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Losh's VR Ute build thread

Fu Manchu

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Try my fav lubricant, “pop up sprinkler lube” from irrigation shops. Gunk won’t stick and it won’t deteriorate rubber. A thick liquid. Spray that in around the bushes and door hinges.

Could it be steering tie rod ends?
 

Skylarking

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Cheers for the reminder :)

I forgot you’ve mentioned pop up sprinkler lube in any other thread(?). It looks like an interesting product with lots of uses... I particularly like that it’s not watery thin so plan to pick up a can at some stage....

The stuff is primarily polydimethylsiloxane with combustible propellant according to the SDS. Basically it’s a silicone based lube so it seems a good contender for some bushes (pun intended).
 
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losh1971

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20200823_153739_resized.jpg


Stripped down the spare manifold this arvo. Currently using acid, paint stripper and now some oven cleaner to get it clean as possible. Going to give it another hit with Alibrite and a last pressure wash and see how it looks when it's dry. I have considered polishing it but I don't own a Dremil and no idea what they cost. Plus I think it might take a lot of work to keep it shiney.
 

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Looking good, years of grime is a bitch to remove.

Laundry Detergent and a hard plastic bristle bush does wonders on removing Grime. Learned that trick from an old wrench, he also, was the one that taught me automotive when I was about 7 years old.
 
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losh1971

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Yeah it's getting there. I might add putting oven cleaner on the outside of the manifold is a bad idea. It turns the ali dark. I now may need to give it two or three more hits of Alibrite to get it light again. I had the same issue on my current manifold but I thought it occurred because the engine was warm. I am hoping I don't need to sandblast it as that is a bit of mucking around.
 

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View attachment 213478

Stripped down the spare manifold this arvo. Currently using acid, paint stripper and now some oven cleaner to get it clean as possible. Going to give it another hit with Alibrite and a last pressure wash and see how it looks when it's dry. I have considered polishing it but I don't own a Dremil and no idea what they cost. Plus I think it might take a lot of work to keep it shiney.

On my old 3800 I used to own I had the intake bead blasted and it came out like new, vapor blasting with bead is even better again from what I've seen on the YT. You could swap out your blasting media for some glass bead.
On the polishing side you need to use a drill and the top you need to use a flat sanding block. It's way easier just sending it too the professional polishers.
 

losh1971

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Got the manifold looking fairly good with two more goes with the Alibrite. I also managed to clean almost all the carbon from inside using paint stripper and oven cleaner, The underside only has x2 spots of carbon sludge about the size of a 20c piece each. I will get it spotless probably before it goes on. I figure no need to have it perfect today as it will need a another go with Alibrite after it sits in the shed for a few months before the install.
Cleaning the manifold today made me think of the pros and cons of paying someone else to fit the heads. Thing I realised today is even if I have it done I have rocker covers and anything else ali to polish. Plus I don't want to pay a garage to clean parts at $88 an hour...... What I really need is a few days off work and a shed where I can do the job, with access to all my tools that is also close to Town if something unexpected goes wrong..... Something like a snapped head bolt......
 

losh1971

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On my old 3800 I used to own I had the intake bead blasted and it came out like new, vapor blasting with bead is even better again from what I've seen on the YT. You could swap out your blasting media for some glass bead.
On the polishing side you need to use a drill and the top you need to use a flat sanding block. It's way easier just sending it too the professional polishers.

I think a drill would be quite difficult to manage, a cheap dremel with flex head would be the go. I know that just keeping the rocker covers polished is tricky due to access issues. Alibrite gets it looking pretty good with a few goes. The other thing about Alibrite is I can use it even with the engine in the bay. I'd love the fully polished look just not sure how long it would last? And then to get right in the fuel rails need to come off each time.
 

losh1971

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Just on that media blasting I only have a tank style blaster and you can chew through 30kg of media pretty quick. I would go through probably 20kg of glass beads unless I had a cabinet. It works out pretty exi, even 15kg of sand is close to $20.
 

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Yeah it's getting there. I might add putting oven cleaner on the outside of the manifold is a bad idea. It turns the ali dark. I now may need to give it two or three more hits of Alibrite to get it light again. I had the same issue on my current manifold but I thought it occurred because the engine was warm. I am hoping I don't need to sandblast it as that is a bit of mucking around.
Don't use oven cleaner, its same thing as caustic soda on aluminium, it tarnishes and corodes and stays in the pores. Best thing to clean alu is water blasting, forget the sand and other media, tooo abrasive and wear surface away and makes it to knurly/pitty for sanding/polishing.

The water blaster is soft like a quick dip in acid tank wash, it cleans engine/oil scum off only, all metal polishers use this technique, lil costly but saves time/chemicals and gives a better quicker polished end job. Higher polished surface also resists **** sticking to surface hence lasts years.
 
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