My walnut blasting experience

ucdbiendog · 09-22-2014, 12:37 PM

So this isn't a full DIY since there are many of those around which are what I followed. But just some general things i learned and my setup.

I used the Harbor freight 25 lb blaster with the bavauto blaster tip and plastic adapter. All of the tools worked well except the adapter, which broke (3-D printed plastic). Bavauto has been top notch on the customer service and accepting the return, and I am getting the BMW tool (aluminum) for future jobs. The 25 lb blaster was a bit on the small side, so i had to refill a few times, but otherwise worked great. The bavauto blaster tip also fit right on the HF blaster with no additional mods (yay!). I used the HF fine grade walnut shells.

I did attach a regulator and water/oil separator to the blaster. I set the regulator to 70 psi, and opened all valves 100%.

A large shop vac is really helpful for this, i was emptying mine quite often.

I had a hell of a time getting the intake manifold off. It was catching on the intake pipe that wraps around the rear of the engine. I had to loosen the screw that attaches the intake to the engine. This screw is between the engine and the firewall right in the center of the vehicle, not easy to get to, but did the trick (it is a torx head, don't recall the size. I used a small bit with an open ended wrench to turn it 1/4 turn at a time.

I also had to take off the driver side strut bar in order to get the wand into cylinder 6. This was pretty straight forward, take off the round cap in the cowl to have access to the bolt head (large torx, had to run to sears for socket).

Also, I want to say thanks to everyone on here who have posted real DIYs for this task. I probably wouldn't have had the balls to do this without them

ucdbiendog · 10-26-2014, 11:40 PM

And an update, since i did my coworkers car this weekend with his help.

So we were cruising through the first three cylinders. Then we broke for lunch, feeling good about our progress. Went back out and started blasting the fourth cylinder.

Bad news: we forgot to bump the starter, the valves were OPEN

So we bumped it to get the valves fully open, then proceeded to blast it with just air in one valve, with the hope that any remaining shells would get sucked out the other valve.

After finishing the job properly, the engine started without issue, smooth as butter.

SO. if you accidentally blow walnuts into open valves, just keep them open, blow air in on one side until no more walnut shells come out the other side.

Whew.

10-27-2014, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucdbiendog

SO. if you accidentally blow walnuts into open valves, just keep them open, blow air in on one side until no more walnut shells come out the other side.

Nice!

Which water/oil separator are you using?

ucdbiendog · 10-27-2014, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Nice!

Which water/oil separator are you using?

http://www.harborfreight.com/38-desi...ter-69923.html

09-22-2014, 12:37 PM	#1
ucdbiendog Captain 89 Rep 610 Posts Drives: 2008 335xi E90 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Reno, NV iTrader: (0)	My walnut blasting experience So this isn't a full DIY since there are many of those around which are what I followed. But just some general things i learned and my setup. I used the Harbor freight 25 lb blaster with the bavauto blaster tip and plastic adapter. All of the tools worked well except the adapter, which broke (3-D printed plastic). Bavauto has been top notch on the customer service and accepting the return, and I am getting the BMW tool (aluminum) for future jobs. The 25 lb blaster was a bit on the small side, so i had to refill a few times, but otherwise worked great. The bavauto blaster tip also fit right on the HF blaster with no additional mods (yay!). I used the HF fine grade walnut shells. I did attach a regulator and water/oil separator to the blaster. I set the regulator to 70 psi, and opened all valves 100%. A large shop vac is really helpful for this, i was emptying mine quite often. I had a hell of a time getting the intake manifold off. It was catching on the intake pipe that wraps around the rear of the engine. I had to loosen the screw that attaches the intake to the engine. This screw is between the engine and the firewall right in the center of the vehicle, not easy to get to, but did the trick (it is a torx head, don't recall the size. I used a small bit with an open ended wrench to turn it 1/4 turn at a time. I also had to take off the driver side strut bar in order to get the wand into cylinder 6. This was pretty straight forward, take off the round cap in the cowl to have access to the bolt head (large torx, had to run to sears for socket). Also, I want to say thanks to everyone on here who have posted real DIYs for this task. I probably wouldn't have had the balls to do this without them
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10-26-2014, 11:40 PM	#2
ucdbiendog Captain 89 Rep 610 Posts Drives: 2008 335xi E90 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Reno, NV iTrader: (0)	And an update, since i did my coworkers car this weekend with his help. So we were cruising through the first three cylinders. Then we broke for lunch, feeling good about our progress. Went back out and started blasting the fourth cylinder. Bad news: we forgot to bump the starter, the valves were OPEN So we bumped it to get the valves fully open, then proceeded to blast it with just air in one valve, with the hope that any remaining shells would get sucked out the other valve. After finishing the job properly, the engine started without issue, smooth as butter. SO. if you accidentally blow walnuts into open valves, just keep them open, blow air in on one side until no more walnut shells come out the other side. Whew.
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