Great way to clean your UIM

[RXtacy]

So I had read a while back on the other forum about a guy using steel wool to clean his UIM. Well I had my UIM to put on some block off plates, and troubleshoot a few things so I decided it would be a good time to give it a good cleaning. I went to Lowes and got some course steel wool, as well as some medium steel wool. I started off with the course and finished with the medium. Finishing with the medium definitely gave it a little bit more shine. I must say I am very impressed with this method. However, I would not suggest doing it with the UIM in the car because steel wool shards do get everywhere, and I would not want them sucked in my engine or alternator. Here are some before and after pics to show the difference.

Before... I know not a great shot but it's all I have.

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/002.jpg

After...

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/UIM001.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/UIM002.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/UIM003.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/UIM004.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/UIM005.jpg

[Herblenny]

WOW! PRetty cool! I never thought about using steel wool to clean.. Great info!!

[tom93r1]

That looks pretty good! about the same look we get with media blasting, I like it better than the polished look myself.

[RXtacy]

Yea I dont have a blast cabinet so that wasn't an option. I'm not sure which look I like better I think I will have a better feel once I get it back in the engine bay. I'm pretty happy with the results for a little bit of time and $6.

[MaczPayne]

Looking good there! How long did the process take?

[RXtacy]

It took me about 3 hrs, but I started off with household steel wool with the soap layer for cleaning dishes which was very ineffective. If I had started with the industrial steel wool it probably would have been under an hr. Oh I also cleaned the ISC solenoid in that time.

[ppritchard]

Can you post a pic of the engine bay after the cleaning? It's hard to tell the full impact without seeing the bay. Piece looks nice though.

[RXtacy]

Yea I will once I get it back in. I am waiting for some gaskets from Ray, and a few other things before I put it back in. Trust me though it is a world of difference, before it was brownish grey, now it looks probably a bit shinier then brand new.

[a7xh7]

this method is a lot better than using mothers mag/aluminum polish like i did. its faster and looks the same.

[SLOASFK]

very nice. :biggthumpup:

[SPICcnmFD]

Nice I may have to try this, mine is looking like yours did!!

[bbade]

Looks great, much cheaper than getting it polished too.

[GEO147]

Besides the steel wool, what else did you use, is it just a bit of soapy water or what??

Bye the way it looks super, gona give it a bash myself. I had the UIM off recently and didnt ralise that it could be shined up like that, thanks for the heads up!!

[RXtacy]

To be honest pretty much just water. Every once in a while I sprayed some simple green, but I don't think it did much. I just kept a pan of clean water next to me, and after a little bit of rubbing I would dunk the steel wool to clean it out, wipe down the manifold with a towel and start over again.

[FD3S2005]

humm interesting, i must go try this

[MaczPayne]

Sweet. How does this compare to a wire wheel on a drill? I think they are both similar with the exception that steel wool can get into tighter areas.

[RXtacy]

I can not say from direct experience, but I would imagine the wire wheel would be much more abraisive bringing it closer to a polished surface. As you say though it would probably not get into the low pits quite as well.

[McVicker]

WOW, that looks really good...nice writeup and good work. :) I don't know if I could spend three hours with steel wool pads though.

[RXtacy]

haha, on a sunday with nothing to do, the TV on and a few glasses of scotch you would be surprised how much patience you have :D

[McVicker]

I know that game :) Scotch or Rum in a glass is all I need.

[Brent]

I just PM'd DMoneyRX7 who was the one that did the original write up on this. He has done it to his entire engine. I'm sure he'll be chiming in shortly with his $0.02 and pictures.

[DMoneyRx-7]

That looks AWESOME MAN. I'm glad you used my method. haha. I guess when I made this account here I typed an extra "07" on the end of my sn.

I did most of all my engine parts. I didn't spend near as much time on it as you did though. But it still turned out nice. You can pretty much use anything with the cleaning process. At first on my UIM I used engine degreaser which worked really well. Then once I got most of the dirt/grime off I used soapy water.

Here is the original thread http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=504318

These are some pics of the engine once I cleaned all the parts (Water pump housing, Front cover, LIM, etc) I'll try to get some "before" pics so ya'll can compare.

[DMoneyRx-7]

Here is a pic of how it was

[DMoneyRx-7]

here are some more pics of the "after"

[Willub and Company]

wow that works really really well, i am definitely going to be doing this next time i have mine off on the FC.

[RXtacy]

That looks great DMoney. Thanks for posting that method it works great. Got the UIM back in today. Here are a few pics in the engine bay for comparisson.

With flash off

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/FD009.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/FD008.jpg

With flash On

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/FD006.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd18/rxtacy93/FD002.jpg

[McVicker]

damn homie, now take the rest of the parts out and do the same thing.....it looks out of place ;)

What type of steel wool did you use?? There are many different grades.

[RXtacy]

Haha yea tell me about it. The garage I rent isn't exactly sealed to the environment and the bay has a tendency to oxidize like that pretty quickly. As soon as I get some time I plan on doing some major cleaning. I used Coarse #3 the second coursest according to the bag I couldn't find any #4, and medium #1.

[GEO147]

One word sums that shiney UIM up..........WOW

[a7xh7]

following it up with some polish would help as a finishing step, that gets you more bling

[Batmobile]

It will be interesting to see what will happen to the finish over time. I would think that there is a fine layer of iron imbedded in the Aluminum that will not react well to water and air. Looks good now though.

[RXtacy]

following it up with some polish would help as a finishing step, that gets you more bling

I wasn't really going for bling just clean. But maybe that would create a barrier between the aluminum and the atmosphere keeping it from oxidizing. I'll have to see how it holds up and go from there. Maybe DMoney can shed some insight to the durability of the finish.

[DMoneyRx-7]

I haven't really had a chance lately with my car because of all the works thats getting done. What I use to do though is just clean it with soapy water. Once I do get my car back (1-2 weeks) I will let ya'll know.

I don't really wanna repeat the process or because I like the medium shine that it holds. But I have used a light amount of polish on it and I didn't really see a difference. It helped remove some of the miniscule grime and steel that was left though.

In regards to guy who said the steel wool would imbed in the stuff. I think some does but alot of it just flakes away when you are rubbing. Even so, when you wipe it down or use a light amount of polish I think it gets most of it.

[Brent]

When I polish parts, I have rigged up a little attachment for steel wool that I normally use with the first buffing compound(i use 4) before the final polish. I have done it both ways and I can tell a small difference.

[DMoneyRx-7]

coo.

[DMoneyRx-7]

Well I went back and checked out how my UIM, LIM, etc were holding up. It looks like everything is still clean. Only thing is that my single turbo is generating alot of heat so the LIM and a few other parts are getting dulled and not that shiny. But they are still clean. Once I get my car for good I am going to re-do those parts.

[GoodfellaFD3S]

Damn, looks great. Maybe we should retire our parts washer and start buying steel wool in bulk :D