2015 Mazda 3 2.0 - Intake Valve Pics

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Yeah i have seen the same on VAG TSI engines. It was a video posted by a shop around here.

Some of them had less than 50k miles.

The owner of the shop said that they used crushed walnut shell to clean it, just like sand blasting. He said it's the most effective way since the shell could absorb that gunk and it's soft enough to not damage any part.

Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Lw946Ys_8

It's in portuguese but you can see the before and after, and the process of the blasting. That unit had only 53K km (33K miles)

He even said that some cars that sit too long on the shop for maintenance, could have the valves stuck and damage the engine after trying to start it.
 
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I wonder if doing 1 cylinder at a time soak with Kreen filling the closed intake ports for 24 hours, then sucking it out with a transfer pump would clean it off without the need to blast it. You'd obviously suck as much out as possible, pull the plug, and crank it for say 10 seconds to evacuate residuals.
 
No too bad for 81,000 miles. It would seem that MAZDAS idea to run the intake valves hot, to eliminate carbon build up works but, does not eliminate the issue. Ed
 
Doesn't the Ford 2.0 with DI have partial fuel intake with PFI to help reduce carbon buildup? Thought I read that here someplace.
 
I don't believe any GDI platform has fully eliminated IVD but do believe the severity varies.
 
In addition, for the Hyundai/Kia owners out there...

As other manufacturers already have, Hyundai/Kia have now introduced a new engine design for 2020. Called Smart Stream, the 1.6T and 2.5 use GDI in combination with MPI. This might be the only way to mitigate the issue.
 
Maybe it's just me but those pictures were not that clear so I couldn't see the buildup clearly. It's there I know.

This car experiences cold winter temperatures which might exacerbate the problem by running rich longer than usual.

What was interesting was the poster's comment that he never detected any problems nor did the engine throw any codes. After the fix, the engine ran as it always had.
 
Originally Posted by painfx
Oil catch can?


Already been covered time after time after time... everybody that uses them claims they're the cat's tushy, but there is no "proof" to support it (as in anything other than internet stories).

If there was something to the catch can idea that saved this from happening to the intake valves (and probably some warranty claims also), OEMs would have some version of it, like a DEF tank but used as a collection point that needed dumped/serviced every OCI or something.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac


What was interesting was the poster's comment that he never detected any problems nor did the engine throw any codes. After the fix, the engine ran as it always had.


I agree. I think we go looking for problems for a solution sometimes.
 
We should remember that crud on the intake valves on a DI engine only disturbs air flow. Crud on a port injection can momentarily hold the fuel and that leads to rough idling and poor preformance overall i.e. BMWs problem years back. Ed
 
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I can only imagine what they'd look like under my driving conditions, no thanks. His driving pattern is near perfect.
 
Something else to consider, this car was running for some time prior to the SN+ oils.

It would be fascinating if we could compare any changes from the oils of 2015 to today's oils.
 
Not bad at all and if the owner isn't experiencing a loss of mpgs or drivability issues then there's nothing to worry about.
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Not bad at all and if the owner isn't experiencing a loss of mpgs or drivability issues then there's nothing to worry about.


That's how I see it. And you'll find the Skyactiv engines run strong well over 150k miles w/o major issues.

I never checked mine when I had it but it ran like new with 65k miles on it, using only M1 EP which has a SA of .8 and a Noack of 10%. That I believe would also help reduce IVDs.
 
During my brief visit to the service dept this past week I talked to someone who had a 2015 CX5 with a little over 200k. He was very happy with it and it still runs great.
 
This stuff probably doesn't matter a ton in the big scheme of things, as long as there is sufficient airflow to support the engine. It's highly unlikely that these 4-cyl cars are ever going to fully utilize the flow available from the factory head, and simply cause more turbulence in the port. On a PFI car, this should be beneficial to a certain extent, helping to mix the fuel in the charge. On GDI, I doubt turbulence has much effect since the air is not transporting the fuel.

I'd be more worried about a nugget of the carbon wedging between a valve and a seat more than airflow impediment. It will, however, cause higher intake valve temps from the insulating effect. If I had a GDI, I'd try a Kreen vacuum injection clean before I took the manifold off.... or pull it and take pics like the OP did, run a pint of Kreen through the intake ala Seafoam method, let it sit for 30 minutes to dissolve some carbon, repeat with the other pint, then after restarting immediately go take it for a couple heavy-load redline trips to let the airflow suck the scum off and burn it. Then, remove the intake again and take some after pics. I'm willing to bet it will clean most of that garbage off... for sure the stuff that needs to come off!
 
I used the CRC intake valve cleaner this week on the mazda. Did it before the oil change. I did not use the whole can. Probably 1/2. I think i will do this with every change, hopefully before it gets too much buildup.
 
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