunting task as I've never done anything like that before so now am in two minds about what to do, i don't want to just clean the manifold and then run the risk of ruining the engine! Is there an easy to do it?

It's not that bad, and yes 100% you need to.
You can make plenty of picks and scrapers with a propane torche and some plastic eating utensils. Just make sure the cam has the one your working on closed. Dont use solvents unless your sucking them out immediately and no steel. Brass or plastic only. Ck.pressed air makes a mess, I prefer a shopvac aproche. Also a mirror works great.

 

[Bhavick]

It's not that bad, and yes 100% you need to.
You can make plenty of picks and scrapers with a propane torche and some plastic eating utensils. Just make sure the cam has the one your working on closed. Dont use solvents unless your sucking them out immediately and no steel. Brass or plastic only. Ck.pressed air makes a mess, I prefer a shopvac aproche. Also a mirror works great.

This where my lack of mechanical knowledge is going to let me down but how how do i turn the cam to ensure that it's closed? Is there any guides on here that explain how to do it?

 

[Powder Hound]

Best and easiest (IMO) way of ensuring that both valves are closed on a given cylinder is to turn the engine until both cam lobes for that cylinder are up, doing the mickey mouse thing. Of course, you have to remove the valve cover to check...

Cheers,

PH

 

[Dh4276]

Best and easiest (IMO) way of ensuring that both valves are closed on a given cylinder is to turn the engine until both cam lobes for that cylinder are up, doing the mickey mouse thing. Of course, you have to remove the valve cover to check...

Cheers,

PH

On that note, if you go this route, it’s a good time to look at your cam and lifters to check for wear.


06 Golf 5MT, BEW, Kerma tune, Catectomy, Bypass oil filter system

 

[Silverwings]

As far as cleaning the intake manifold- I had moderate success with a $100 Harbor Freight hot-steam cleaner, and stiff bottle brushes (after using a pick to get large chunks out). The steam cleaner worked great on the EGR. At least as good as brake cleaner but without the harsh fumes. And no- the heat didn't seem to do any damage (I aimed the steam only at solid metal parts). The intake valves were a PITA. Just used a pick, small bendable brush, and a shop vac. Took approx 1.5hrs each cyl... It was all a ton of work- but my Jetta definitely thanked me for it in terms of 'pep' and probably a few mpgs.

 

[Mongler98]

Trick is you will never get the swirled part clean but you can get some of it. Only way to effectively clean the head is removal but that's imo more work than it's worth.

 

[Bhavick]

I replaced the EGR valve yesterday and was quiet surprised to see how much gunk had built up inside the manifold.

https://imgur.com/a/NLgBNa5

https://imgur.com/a/XQhHk7d

Would you say this is about normal for a car that has done roughly about 150K miles? I know it needs cleaning but as some of you have already mentioned you need to clean the head as well which am not competent enough to do as this point but saying that i have read loads of threads about this on the forum and no one has come back and said that some loose debri has flown in to the engine after cleaning just the manifold so am wondering if it's worth the risk or is better to leave well alone unless your gonna do both? Also is there any actual performance increase or is just peace of mind knowing it's not gunked up inside?

 

[Tdijarhead]

That egr is pretty gunked up, you can take the egr off separately and just clean that, however when you separate the egr from the intake, the intake will probably be as bad or worse.

The first time I cleaned my intake, it took about four hours, several cans of cleaner and was one of the messiest nastiest jobs I’ve ever done. Now I use the burn method, 15 minutes and minimum mess and you’re done. As another poster pointed out do not leave the egr attached to the intake while burning because there is a rubber diaphragm in the hat shaped part.

 

[Bhavick]

That egr is pretty gunked up, you can take the egr off separately and just clean that, however when you separate the egr from the intake, the intake will probably be as bad or worse.

The first time I cleaned my intake, it took about four hours, several cans of cleaner and was one of the messiest nastiest jobs I’ve ever done. Now I use the burn method, 15 minutes and minimum mess and you’re done. As another poster pointed out do not leave the egr attached to the intake while burning because there is a rubber diaphragm in the hat shaped part.

Have you got a Mk4 1.9 TDI? Did you clean the ports on the head when you cleaned your manifold and if you did was there any negative comebacks like the engine dying?

 

[Johnbyers]

I did mine two weeks ago and used a machine shop to clean mine out.

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[Bhavick]

I did mine two weeks ago and used a machine shop to clean mine out.

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How many miles on the clock is it a PD100 Mk4? Did you clean the head?

 

[Johnbyers]

Cleaning your intake manifold & egr valve

I’m new to these cars and don’t know all the terms. 02’ Jetta GL 5spd with 264k on it and cleaned down the ports as best as I could and used a vac as well.


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[Trailbum]

I'd like to remove and clean the intake and EGR on my 2004 BEW. I saw a procedure with photos for the ALH engine somewhere... Is there a step by step guide with photos somewhere for the BEW engine as well??? I don't want to screw this up or break anything!!