Hi,

Has anyone had experience cleaning the plastic manifolds, recommend a preferred, safe method. I've had several mechanics say they don't want to touch it with hot water for fear it will shrink/melt/warp… would of thought it would be hotter on the engine. Others said stay clear of chemical cleaning like oven cleaner etc for other damage.

i've seen both be done on Youtube with no issues, none they've mentioned anyway.

Ultrasonic bath seems to be a route, but open to ideas. Many have said to replace it outright, may be an option as a professional clean isn't too far off the price of a new one.

Also, Swirl Flaps. Are they built in to the manifold, having trouble finding info on this.

Much appreciated for any help! First time posting, forgive me if i've made any faux pas.

Just did our 2013 XC90 D5 today. The polymer used for the intake manifold appears to be very robust, certainly hot (ish, say 75 C) water would not bother it.

As for me, I scraped out as much crap as I could, and used a combination of oven cleaner, and then degreaser (with various brushes), then a soak using some turps, then some more degreaser. In the end it was reasonable, still a little gunk left inside it, but realistically good enough. The system has clearly been designed to run with some degree of crap in it, so some stubborn minor traces of gunk left on the inner surfaces wont bother it. I also cleaned out the EGR system, that was quite a job, all doable, just time consuming. Here are a few photo's of what the system looked like before I cleaned it, and believe it or not it ran OK, just much better now!

This first image was of the main inlet to the manifold.

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Here is (believe it or not….) a picture of a section of the swirl flap with a thick layer of crap… BTW, the swirl flaps are easy to change, once you have gained access.

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And here is how the inside of the outlet end of the EGR looked like..

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So as you can see there was a slight buildup of muck.

What I suggest is that worrying out the final 0.003 mm thickness on the inner surface of these parts is not going to affect the performance one bit. I would say however that all loose material, and obvious gunk should be removed.

As for the swirl flaps, I choose to replace them on this occasion, it may be OK to clean them, and then re-install. I purchased my parts from Skandix. IPD and FCP Euro don't seem to stock the Diesel bits. There are a few good YouTube videos that show the process.

It is also important to remove the injectors carefully. Any damage caused by careless or overly forceful removal may result in injector damage, which will then necessitate expensive replacement and subsequent injector coding.. I also cleaned the outer part of the injector barrel and coated them with a thin film of a nickel based anti-seize prior to re-installation. If they are stuck, then perhaps try some penetrating type hydrocarbon.

I also modified the end of a vacuum cleaner so that it had an approx 15mm poly tube (250 mm long) that I could insert into the inlets / injector holes etc to suck as much crap out.

This job is definitely doable, but requires care, patience, preparation, and above all, lots of disposable nitrile gloves, it is a surprisingly messy job..

Good luck with it.

    Amazing thanks very much!

    Whats the part number for the swirl flaps, I haven't been able to find them at all. I assume our cars share the same engine? Are the located inside the manifold?

    I've already had my throttle body off, that took a while to clean, the EGR is considerably worse. I don't have the space or tools available currently so I'll probably have to get a garage to do it but keep it as minimal as possible.

    Yes! that carbon gunk is never ending

      Berry Motor Group have carbon cleaned set of tube and plastic cover on the shelf ready for exchange with yours.

      They have a carbon clean mob do them and its at least an overnight clean in their machine.

      They also have the swirl faps and you get the O rings and actuator wrm for the S/F motor in that kit.

      Injectore were bad on her D5 @ 160,000K too , so injectors with the same numbers on them can be used without coding.

      While in there check the rockers and lifters , we had 3 cylinders of bad lifters and i had bought a kit from UK off a business there that sells on EBoi. About $500 deliuvered cheapest around. (Mark at BMG advises to buy that kit)

      arebee

      USA didnt get these diesels so nobody there sell the parts

        It was RS ENGINEPARTS UK for the lifter and tappet set.

        I bought direct rather than eboi.

        sai_man

        For my car the swirl flap part numbers are 1029780 (genuine Volvo) and 1068780 (non genuine). On the Skandix web site swirl flaps are referred to as a 'tumble valve'. You will also need to get the manifold seal etc., and also get the small link bar between the swirl flap motor and the swirl flap actuator arm, this is referred to as a 'joint tumble valve' on their website, part number 1029359 (genuine Volvo) and 1071338 (non genuine). These small parts are easily broken due to embrittlement. I always keep a spare or two…

        With the Skandix web site you also have the option of searching for parts based on your cars VIN, which I recommend as this should greatly reduce any risk of purchasing an incorrect part. In the unlikely event an incorrect part is sent, Skandix would correct this mistake, they are reputable.

        Also mentioned by Ex850R, Berry Motor Group in Melbourne do an excellent job and are enthusiastic about getting it right.

          Mark supplied the S/F kit from Volvo parts dealer he gets good rates from and you get full Volvo Australia warranty 2. Years.

          Kit has all seals S/F actuator arm , O rings.

          Get new injector seals as they have to be replaced.

          Get injectors tested while out. We had leaks and three injectors fail. Used ones put in as BMG had same serial number ones on shelf or in an engine they wrecked.

          Everything that could have been bad was on our motor so be prepared.

          If you are handy you can change the lifters and rocker arms without taking cams out ….. our retired Greek mechanic is an old skool diesel rebuilder for motors from car to mining equipment all over the world. He even found the cam timing out by 1/2 teeth!

          First off, I'd like to thank you guys for your replies' and being so quick. Its so helpful to get timely feedback like that!

          I've rung around, no spare manifolds, I've found one at an adelaide wreckers but is dirty. I'm still deciding which direction to go.

          Do you think I should leave the manifold for now and just clean the EGR? Mine looks a similar state to @arebee.

          I know all of this is hard to say without being hands on, just not in a place where I want to fork over handfuls of cash just yet..

          I don't have the space or required tools handy to give it a go myself. I did just pull the AWD haldex pump off for a clean and service. Fingers crossed it works tomorrow going back in. Was quite filthy.

            I cleaned the EGR / throttle body and the 90 degree angled rubber tube that goes between the throttle body and the manifold first. Then about two weeks later got stuck into the swirl flaps / intake manifold. It would be my assumption that if you have a fair bit of gunk in the EGR system, it would be highly likely that the rest of the system would also be fouled up, plan on doing them either at the same time, or shortly one after the other. I found the removal / replacement of the EGR a bit fiddly, but it is doable if you have a reasonable level of skill and some decent tools. If you are at all unsure, check the various YouTube videos available, and then judge for yourself if you have the appropriate level of skill required, and either tackle it yourself, or save up and pay someone to do it for you.

            Good luck with it.

            sai_man

            Berry have them cleaned already on the shelf. It’s exchange units for yours.

            They look brand new after they get a specialist place to do the cleaning

              I called yesterday , they said they didn’t have any unfortunately

              I don't know if this would work or not, but have you considered getting the manifold vapour blasted? Otherwise why not try the ultrasonic bath route?

                Whilst it is nice to be able to get a perfectly clean exchange one off the shelf ( I would have certainly done this if timing and money weren't an issue), I would have definitely have done so, it is a slimy, dirty job to do it yourself, but as I have stated earlier, it can be done. Also whilst is is also nice to have something perfectly clean in all respects, it is also not essential to obtaining a perfectly functional outcome. I guarantee that after a month or two of driving, there will be a film of gunk built on the inside of the manifold and all related intake / EGR parts. I am reasonably certain that these components are designed to tolerate a bit of crap on them and still work well, just not as much crap as was on the one I had to fix!

                jamesinc

                One thing though, it’s a plastic cover.

                You also get pipes in the change over of your filthy parts.

                Mark has the service kits which have all gaskets, o rings, new actuator arm for the inlet flappers.

                I just bought my own tappers and rockers.

                New o rings for injectors and the fuel line needed as well.

                We found failed injectors too. Mark had same serial number ones so just swap em over.

                • the mob that do the carbon clean only do this for Mark and under sufference as it mucks up their equipment……It’s bathed overnight in the equipment.
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