Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Cleaning UIM & LIM

I guess this goes in the performance section...
Anyway, for those who have cleaned their UIM and LIM, what gaskets do I need? What's the best way to clean up the runners in the UIM...they're pretty long. Pipe cleaner? I don't want to gouge the smooth and pretty runners.
Lance\'s How-to is very thorough, but maybe more than I had originally planned on. (FPR and others...I don't think that's necessary). I have 45,000 on the car, so do you guys think I should be cleaning up the fuel injectors, fuel rails, etc???
Is an oil change a must after this task?
I guess I'm just gathering info so I can start gathering gaskets, grommets, and other necessary parts.

Lotta questions. Thanks in advance

All the gaskets are listed at the bottom, some of them only apply to 95-97 vehicles (fuel rail to lower intake gaskets are such). Just don't buy the ones you don't want to deal with. I would recommend removing the lower and cleaning it, however. Those butterflies get really crusty. Nothing about the whole operation was difficult -- the cleaning is just time consuming.

-Lance

If you remove ALL the plastic parts and use Xylene its a breeze,small brass brush helps if you dont have a Xylene bath.....

Wow, I got two bad*sses to reply to my post already.
Lance - I was definately planning on cleaning up the LIM while I was down there. Thanks for the how-to, btw.
Terry - who carries this fabled "Xylene" ???

Terry, what material are the butterfly shaft "bearings" made of? Is it just metal on metal, or a plastic bushing/seal in there somewhere?

When I was cleaning my 99 Cougar lower, I noticed the shafts got very stiff/hard to rotate after the process (used lots o carb cleaner). I dribbled some oil onto all the shaft to lower interfaces, and it freed right back up but now I wonder if I mucked up any seals. I assume there has to be at least one seal on the spring side end of the shaft.

Home Depot carries Xylene.

anywhere that deals with paint sells em

Work the shafts as you clean or you just re-locate the crap around the bearings...never had a problem using Xylene...do it outside unless you have a shop with a fume hood...if you work with fibreglass or epoxy you know what Xylene is, around $6 a gallon at home depot/lowes....once all the gunk is out a final spray with carb cleaner will finish it up...mind how you use Xylene re your hands & eyes..its strong stuff.

Thanks everybody. I'll search around town. Just to make sure...Xylene wont remove the paint from my UIM will it?

Having used Xylene many years ago at work, I can tell you that you don't want to get much of it on your hands. Buy some solvent resistant gloves (I'm not sure, but I think the neoprene gloves are good for this).

If the Xylene doesn't attack the paint on your UIM I would be surprised.

Just another two cents.

Mike