Strictly European Autosport - Features - DIY - How to clean/paint VR6 manifold



How to Clean/Paint the Intake Manifold on a VR6 By: Ben Pina

Alright as said in the title this DIY mod should apply to any VR6 with minimal differences. You can follow some of the steps even if you do not have a VR6. You can also use this DIY to just take off your manifold and clean it then put it back on. First things first, let's list the materials we will need to complete the task.

1. Standard head screw driver 2. Philips head screw driver 3. 8 mm driver 4. 10 mm socket with ratchet 5. Set of Allen wrenches 6. High heat engine paint 7. Special VW spark plug puller 8. Blue painter's tape 9. Anything else in the picture are tools you may need if you drop a bolt or can't see in a certain area etc.

First, you will need to remove all covers on and around the intake manifold using the correct Allen wrench and the 8 mm driver.


Here is a picture of the removed plastic covers. You might want to take this time and freshen these parts up while you are at it. Just don't go ricer and paint these things all types of weird colors. :)


After all of the covers are removed you can begin to unbolt everything; once again using the allen wrenches. Towards the front of your car the intake manifold is held on by seven bolts, all of which must be removed.


There is also a bolt holding the dipstick in place which must be removed. If it is not removed then the intake manifold will get scratched up on the way out and on the way back in.


Next you will need to remove the throttle body. There are four bolts, one each corner of it (it may help to remove the big black intake tube). Two bolts hold the throttle cable to the manifold; remove them too. The other bolt that is pointed to must be removed as well. Be sure to also be removing any hoses or wires that will be holding back the manifold such as the one shown in the circle.


Make sure and take off the spark plug wires now. You will need the special spark plug puller here to pull them off. Do not forget where they connect to! Here are a few other misc. hoses that also need to be taken off. Make visual check all around to make sure all hoses are disconnected and everything is free.


The intake manifold should be free to come off now. If I have forgotten to mention any bolts that are holding it down be sure to remove those as well. It may take some jiggling but it will come off. Once it is off it will look like this. Make sure and cover the holes with blue painters tape so that nothing gets in the engine.


Tape the holes of the manifold shut with blue painters tape, you don't want to get any fragments in the holes of the manifold while you are cleaning it. After it is taped off you will begin to use steel wool to clean it. It might take a while to clean it because the manifold is shaped weird and because it is just slow with steel wool. Clean it as good as possible and take your time.


After the grime is clean off as much as possible, clean the whole thing with alcohol and a rag just to be sure it is clean and the paint will stick. This is how mine looked after I was done cleaning it.


The next step is actually painting the manifold. I used a whole can of the paint on it. If you want a nice shine I would recommend to use a clear coat although I did not. I used the semi-gloss paint that you can get at Autozone. I didn't want it to shine too much and I didn't want it to be too dull. It came out perfect! You will want to do as many coats as a whole can takes. Go in back and forth motions and do not hold it in one place for too long. The best results are achieved when you do very light coats 15-20 minutes apart. By light coats I mean that it won't be completely black till your 3rd-5th coat. Maybe I am too cautious but I want to make sure it comes out looking perfect.


This is the finished product. I put the engine cover back on but as you can see on the picture below it, my brother did not put his back on. It is up to you on what you choose to do.



This whole process takes a few hours, so set aside a day where you can do it. You could do it in a few hours but, like I said, I like taking my time and making sure it comes out right. Pop in a good movie and take a break every 15-20 minutes to go put on another coat. Happy dubbin' guys!