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Finally did UIM/LIM

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phil

CEG'er
Joined
Dec 30, 2002
Messages
51
Location
Columbia, MD
So... I finally did the UIM/LIM rebuild/cleaning procedure on my '95 Duratec, at 72K miles. Yes, it's never been done before. Yup, they were pretty cruddy, though not as bad as some pictures I've seen. Yeah, the car sits a lot; I've had it since new, but it's often been a second vehicle.

Of course, many thanks to those who contributed to the written procedure - it was invaluable.

Nice to have real throttle response again - and all of the horses are back.

In general, the job went faster and easier than I expected. A lot of Berryman's and scrubbing. No gasket problems; started right up and has been running fine.

To avoid doing this again anytime soon, I did a lot of searching and read many suggestions for various oil separator solutions in the old forums. But I was also disappointed to find stories claiming many separators didn't work all that well. Who has personal, real-life experience with a Duratec oil separator that worked well over the long haul? Something I haven't found yet, like: "I did my UIM/LIM at 60K; it was dirty and I added separator XYZ. I pulled it apart at 120K and it was still clean."
 
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Another answer is to ocassionally do a maintenance cleaning using the vacuum suck method of pulling Berryman's through a vacuum line.

Without getting into the debate as to if it helps much on a really dirty engine, it does help in keeping a clean one clean.
 
Big Jim said:
Another answer is to ocassionally do a maintenance cleaning using the vacuum suck method of pulling Berryman's through a vacuum line.

Without getting into the debate as to if it helps much on a really dirty engine, it does help in keeping a clean one clean.
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Without getting in to the debate, you are absolutely correct. I would recommend doing the vacuum method every other oil change, maybe every change? (personally.. every other..) It is invaluable in prolonging the buildup

Neither method is the "end all-be all".. they are both, however, VERY good at what they do.
 
Ray said:
Without getting in to the debate, you are absolutely correct. I would recommend doing the vacuum method every other oil change, maybe every change? (personally.. every other..) It is invaluable in prolonging the buildup

Neither method is the "end all-be all".. they are both, however, VERY good at what they do.
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Or send it to Ford and have them do it for you at a cost of $350 (just UIM). :eek:
Yes, I used to be a tool (some say I still am).:D
 
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I've done the cleaner-through-the-vacuum-lines trick before (at the time, mine was already dirty, so no improvement). But I am curious if someone has verified how well it works later for an already-clean intake - by actual disassembly and visual inspection (i.e., not just "it seems to work").
 
phil said:
... But I am curious if someone has verified how well it works later for an already-clean intake - by actual disassembly and visual inspection (i.e., not just "it seems to work").
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IIRC, Big Jim did that.
 
I have had the vacuum filter/seperator on my car for about 6 months now. I can attest to the fact that it does work. I say this as the canister fills up with an oil/water solution quickly (at times). I've noticed that the oil in the crankcase stays clean longer and that the t-body and the accordian tube no longer have oil residue in them like they used to.

Only drawback is draining the reservoir. If I do a fair bit of driving on a rainy day, it can fill up. Normally I drain it weekly. Mine is under the accordian tube so it's not very accessible.
 
Bradness -

I presume your separator is on the valve-cover-to-intake-accordion tube. Did you also put a separator on the PCV-valve-to-UIM tube?

I don't think I'm getting much oil from the valve-cover-to-intake-accordion tube. My throttle body stays clean; no sign of excess oil inside the accordion tube.

However, I suspect I am getting oil from the PCV-valve-to-UIM tube, which is where I'm considering adding the separator.

Has anyone added separators on both tubes?
 
I wonder if my UIM and LIM should be cleaned i have 169K miles and to my knowledge it has never been cleaned, i cleaned the tb last week and it was nasty, how much power will i get back from cleaning the UIM&LIM
 
Tony2005 said:
IIRC, Big Jim did that.
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I have not. However, when I was a mechanic I frequently performed decarbon services along with a tune-up. Many times customers returned with their other cars and ask for me to perform the same service on the other car too because they noticed the big differnence in drivability and performance.

I would also perform a decarbon on an engine that I needed to tear down for a valve grind or other engine work.

From that experience, I know that when it is properly performed, it makes a big difference in how the engine runs, and that indeed it made cleaning up the heads much easier as most of it was removed from the decarbon process.

I can tell an improvement in mine when I do the vacuum suck decarbon, and it is on a par with those from days of old. I have not followed up with a tear-down or a bore scope to see just how clean my intake system is after a cleaning, but I have seen how polished the intake looks immediately after the throttle body.

Those that have reported that they did not see much of an improvement I believe either didn't do it right or used the wrong cleaner. If it was really dirty, it may have needed a second dose, or perhaps the engine should have been allowed to load up with cleaner and shut down to allow a 30 minute or soak.

I do know that my car runs great and I've never taken the intake apart for cleaning.
 
phil said:
Bradness -

I presume your separator is on the valve-cover-to-intake-accordion tube. Did you also put a separator on the PCV-valve-to-UIM tube?
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Phil: Yes this is correct. I considered doing both, but wanted to try 1 out first to see if it actually did anything. I chose the valve cover breather because I always found oil in the accordion tube, MAF casting and the t-body, I do lots of high G cornering and figured the liquid oil was being sucked into the tube, not simply fumes like it's supposed to.

I'd like to add the PCV filter too, but there's even less room to put it unless running it somewhere in a remote type setup. If you do it, let us know how/where it goes.
 
DanMystique said:
I wonder if my UIM and LIM should be cleaned i have 169K miles and to my knowledge it has never been cleaned, i cleaned the tb last week and it was nasty, how much power will i get back from cleaning the UIM&LIM
Click to expand...

if your tb was nasty, your UIM and LIM are going to be twice as bad. I cleaned mine at roughly 175K miles, and it made a difference. It made my cel go away. I noticed one of the vacum lines was broken, so I fixed it. Only saw it because the UIM was off.
 
Hey Big Jim - still remember your original post on this and the ensuing debate! Vice Grip method still works for me......

Regards,
Bob
 
If you do decide to try the vcuum pull, I suggest you change your oil once the exhaust clears up. You don't need your oil diluted in these engines.
 
Is there a way to easily tell if the UIM/LIM needs to be cleaned? I bought the car a couple years ago used, and I've never done it. ('98 2.5L V6). However, a few months ago I had a intake gasket leak, and I am thinking the mechanic probably would have cleaned the intake when he replaced the gasket. If I was to do the cleaning, I'd probably have to wait a couple months for nicer weather.
 
Sure, there is a REALLY easy way... Have you driven it or started it since you bought it? If you have, tear it down... lol

It surely needs it, either way
 
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