Hi, I have a high mileage BMW we are servicing. I pulled the intake off to decarbonize it. The intake port on the head is oil and has a decent amount of carbon build up. I plan on doing a walnut media blast and then solvent to finish. This will be while the head is still on the motor. It is a fairly common practice for Indy BMW shops.. I would like some recommendation on solvents to cleanup the carbon grime out the intake ports.
Decarbonizing intake port - Walnut media/solvent??
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Amsoil powerfoam works wonders on tough jobs like that.
Is there some reason seafom won't work here?
Steve SRT8 recommended Kreen to me. I am sure he will post his thoughts.
If you use the walnut media there wont be much of anything to finish off.
You can cobble your own tool for blasting with a shop vac and blasting nozzle, so one at a time with the valves closed. Its not too difficult.
If you do need a chemical carb cleaner will do it, just make sure to get it out before much of it leaks into the cyl which it will eventually .
You can cobble your own tool for blasting with a shop vac and blasting nozzle, so one at a time with the valves closed. Its not too difficult.
If you do need a chemical carb cleaner will do it, just make sure to get it out before much of it leaks into the cyl which it will eventually .
I have the old silicone gasket/inserts and a radiator hose that fits nicely into the gasket. I made a lexan plate with a matching cut out to form and hold the hose to the intake port. I plan on putting hole to match media blstaer nozzle.
All the other ports are already taped off unless valves are shut. I also pulled spark plugs to stop pistons from moving air through valves.
A side not: I saw a tech shoving rags into intake ports before working on the port that was closed. [censored]? where does he think the carbon the rags are breaking loose going??? STUPID.. It is a you tube video done by a BMW specialist?
In reply to the posts about why need a cleaner if blasting.. Well I dont expect all areas to be reached by the media and from what I seen most techs they were following up with some sort of carb/brake cleaner.
I do appreciate the ideas on cleaners and will look into all of them. From my experience so far MMO and acetone seem to work OK when used together. Best results have been HD BBQ cleaner from Sam's club.. But, that was when I had another motor torn down. I would not do that to an assembled motor. I'm concered about the nasty carbon drool seeping into cylinder too. So, I plan on running a vacuum tube while flushing the ports..
All the other ports are already taped off unless valves are shut. I also pulled spark plugs to stop pistons from moving air through valves.
A side not: I saw a tech shoving rags into intake ports before working on the port that was closed. [censored]? where does he think the carbon the rags are breaking loose going??? STUPID.. It is a you tube video done by a BMW specialist?
In reply to the posts about why need a cleaner if blasting.. Well I dont expect all areas to be reached by the media and from what I seen most techs they were following up with some sort of carb/brake cleaner.
I do appreciate the ideas on cleaners and will look into all of them. From my experience so far MMO and acetone seem to work OK when used together. Best results have been HD BBQ cleaner from Sam's club.. But, that was when I had another motor torn down. I would not do that to an assembled motor. I'm concered about the nasty carbon drool seeping into cylinder too. So, I plan on running a vacuum tube while flushing the ports..
thanks for the warning. I already planned being very familar with firing order and valve timing before anything goes into the intake ports. Although I'm a amatuer, it's not my first time to the rodeo..
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
thanks for the warning. I already planned being very familar with firing order and valve timing before anything goes into the intake ports. Although I'm a amatuer, it's not my first time to the rodeo..
Fire it up and run it above 4000 RPMs for 20min before you get started and see what it looks like when you open it up. Ideally, you would look before and after but getting the RPMs up works to burn off a lot of it on VWs anyway.
thanks for the warning. I already planned being very familar with firing order and valve timing before anything goes into the intake ports. Although I'm a amatuer, it's not my first time to the rodeo..
Fire it up and run it above 4000 RPMs for 20min before you get started and see what it looks like when you open it up. Ideally, you would look before and after but getting the RPMs up works to burn off a lot of it on VWs anyway.
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
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Originally Posted By: mjk
Steve SRT8 recommended Kreen to me. I am sure he will post his thoughts.
Thanks for the info..
Steve SRT8 recommended Kreen to me. I am sure he will post his thoughts.
Thanks for the info..
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
Originally Posted By: mjk
Steve SRT8 recommended Kreen to me. I am sure he will post his thoughts.
Thanks for the info..
Indeed, Kreen dissolves carbon like some sort of magic. Excellent stuff for the final clean up...
Originally Posted By: mjk
Steve SRT8 recommended Kreen to me. I am sure he will post his thoughts.
Thanks for the info..
Indeed, Kreen dissolves carbon like some sort of magic. Excellent stuff for the final clean up...
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
Yes it will actually, but your personal insults are noted.
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
Yes it will actually, but your personal insults are noted.
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I imagine throttle body cleaner would work fine, brake clean supposedly doesn't have a lubricant in it and is not supposed to be used on intake/throttle body applications, but I've used it before because it cleans well and I just don't care. The parts I'm cleaning take so much abuse anyway that I imagine a quick spray of brake clean isn't going to harm anything.
I've used a safety clean parts cleaning tank before (not the traditional tub with a spray brush). With this thing you place the parts into a metal basket and it rotates in a solution on a timer. This is the only thing I've ever seen remove hard carbon deposits and leave the part looking brand new. I have no idea what the solution inside is, but it's nasty stuff.
Keep in mind BMW recommends this service to be done every 30-35k miles, so I wouldn't drive yourself crazy over it...you'll be doing it again if you want to keep up with their carbon problem.
I know Audi has the same problem, but a factory rep told me it can be prevented by driving the car hard and getting the rpm's high on a regular basis. Knowing Audi's...it may keep carbon deposits low, but will probably lead to other problems.
I've used a safety clean parts cleaning tank before (not the traditional tub with a spray brush). With this thing you place the parts into a metal basket and it rotates in a solution on a timer. This is the only thing I've ever seen remove hard carbon deposits and leave the part looking brand new. I have no idea what the solution inside is, but it's nasty stuff.
Keep in mind BMW recommends this service to be done every 30-35k miles, so I wouldn't drive yourself crazy over it...you'll be doing it again if you want to keep up with their carbon problem.
I know Audi has the same problem, but a factory rep told me it can be prevented by driving the car hard and getting the rpm's high on a regular basis. Knowing Audi's...it may keep carbon deposits low, but will probably lead to other problems.
Forums are full of garbage info and it gets really old. Especially when you looking for advice from a real TECH that knows [censored] he is doing.
As 4 your half [censored] tune up, at least mention to put your car in nuetral and block the wheels. Some automatic transmissions can be damaged by free revving at high rpm.
Also, not only are hole shot shots are great way to balance tires? It's AWESOME for u joints, rear ends and especially the trans. Well at least your tires will be belanced and bald?
If your really lucky you blow the rear end right out from underneath the car. I have done it several times. V8 Vega and a 68 427 Vette..
Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
Yes it will actually, but your personal insults are noted.
Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
Yes it will actually, but your personal insults are noted.
As 4 your half [censored] tune up, at least mention to put your car in nuetral and block the wheels. Some automatic transmissions can be damaged by free revving at high rpm.
Also, not only are hole shot shots are great way to balance tires? It's AWESOME for u joints, rear ends and especially the trans. Well at least your tires will be belanced and bald?
If your really lucky you blow the rear end right out from underneath the car. I have done it several times. V8 Vega and a 68 427 Vette..
Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
Yes it will actually, but your personal insults are noted.
Originally Posted By: badtlc
Originally Posted By: 392HEMI
This motor has 106k on it and the build up is 90% carbon. Oil changes on this motor were done 15k mile intervals. So, the CCV vapor builds up over time. It is a tough crusty layer of carbon. It has directional injectors. They do not fog the port. So stuff builds up. A polish tune-up will not work here. I suppose you balance you tires by doing hole-shots too?
Yes it will actually, but your personal insults are noted.
[UPDATE.. First we slipped a dog legged radiator hose into intake port. Then cut a small access hole into rad hose for blasting nozzle. Turned on shopvac that was connected to rad hose while blasting. This collects used media. It worked good on most carbon and goo. A mixture of 35% MMO to 65% lacquer thinner cleaned the carbon staining out real nice. I also found that quick wire brushing without solvent before media blasting helped the blasting process.
ANY-HOW, when finished with wire brushing with the MMO/LT. I rinsed it out with mineral spirits and vacuumed that out with a small hose. I assumed mineral spirits would be less dangerous then using acetone or lacquer thinner. It was only a few ounces in between cylinders. Please consider that there can be electro static generated from using this blasting media if gun is not grounded properly.
Also, we taped off intake ports with packing tape and removed plugs to prevent debris from being knocked or drawn into cylinders. Make sure you reapply after cleaning cylinders too.
I tried 35% MMO to 65% acetone also. It does work well too. But, the fumes are obnoxious.
quote=392HEMI]Hi, I have a high mileage BMW we are servicing. I pulled the intake off to decarbonize it. The intake port on the head is oil and has a decent amount of carbon build up. I plan on doing a walnut media blast and then solvent to finish. This will be while the head is still on the motor. It is a fairly common practice for Indy BMW shops.. I would like some recommendation on solvents to cleanup the carbon grime out the intake ports. [/quote]
ANY-HOW, when finished with wire brushing with the MMO/LT. I rinsed it out with mineral spirits and vacuumed that out with a small hose. I assumed mineral spirits would be less dangerous then using acetone or lacquer thinner. It was only a few ounces in between cylinders. Please consider that there can be electro static generated from using this blasting media if gun is not grounded properly.
Also, we taped off intake ports with packing tape and removed plugs to prevent debris from being knocked or drawn into cylinders. Make sure you reapply after cleaning cylinders too.
I tried 35% MMO to 65% acetone also. It does work well too. But, the fumes are obnoxious.
quote=392HEMI]Hi, I have a high mileage BMW we are servicing. I pulled the intake off to decarbonize it. The intake port on the head is oil and has a decent amount of carbon build up. I plan on doing a walnut media blast and then solvent to finish. This will be while the head is still on the motor. It is a fairly common practice for Indy BMW shops.. I would like some recommendation on solvents to cleanup the carbon grime out the intake ports. [/quote]
The valves looked great before and after. I very pleased to see bronze valve guides.
With intake, DISA, and Vanos cleaned and or rebuilt this little mill should run great for another 100k. We replaced a weak/stuck thermostat too. Motor was not getting over 170 degrees. It's likely that the stat should have been replced many moons ago.
With intake, DISA, and Vanos cleaned and or rebuilt this little mill should run great for another 100k. We replaced a weak/stuck thermostat too. Motor was not getting over 170 degrees. It's likely that the stat should have been replced many moons ago.
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