New Guy, with question.

[MattBimmer]

Hey Guys I am Matt and I have had my 318is slicktop for about a year now. I have been lurking around R3vlimited a fair bit, and slowly rebuilding this thing back to its former glory. I am about to do the mess under the intake and I have probably read a million post about the job. I order alot of OEM hoses for replacements as I didnt read the one on this site first. Didnt realize regulate autostore hoses would suffice just fine.   Anyways,
BIGGEST questions is
When I take off the lower intake mainfold can I remove the fuel rail, but leave the injectors and fuel rail connected to the lower intake mani? I dont have neew injector orings etc. I am going to be taking the wiring harness and fuel lines off anyways so I was wondering if the rail/w injectors could just stay attached until reinstallment.
Also what is the best way of cleaning the ports of gunk without gunk falling into the head?
Thanks in advance and I am glad I finally joined this forum

[bmwman91]

Yes, you can pull the lower manifold and leave the injectors/rail assembly in place.

I have had decent luck cleaning the manifold with a 2" diameter bottle brush (most hardware stores carry them) and some mineral spirits. The ports are a little trickier. Manually rotate the engine so that the intake valves on the port you are working are fully closed. Wipe the ports with a rag wetted with some mineral spirits and have a shop-vac with a small nozzle attachment running (a partner holding it helps) so that any chunks get sucked out. Give the port a thorough vacuuming after. Duct-taping a length of ~1/2" ID PCV hose to the vacuum hose is a good way to get in there and suck remaining crud out.

[DesktopDave]

I ended up just cleaning the intake manifold.  When I get into the motor some time down the road I'll clean up the intake ports.

I suspect running decent 50-ish weight synthetic oil over the past three years has helped to keep the internals pretty clean, including the intake.  The silicone hoses might have helped as well by eliminating intake air leaks...