Finally got around to putting the 302 in my truck I am rebuilding- 84,85,86 combo. Had already rebuilt and installed all the wiring, and installed all the sensors and fuel pumps to convert to EFI. Put the long block in and pulled the intake and throttle body off the 86 motor to install on the new motor and what a mess. Evidently the previous owner of the motor did absolutely no maintance. Both the upper and lower intake and throttle body looked like someone had poured tar in them. I'm not talking about a little bit here. It was at least 1/4 inch thick in some areas and you couldn't see the tips of some of the injectors. Went to my friendly NAPA store and brought some carb/injector cleaner and tried to clean. Seven cans of cleaner and much scraping later, I managed to get the lower intake and the throttle body cleaned but the upper intake is hopeless. No way to get inside to scrape the 1/4 inch coating off so the cleaner can actually start cleaning. Afraid of the injectors also because of all the tar surrounding the tips. I hate to give up all the time I spent rebuilding wiring harnesses and installing EFI components but it looks like I maybe will end up with a 393 in this truck (been considering that earlier before deciding on EFI). I guess the newly rebuilt 302 will be going in my Ranger(2.9 cracked a head at 325000 miles).

 

geez, sorry to hear it. . . can you not soak the upper intake in something to clean it? try seafoam or deep creep or even (i think its called) pb blaster. or hell, a vice and a pressure washer. and maybe a baby bottle scrubber/cleaner. sorry if im way off base here hope it helps

 

I could possibly soak in carb cleaner if I could find a vat large enough to hold an intake but carb cleaner may remove any protective coatings inside the intake. Not possible to get a brush or pressure washer inside the intake due to its design. This residue inside the parts looks and feels like tar and doesn't come off easily. I'm also afraid of the other EFI parts after looking at the intake and throttle body (maybe because I really want the 393).

 

Ron

I've been in a similar fix, and it isn't any fun. What I did to overcome this was I got the bottom off an old grove smudge pot, which is steel and holds about 15 gallons. Since you're in GA, these may not be available, but there must be some type of old farm or agriculture pots around your area. First I soaked my manifold in kerosene overnight, but the guy at the parts house told me that it was not a good idea. He had some actual carb cleaner that came in a 5 gallon pail with a small basket to hold parts. It was about $25. I went home, got rid of the kerosene, cleaned my vat and poured in two containers of his cleaner. Worked like a charm, and I had no problems later with the manifold. (351W EFI). You may be able to place part of your manifold at a time into a bucket of this type cleaner to save a few bucks.

Good Luck,
Ernie

 

another good cleaner here in KY is called GreenPanther, works on almost any thing. The last time I bought it, I think it was $20 for five gallons.

 

I could find something large enough to put 10 gals of cleaner in. My other concern is how bad a shape the other part are in considering what the intake looked like. Can I get the IAC and EGR clean enough without damage? what about the fuel injectors? What about all the other EFI parts that may or may not work? That is something that can get real expensive real fast if I have to start replacing a bunch of parts, and then I don't know if I will really be happy with the power from the 302 since I can't do a lot of modifications with the EFI.

 

I don't know about the IAC; but most parts houses have an EGR tester on hand. If it works, it works, and probably doesn't need internal cleaning. If it doesn't work, it's probably best to buy a new one anyway. For the injectors, I just hung mine by the plug and soaked and brushed them as well. Once reassembled, you could use an internal cleaner kit when the engine is running. I didn't have problems with mine after soaking, but like I said, I had already used kerosene, and figured I had nothing to lose. If there's a reputable machine shop in your town, stop by and show the guy one of your injectors and ask for advice.

Ernie