[2001Silver330CI]

Finally got the manifold off and mostly followed the ShopLife video on how to do it. Now I can start replacing the coolant and heater hard plastic pipes.

Lessons learned with taking off the intake manifold:
1) Have instructions so you can remember how to put it all back together
2) The last manifold nut in the back was hard to take off because I didn't remove the fuel rail
3) Even after vacuuming the areas near the intake ports I found debris near the holes so I covered them up as soon as I removed the manifold but not fully removed
4) The intake manifold gasket is hard to get out and it is breaking while I try to pull it out.

What is the best way to clean the intake manifold and block? I'm going to put aluminum foil over the CCV pipe and fuel hose to make sure nothing gets in them.

 

[Effduration]

With all the wires, starter and alternator there, near the block., I would not go crazy with a a lot of water and/or a pressure washer.

After you remove both coolant pipes, I would use some diluted simple green on the engine block and maybe a garden sprayer to carefully rinse off. Do a section at a time.

I would not clean the inside of the intake. Wipe down the outside if you want to.

 

[Sapote]

The last manifold nut in the back was hard to take off because I didn't remove the fuel rail

So how did you remove the intake with the fuel rail attached? I also remove the fuel rail off the fuel line for more room. It's easy with the Quick disconnect connector.

 

[Sapote]

I tried to vacuum all debris before removing the intake to avoid debris drop in the intake ports and may cause leaking valves.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

With all the wires, starter and alternator there, near the block., I would not go crazy with a a lot of water and/or a pressure washer.

After you remove both coolant pipes, I would use some diluted simple green on the engine block and maybe a garden sprayer to carefully rinse off. Do a section at a time.

I would not clean the inside of the intake. Wipe down the outside if you want to.

Sounds like a plan!

 

[2001Silver330CI]

So how did you remove the intake with the fuel rail attached? I also remove the fuel rail off the fuel line for more room. It's easy with the Quick disconnect connector.

I just kept the fuel rail attached and remove the fuel line once I got the IM off the block a little.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

I tried to vacuum all debris before removing the intake to avoid debris drop in the intake ports and may cause leaking valves.

I did use compressed air and vacuumed and dug a little with my screw driver. There was some debris when I changed out the CCV system a few years ago but vacuumed most of it up.

 

[kaboom28]

I'm not understanding why you didn't remove the fuel rail and disconnect the fuel line before you removed the intake manifold. IMHO, you've made your life much more difficult when you did that. If you're worried about putting the last nut back (in your other thread), remove the fuel rail so you have access. Problem solved.

Stick a shop vac with a crevice tool into the intake runners on the block side when you reinstall the intake manifold just in case something fell in.
I think 10 posts ago it was recommended that you change the upper and lower o-rings to the injectors. If you decide to do that, my personal preference is the label the injectors so they go back in the same sequence or better yet, do them one-at-a-time so they don't get mixed up. Having said that, I'm sure others will say it doesn't matter where they go back in
I tried P21 per MrMCar's recommendation to clean the engine. Holy crap I was impressed.
Don't forget the missing vacuum hose to your vacuum canister. It goes from the canister to a port on your firewall. 3.5mm ID vacuum hose.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

I'm not understanding why you didn't remove the fuel rail and disconnect the fuel line before you removed the intake manifold. IMHO, you've made your life much more difficult when you did that. If you're worried about putting the last nut back (in your other thread), remove the fuel rail so you have access. Problem solved.

Stick a shop vac with a crevice tool into the intake runners on the block side when you reinstall the intake manifold just in case something fell in.
I think 10 posts ago it was recommended that you change the upper and lower o-rings to the injectors. If you decide to do that, my personal preference is the label the injectors so they go back in the same sequence or better yet, do them one-at-a-time so they don't get mixed up. Having said that, I'm sure others will say it doesn't matter where they go back in
I tried P21 per MrMCar's recommendation to clean the engine. Holy crap I was impressed.
Don't forget the missing vacuum hose to your vacuum canister. It goes from the canister to a port on your firewall. 3.5mm ID vacuum hose.

I didn't remove the fuel rail to save time and not to mess with the injectors. I was following the ShopLife video. I may have to take the fuel rail off because of that last nut on the intake manifold.

Good idea to shop vac the intake runners before reinstalling.

I wasn't planning on changing the o-rings on the injectors since I wasn't taking them out but now I may have to.
Is this a good kit with Using Viton Fluoropolymer O-rings? $16.99 with Two Day Prime Shipping

Or should I just get the ones at FCP Euro?
$10.14 for 6 BMW Fuel Injector O-Ring (9.2 x 2.8mm) - Elring 13641437486
$5.36 for 6 Audi BMW Mini Porsche Fuel Injector O-Ring - Elring 893.889

Never heard of P21. Is the one you got?
$26.29 P21S 13001R Auto Wash Refill, 1000 ml

What missing vacuum hose to the vacuum canister? Do you have a picture or diagram?

 

[Effduration]

I'm not understanding why you didn't remove the fuel rail and disconnect the fuel line before you removed the intake manifold. IMHO, you've made your life much more difficult when you did that.

Not saying my way is right, but I never pull the fuel rail out when I remove an intake... I simply unplug (carefully) the electrical harness that plugs into each injector, and disconnect the fuel hose that connects to the fuel rail.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

Not saying my way is right, but I never pull the fuel rail out when I remove an intake... I simply unplug (carefully) the electrical harness that plugs into each injector, and disconnect the fuel hose that connects to the fuel rail.

That last nut on the intake manifold is hard to get to because of the fuel rail metal hose which blocks easy access.
I could barely get my hard in there to take the nut off,

 

[Hani]

Take advantage of the manifold being out and replace all of your deteriorating vacuum lines before reassembly.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

Take advantage of the manifold being out and replace all of your deteriorating vacuum lines before reassembly.

That's the plan!

 

[Effduration]

That last nut on the intake manifold is hard to get to because of the fuel rail metal hose which blocks easy access.
I could barely get my hard in there to take the nut off,

A wobble extension or a universal joint attached to your socket will get that last nut no problem.

Be sure to put a piece of tap inside the socket when you reinstall those nuts...I have lost a couple that I have never found...

 

[kaboom28]

Not saying my way is right, but I never pull the fuel rail out when I remove an intake... I simply unplug (carefully) the electrical harness that plugs into each injector, and disconnect the fuel hose that connects to the fuel rail.

100% agree that there is not one single way to this . Each person does things differently.

For me, the only reason I would ever remove the intake manifold is to replace the hard coolant pipes or the starter. Both of these should only be done once (other than the factory) unless you get to 400k+ miles or more. Therefore, I always replace all rubber parts including o-rings. Since I always replace the injector o-rings, I always remove the fuel rail.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

A wobble extension or a universal joint attached to your socket will get that last nut no problem.

Be sure to put a piece of tap inside the socket when you reinstall those nuts...I have lost a couple that I have never found...

I used universal joint to get access

A wobble extension or a universal joint attached to your socket will get that last nut no problem.

Be sure to put a piece of tap inside the socket when you reinstall those nuts...I have lost a couple that I have never found...

I used a universal joint and a 11 mm deep socket (didn't have a regular socket) to get it off. I could see how those nuts are easily lost.

 

[kaboom28]

I didn't remove the fuel rail to save time and not to mess with the injectors. I was following the ShopLife video. I may have to take the fuel rail off because of that last nut on the intake manifold.

Good idea to shop vac the intake runners before reinstalling.

I wasn't planning on changing the o-rings on the injectors since I wasn't taking them out but now I may have to.
Is this a good kit with Using Viton Fluoropolymer O-rings? $16.99 with Two Day Prime Shipping

Or should I just get the ones at FCP Euro?
$10.14 for 6 BMW Fuel Injector O-Ring (9.2 x 2.8mm) - Elring 13641437486
$5.36 for 6 Audi BMW Mini Porsche Fuel Injector O-Ring - Elring 893.889

Never heard of P21. Is the one you got?
$26.29 P21S 13001R Auto Wash Refill, 1000 ml

What missing vacuum hose to the vacuum canister? Do you have a picture or diagram?

I bought my injector o-rings from FCP Euro. I know nothing about the ones you linked from Amazon. It's really up to you to decide what you want to do.

Yes, that's the P21 that I bought. Worked well for me. You can of course use any of the 1000's of engine degreaser that you can buy and I'm sure they would work just fine.

This is the vacuum canister that I was referring to. Note the vacuum hose that's broken off on the left side of the picture? This vacuum canister takes vacuum from the back of the intake manifold and sends it to a connection on the firewall that is to the left and maybe 10 inches down from the brake booster. This vacuum is used to open/close the exhaust flap. You may of course simply not use this and plug the vacuum connection on the back of the intake manifold.

 

[4aceman]

You may of course simply not use this and plug the vacuum connection on the back of the intake manifold.

This is what I did and would recommend. Too many places for vacuum leaks between the vacuum connection and the exhaust flap.

 

[JustJohn]

I don't see this come up enough but i is worth mentioning that the old plastic coolant hoses are brittle and will likely crumble when you pull them out, possibly to the point that an o-ring stays behind. You'll want to inspect your old pipe ends to make sure they're intact and that you got the o-ring out. If not you'll need a pick to fish out the o-ring and any remaining pieces of coolant pipe that were left behind.

 

[2001Silver330CI]

I bought my injector o-rings from FCP Euro. I know nothing about the ones you linked from Amazon. It's really up to you to decide what you want to do.

Yes, that's the P21 that I bought. Worked well for me. You can of course use any of the 1000's of engine degreaser that you can buy and I'm sure they would work just fine.

This is the vacuum canister that I was referring to. Note the vacuum hose that's broken off on the left side of the picture? This vacuum canister takes vacuum from the back of the intake manifold and sends it to a connection on the firewall that is to the left and maybe 10 inches down from the brake booster. This vacuum is used to open/close the exhaust flap. You may of course simply not use this and plug the vacuum connection on the back of the intake manifold.

View attachment 939052

It looks like there is a hose from the back of the intake manifold that goes to that vacuum canister. It may have come off when I took off the manifold because I don't remember disconnecting it. It almost looks like it may have broke the tip of the canister when I took it off. I plan on replacing all of my vacuum hoses today so should I get a cap for vacuum reservoir/cannister and the back of the intake manifold?

$3.49 BMW Vacuum Cap - Genuine BMW 11611437560