[at100plus]

I just wanted to post my results. I brought my car to an Indy Because I didn't quite feel like I was comfortable with finding TDC.

I didn't trust that anyone local knew how to do this job right and I wasn't sure I was comfortable ensuring TDC myself, but I wish I had trusted myself now (because I care and take pride in MY work). Now that I have read up on it for days and had a couple people coach me on how easy it is (just time consuming and messy), days I decided to redo the crappy half job that Mark from Total Precision did to my car. Hopefully he didn't mess anything up. The good news is at least the 6 valves that he did blast look pretty clean. I will probably hit them again just to get them perfect since I'm deleting now and don't want to ever have to do it again.

Anyway. He the shop gave me my intake back still dirty. He said it was the best he could do. I was annoyed and disgusted. I really can't believe a shop that claims to be a BMW specialist is this incompetent. I Posted on FB North American Diesel group asking what the secret formula is that someone like AARodriguez is using in his ultrasonic bath for intakes. I saw someone mention that not only does he do ultrasonic but he has a system of hoses running the degreaser thru. That gave me the pool pump idea.

My intake was still very dirty even after Total Precision gave it back. He really only got the first inch of the ports clean the rest was still gummed up.

SO here is what I did:

I bought a 5 gallon bucket of Purple Power industrial degreaser $30 at most auto parts stores (might need an additional 2.5 gal jug depending on size of container you use for the bath). I put my intake in 100% pure Purple Power overnight. I used an old pool cover pump (relatively low pressure, normal garden hose output). I cut an old washing machine rubber hose short (12 in long) and put the output end of the hose in the big opening of the intake so the Purple Power was flowing thru the intake all night. For a little extra ultrasonic kick I also put the lid on the retangular box I was dipping the intake in and a pad sander on top of it running for two hours. Not sure if that was necessary but whatever, it all worked amazingly.

Next morning I pulled the intake out and to my delight it was perfectly clean like brand new. No scrubbing, no power washing needed. I hosed it out good and dried it with compressed air. DONE. Why on earth could a BMW Indy shop not do this properly it was so simple!

Then on to the walnut blasting. I brought car to him with the intake off ready to be blasted. When I picked it up he had only done the valves on the easy side. He tried to tell me both valves were in the port. He simply did not want to deal with the plastic tangenial ports (either he was lying or he's stupid). Anyway I bought a $30 Harbor Freight media blaster and modified the wand with a 1/2 barb fitting the presses in where the Harbor Freight gun has a removeable ceramic tip. The other side of the barb I put a screw on 1/4" compression fitting that accepts a long piece of bendable 1/4" copper tubing. I will be using that to redo the crap walnut blast job. Thanks to Chris from FB North American Diesel group who took the time to explain to me how he did the job, it gave me the confidence I needed to to this myself.