When I bought my Zed it was in a bad w?y mechanically, resulting in the exhaust being completely full of oil down one bank and residue in the other. I know everyone says, "it'll burn off when you drive it", but I really think this will take a while and I don't want to drive around in a twin turbo'd smoke machine, especially considering the first drive will be to the MOT station... Has anyone tackled this before, if so how? I have access to a diesel powered steam cleaner but not sure if this will end up with loads of emulsified oil in the pipes being pumped out as smoke and steam? Would it be worth pouring diesel/white spirit etc in there and sloshing it about? I can see that getting expensive. Options, opinions please guys!
Its all down hill from here - lol I assume this is a stock system (steel) and not SS aftermarket. Don't shove anything down the pipes unless you can pull it apart in which case you can use any petroleum product to clean it up quickly. You need to be careful of anything flammable or water based as it will either be potentially dangerous or rust your pipes out real quick if you don't get it all out. In your case - I would just get some seafoam / suburu upper engine cleaner and inject into the plenum as per the instructions - it will clean your valves/ engine at the same time! There won't be much oil left in your pipes after a can of that - just make sure you do it with your tailpipes facing in the direction you want the mess to come out. There will be lots of it! Make sure you go for a good drive afterwards to make sure any excess moisture is completely out of the exhaust. It's probably your best solution Cheers JC :zlove:
Just drive it lol Pour acetone or something down there. Or a shitload of degreaser. Leave it to drain overnight and it'll be fine
Thanks JC, This is the exhaust as it is now, still off the car I've been informed it's an very early 5Zigen twin exit, apparently they're part of Border. So it's aftermarket, but doesn't look stainless to me. I was thinking about putting the exhaust back on and your seafoam idea which would be by far the easiest, but I'm concerned about about all the crud ending up in the baffles of the back boxes. I presume there will be wadding in there, what do you think? I'm thinking now the best idea is to dismantle the exhaust, blank the ends of each section and pour some diesel inside, slosh it about and try to drag a rag through if I can get a cord through with the airline?
Seafoam will just dump more gunk in your exhaust. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Surely the MOT people will be more concerned about the lack of catalytic converters than a slightly oily exhaust?
HAHAHAHA!!! Great idea!:rofl: There's elderly neighbours one side of the workshop and a school the other :rofl: Luckily with mine being a '91 and import it gets tested on a pre-cat emissions test!
Yep - that's steel so you have to be careful with anything water based. I still think subi upper engine cleaner will do the job - yes you will get some more crud going in (and this is the crud you really want out from your valves/ plenum and tracts etc.) - but most of it will come out anyway - I've used it before plenty of times.......... it will clear everything - lol The baffles will have wadding like you say (although the type of wadding can vary from SS wool / fibreglass or even natural wool) so ideally you should do this section separate if you can. Re: "I'm thinking now the best idea is to dismantle the exhaust, blank the ends of each section and pour some diesel inside, slosh it about and try to drag a rag through if I can get a cord through with the airline" Not a bad idea - I would use a thinner product like ULP / kerosene as it will break up the oil more effectively but just make sure its well ventilated for a day when finished and it will be fine. (stand pipes upright) Cheap enough options - you could probably do both just to make sure you get it all Cheers JC :zlove:
Interesting! I thought the rule would be that if it came with them stock then you need to have them. I'm amazed the UK is more lenient than Australia when it comes to emissions equipment!
It breaks down onto 4 bits, Just use a pressure sprayer with degreaser attachment and shove it down the holes. The pipes will clean up a treat and quick. The mufflers may take a while. The water will be fine, don't panic about it.
Thanks guys. The good news is I had a look at the steam cleaner that's been tucked up in the corner of the workshop and it's got a built in adjustable detergent feed and reservoir! Got lucky there didn't I!? The end of the lance is angled so I can't stick it right down there but I'm sure it'll get the worst out. I shall report back when I get it done.
Youll be able to degrease out whatever superficial oil is laying in there no dramas. However, if the engine has been run for a time and the oil has been forced down as far as the mufflers, if its soaked into any muffler packing, the ONLY way youll successfully remove it is to burn it out and thats going to make smoke. Many years ago I worked as a mechanic at a rotor specialist. The older rotor autos have a vac line running down to a dashpot on the gearbox. if that dashpot popped, as they sometimes did, the engine would suck auto trans oil into the engine and would end up blowing down the exhaust pipe and into the muffler packing untill the driver was smart enough to stop or the auto slipped due to lack of oil. The exhausts were always replaced as they would continue to puff out smoke for some many afterwards when the packing got hot enough to burn the oil after a good run. Can only suggest trying but dont sweat about any water left in there. E
Thanks. I took the exhaust apart and got the steam cleaner out, set it to 'hotter than the sun' and filled it with degreaser. Sprayed down both ends of each piece of pipe as far as I could get it making sure to hit 360 degs and got a load of the dry thick oil out off the pipe. Then stood the H-pipe and both backboxes upright on a sheet of chipboard which acted to pretty much stop the release of any liquid and sprayed the steam cleaner down each pipe until it was full of hot foamy degreaser and left it to soak. When I moved the pipes alot of oil residue came out with the water, especially the drivers bank. That muffler got the treatment 8 times to get it pretty much clear while the passenger muffler only took 4 attempts. I'm still expecting residue like you say but I know I got a hell of alot of it out today which I'm happy about.
