Cleaning air intake manifold... what to use - Mr Muscle?

[RiffRaffRetro]

Just getting around to replacing the throttle actuator unit on my 2.0 Tdi (BKD).

I've removed the EGR unit and air intake manifold to clean/de-coke, but am unsure what to use on the manifold... there's a raft of conflicting advice out there - some recommend using Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner Foam, whilst others state this is a no-no as the product contains compounds unsuitable for use with aluminum. I don't want to go the gas canister and oxygen 'red-neck' way as this looks way too brutal.

Can anyone recommend a suitable product(s) - obviously, it'll need to work effectively in the many inaccessible areas of the manifold to avoid the risk of partially removed/dislodged deposits being drawn-into the engine on reassembly and start-up... Mr Muscle does seem to work well - especially when blown-through with a jet wash after use, but ignoring the warning on the can 'Unsuitable for use on/with aluminum' is surely advice that's not to be ignored?

 

[Boon]

Do not use Mr Muscle on alloy it will eat it up!

Get the worst out with a jet wash (I'd use the one at the garage as it'll blow 5hit everywhere!)
Then leave it overnight in a bath of engine/machine cleaner (Gunk etc) as strong mix as you can get
Back to the garage jet wash to clean it out

*it may take a few attempts*

A baby bottle cleaning brush can work wonders too

Or a shotgun cleaning kit

 

[RiffRaffRetro]

Thanks Boon... I was wondering if Gunk would do the trick... will give your suggestion a go.

Take care.

 

[Simon170TDI]

When I did mine I got as much out as I could with a few bent spoons, the amount you get out is unreal. Once I got as much out as I could I used a shed load of dw40 and that got mine clean. I would blank off the egr and put a race pipe on, I'm going to darkside developments to get mine done next month.

 

[RiffRaffRetro]

Thanks Simon... I've reassembled the manifold/throttle actuator/EGR now and she's running OK.

The manifold wasn't in too bad a state (compared to some of the pictures posted on this site), but next on the to-do list is definitely an EGR bypass and re-code - after I've replaced the noisy turbo! Let us know how you get on with yours at Darkside - I'd be interested to hear of your thoughts.

Cheers.

 

[foxymk1]

i am also interested in going to darkside so a review would be great