Plenuim cover

[WogBoyz]

I just got a few questions

Firstly how do u remove the plenuim cover, cus i want to give it a good clean out, is hard easy and what will i need ect.

Secondly is it possible to polish the cover to make it look nice n shiny or is it just easier to buy a polished plenuim lid cover thing.

Thanks again

[cander24]

All you will need is a 10mm socket to first remove the 4 nuts that hold on the plastic ecotec engine cover. Then you need to remove the 8 black bolts that hold on the plenum lid with an allen key which is either 5 or 6 mm from memory. There is heaps of products that will be suitable to do the cleaning but id recommend carby cleaner and do your throttle body while your at it. Polishing the lid yourself will be far cheaper than buying one if you have the tools. Just involves alot of time sanding with wet and dry all through the grades and then polishing to a shine with a buffing wheel and polishing compound.

[WogBoyz]

oh ok yeah ive alrdy taken the cover off so thats done, and done my tb on monday, i dont have any of the stuff to sand it with or really the time where wud i get a polished one if i wanted it?

[DannyboyDS]

ebay maybe.

[WogBoyz]

if i did wanna sand it myself do i need the buffing wheel?

[WogBoyz]

?? will i need the buffing wheel to get a good finish?

[commomad]

Only from own experiments, lots of sanding, start with a 380 and work your way to a wet and dry about 3000 and then a polishing compound. Not like professional finsh, but comes up smooth and shiny. Make the time, its there

[WogBoyz]

i know nothing about sanding man shud i just go to a hardware shop n ask for a 380 sanding paper and 3000 wet and dry? man i have no clue lol

[commomad]

sorry dude. maybe get another cover to practice on and ask a workshop how they woud go about it you will find out what it is all about. Expand your knowledge.

Where is your far nrth qld?

[WogBoyz]

im in cairns

[commomad]

Ok go and ask a Aluminium workshop they should be able to give you some advice

[WogBoyz]

kk i mite just buy a polished one lol

[cander24]

You could always pick up a spare plenum cover from the wreckers and take it to a metal polisher.

[-=ApheX=-]

Ok here's some hints on sanding and polishing!!!
this is a really simple process and can be done by anyone that hasn't got a clue on what there doing!!!
Firstly I would start with a 800 grit wet and dry, wet it using soapy warm water and sand the cover in a circular motion, please note that this will take a very long time!!! now after about 2 hours of this, move to a 1200 grit wet and dry and repeat for about another 2 hours, finally move on to a 2500 grit wet and dry same process... wash the cover very well, get some "Silvo" from your hardware store this will remove the tiny tiny shards of metal and sand paper grit from the tiny grooves in the cover...
use this silvo with several polishing clothes and follow directions carefully!!!
once done with the Silvo, I would ask your local steel worker about a polishing metal protector that will keep your covers shine with out it being suseptable to finger marks and greases etc that will ruin the finish you've worked hard to achieve..

On another note, is it recommended spraying carby cleaner or TB cleaner into your plenum, i mean with all the gunk build up this will in turn go through your injectors and block them up possibly? wouldn't it be a smarter move to remove the air intake all together if your wanting a good clean?

[maldotcom2]

On another note, is it recommended spraying carby cleaner or TB cleaner into your plenum, i mean with all the gunk build up this will in turn go through your injectors and block them up possibly? wouldn't it be a smarter move to remove the air intake all together if your wanting a good clean?

It won't go through the injectors, but it does get burnt when you start up the first time.

[cander24]

On another note, is it recommended spraying carby cleaner or TB cleaner into your plenum, i mean with all the gunk build up this will in turn go through your injectors and block them up possibly? wouldn't it be a smarter move to remove the air intake all together if your wanting a good clean?

Impurities or foreign matter drawn through the inlet manifold typically will not block an injector, impurities in the fuel supply will. And yes a complete removal of components when cleaning is always going to achieve the best results but most people will not go to this effort for a multitude of valid reasons. Also the cleaning process doesn't involve just opening up the throttle body butterfly and blasting through it with carby cleaner. With the plenum lid removed (as in this instance) you lightly spray it all and give it a minute to soak in, then spray some on a clean rag and wipe it out. As above, any small amount that does go down an intake runner will be quickly burned in the combustion.

[maldotcom2]

I used about half a can to clean the runners too. The car runs fine after it burns off. Wouldn't do it regularly though.

[WogBoyz]

yeah im just gunna spray carby cleaner on a rag and wipe it all down ive alrdy cleaned my tb and intake pipe n all that what wud be easiest way at cleaning the running pipes btw a small brush maybe?

[maldotcom2]

Try an old toothbrush.

[WogBoyz]

kk wud that work tho? the brushes wud have to be pretty strong cus that stuff black crap wud be stuck on

[WogBoyz]

well i took if off today n cleaned it i only took the lid off n wiped it out btw, but i noticed a few screws in the bottom of the plenum, would just the plenum come off if i took them off or wud i have to undo all other stuff, wud make it alot easier if i cud just take the whole plenum off

[ephect]

the manifold is in 2 parts top part is the plenum and the bottom part is the runners.

u can remove the bolts and it will unbolt the plenum, but the injectors will come with em coz the fuel rail is bolted to the bottom of it. its not hard but you'll have to remove the bolts then the plenum will come away.

if you do this, the plenum bolts have an unthreaded part in the middle, allowing you to unscrew them part of the way, with out unscrewing them out from the plenum. (bolt head, thread, rod with no thread, then finally thread.

[lordmuz]

well i took if off today n cleaned it i only took the lid off n wiped it out btw, but i noticed a few screws in the bottom of the plenum, would just the plenum come off if i took them off or wud i have to undo all other stuff, wud make it alot easier if i cud just take the whole plenum off

I have written a write up of how to get the plenum chamber off and clean it properly. It has lots of pics so it should help you understand how it all fits together. You can find it here:

http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...commodore.html

I hope that helps.