Need to clean a cast aluminum intake manifold.

[Racer1210]

fast340cuda is on the right path but it must be aluminum mag wheel cleaner WITH ETCHING. If no etching it will not work no ways near as good.

 

[33 IMP]

fast340cuda is on the right path but it must be aluminum mag wheel cleaner WITH ETCHING. If no etching it will not work no ways near as good.

Great! I want some! I have several old aluminum mags that need a serious cleaning.
So, what brand? What's it called? Where do I buy it?

 

[Racer1210]

It’s been a while since I got any and not many cleaners had etching. When I was getting it was eagle one I believe. DO NOT USE ON ALUMINUM WITH ANY KIND OF COATING OR POLISHED ALUMINUM. Best I can suggest is to search web or look at auto parts store for cleaner with etching.

 

[themechanic]

I bought this at O'Reilly. It has phosphoric acid and hydrofluoric acid. I mixed it 4:1 with water and sprayed it on. It foams a bit. Rinsed off after 30 seconds. I'm waiting for the intake to dry before I take a photo.

 

[eldubb440]

Clean parts sell faster than filthy parts any day. But that only applies to grease and grime. Clean bare metal ... great. Freshly painted stuff ... what are you hiding! Just my 2 cents.

I once bought a CH4B on ebay....it was painted, didn't think much of it until I started removing the paint...... ******* epoxy everywhere, it was actually rotted.....I threw it the scrap pile and found another one

 

[gtxdana]

To refinish aluminum parts, I use walnut shell in my blast cabinet then I spray it with mag wheel cleaner and hose it off with lots of water. You want an etching (acid) mag wheel cleaner to clean aluminum. The Eagle One mag wheel cleaner that is sold at my local Napa store has sulphuric acid in it and says it's for magnesium wheels only, but it sure worked good on an intake manifold I did.

 

[69L48Z27]

Also, I need tips on removing stuck steel plugs and pipe fittings.

Heat!

 

[69L48Z27]

Aluminum intakes get glass beaded then they had to the sink and get scrubbed with an SOS pad. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. The SOS gives it a nice finish that also closes the aluminum back up.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

Did you try foaming throttle body cleaner?

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

When the misses is gone, scrub it in the sink with hot water and dish soap (you might get bonus points, or she might think something is up, if you do the dishes while you’re there) Might also do some scrubbing with aluminum wheel cleaner too.

 

[themechanic]

Did you try foaming throttle body cleaner?

Nope

 

[toolmanmike]

When the misses is gone, scrub it in the sink with hot water and dish soap (you might get bonus points, or she might think something is up, if you do the dishes while you’re there) Might also do some scrubbing with aluminum wheel cleaner too.

View attachment 1371489

I wonder how it would come out in the dishwasher?

 

[gtxdana]

I wonder how it would come out in the dishwasher?

I tried that recently with an intake manifold. That didn't work out very well! Whatever brand of dishwasher soap I used turned the aluminum intake a kind of greenish gray. I had to media blast it and hit it with some acid to get the raw aluminum look back.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

If you had a small compressor, or you could borrow one, this works great.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

I wonder how it would come out in the dishwasher?

I wouldn’t know, I don’t have a dishwasher. I live alone, I use 1 plate, 1 knife, 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 bowl. Use it, rinse it out, done

 

[Mopar Hunter]

I wouldn’t know, I don’t have a dishwasher. I live alone, I use 1 plate, 1 knife, 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 bowl. Use it, rinse it out, done

You need to find a dishwasher and a sandwich maker, I have an all in one.

 

[1967coronet]

I'll let whoever buys the intake blast it, paint it, or whatever they wish. I'm just trying to do a quick cleanup.

Wash it with hot water and dawn dish soap,
Tooth brush in the hard to reach spots.
If needed a little engine decreased, just get all the oil and grease off the surface you can.
Then spray bottle of aluminum wheel cleaner let set a couple minutes and rinse.
Its never going to look new again but just a good clean up helps, most blast media is to aggressive for intakes.

 

[themechanic]

I used Gunk Degreaser followed with Superior Products Aluminum Brightener and a SS wire brush. I used penetrating oil, a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a 3' cheater pipe to loosen the pipe plug. I tried heating and tapping the plumbers fitting some idiot used for a water line connection but it's stuck.

Here's the results.

 

[toolmanmike]

I used Superior Products Aluminum Brightener and a SS wire brush. Here's the results.

View attachment 1371816

View attachment 1371817

Looks great. Thanks for the tip.

 

[SMack]

I searched but didn't find.

So far, I've degreased with Gunk original. It still has carbon inside the runners and oxidation on the top and bottom outer surfaces.

I'm thinking about using NAPA Aluminum Brightener. It works well on sill plates.

What's your method for degreasing and removing the oxidation?

Thanks in advance.

I have a friend restoring a muscle car ( non mopar) but nun the less and he’s been using citric acid and water to clean and degrease everything. Engine block and parts third member you name it and the results are incredible. He soaked his manifold in a pan for a few days and it came out looking new. You can soak rags or old towels in it and drape them on large parts and the paint and crud rinses right off. Plus it’s environmentally friendly. Just my two cents.
Smack