HOW TO: Clean your valves - easy & cheap

[bigmike]

Originally Posted by mczimer There are write ups on doing that already, and it will not stop the build up from coming back, as that is just the nature of DI engines. The EGR delete and OCC will keep your IM clean, and slow the build up on he valves, but not stop it.

I just did this and I really appreciate the write up! But if you have a OCC and EGR delete, why would the valves build up again...? There is no carbon or oil being deposited into the intake tract

[theurgy]

Because the nature of direct injection is that gas is injected directly into the cylinder, and not like port injection which injects in the intake runners sending a wash of air and fuel along the backs of the intake valves.... Essentially cleaning them.

[DuBz]

subbed, will definitely be doing this soon

[Mfinlay04]

Originally Posted by bigmike I just did this and I really appreciate the write up! But if you have a OCC and EGR delete, why would the valves build up again...? There is no carbon or oil being deposited into the intake tract

Some of the fuel mist still gets on the intake valves and can cause soot buildup on them. Nothing like the nasty egr or pcv return but it can still happen

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[Mfinlay04]

My nasty valves. This was the direst one closest to driver side. If counting from passenger to driver side my #3 was damn near just coated but not oily gunk on it

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[sallyspeed3]

Will be cleaning my valves this weekend. I have 2 questions, I hope they're not dumb ones. I understand how to turn the crank to ensure that the 2 valves are TDC, but what about getting the other TDC? Do you just keep turning? And also, loosening the belt to get the power steering pump off, do you have to re-tighten it after you get it back on? Thanks guys, and thanks for this awesome post. Wouldn't have a clue what to do without it.

[himurax13]

Originally Posted by sallyspeed3 Will be cleaning my valves this weekend. I have 2 questions, I hope they're not dumb ones. I understand how to turn the crank to ensure that the 2 valves are TDC, but what about getting the other TDC? Do you just keep turning? And also, loosening the belt to get the power steering pump off, do you have to re-tighten it after you get it back on? Thanks guys, and thanks for this awesome post. Wouldn't have a clue what to do without it.

1. They don't need to be at TDC, just closed. You can get 3 valves at once. Use blue tape to seal the one not being cleaned. I also suggest putting blue tape over the dipstick hole at the bottom.

2. I would retighten the pump first then put the belt back on. One of the pump bolts wont come out so you just need to loosen it and then leave it there.

[MSMS3]

When you get the manifold off, just put a little clean gasoline in the ports one at a time. If the gas stays in the port, the valve is closed. Clean it. You should be able to do three of the four cylinders this way. Then rotate the crank and put clean gas in that port. It should hold. If not, rotate a bit more until it does. Change your oil after doing this.

[himurax13]

Originally Posted by MSMS3 When you get the manifold off, just put a little clean gasoline in the ports one at a time. If the gas stays in the port, the valve is closed. Clean it. You should be able to do three of the four cylinders this way. Then rotate the crank and put clean gas in that port. It should hold. If not, rotate a bit more until it does. Change your oil after doing this.

Basically what I just said, haha.



One important tip that I forgot to mention.


Remove the fan belt from the engine bay if you will be using Walnut media. Getting the individual pieces of walnut out is a bitch. I recently found out that shit will imbed itself into the grooves of the fan belt and will make a loose fan belt screeching noise. If left on the belt, it will probably cause the belt to wear out quickly since the walnut is tougher than the rubber.

[theurgy]

I just recommend covering everything but the intake runners with some plastic wrap.
Just makes cleaning up after much easier.
One of those thick plastic drop sheets and some masking tape goes a long way.

[MSMS3]

Originally Posted by himurax13 Basically what I just said, haha.

Really? I guess I missed your advice to use gasoline in each port to determine if the intake valve was open or closed. Where was that?

I thought that was helpful for me and that others might benefit from the experience.

And, I thought I was adding something useful by suggesting an oil change afterward. Some of the guys may be using Chemtool B12 or other solvents. Anytime a solvent goes into the cylinder and gets washed down past the rings into the oil pan, the oil gets diluted and ought to be changed.

At the risk of offering repeated advice, if you use solvent, it is good to do this right before you need to do an oil change anyway.

[himurax13]

Originally Posted by MSMS3 Really? I guess I missed your advice to use gasoline in each port to determine if the intake valve was open or closed. Where was that? I thought that was helpful for me and that others might benefit from the experience. And, I thought I was adding something useful by suggesting an oil change afterward. Some of the guys may be using Chemtool B12 or other solvents. Anytime a solvent goes into the cylinder and gets washed down past the rings into the oil pan, the oil gets diluted and ought to be changed. At the risk of offering repeated advice, if you use solvent, it is good to do this right before you need to do an oil change anyway.

Butthurt? I said basically the same, lighten up.

People usually put the B12 chemtool or whatever they are using to do the same although gasoline is cheaper. I would reccomend doing an oil change as well after doing this procedure just in case any walnut makes its way into the engine.

[MSMS3]

Originally Posted by himurax13 Butthurt?

Hardly. Just being accurate. And mature. I would not waste expensive B-12 just to see if the valve was closed and watch it leak onto the top of a piston. That's what the gasoline is for. Then B-12 once you are sure the valve is closed. Strong solvents ought not be in the combustion chamber under uncontrolled conditions.

[BigRedSpecial]

Originally Posted by theurgy I just recommend covering everything but the intake runners with some plastic wrap. Just makes cleaning up after much easier. One of those thick plastic drop sheets and some masking tape goes a long way.

THIS! I was cleaning up walnut for days.

[sallyspeed3]

Thanks everyone, that helps. I will not be using walnut, just go ol' denatured alcohol and scrubbing. I bought the gun cleaning kit yesterday only to find out that my wife surprised me with tickets to see Book Of Mormon and reservations at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant for today. So I guess the cleaning will have to wait.

[DynoBunny]

I did this but the walnut wasn't doing anything except making a mess. I used baking soda instead with better results and much easier to clean up. I had 105k miles on, they looked really bad. Some valves weren't even open when they were open cause there was so much crap on top of them!

[kbz0129]

This is something I definitly need to do soon. My valves look like shit...

[jacek3743]

I'm at 120k and just found this.... I'm pretty damn scared to look but I feel like the car is losing it's stock power from what it originally had... will post pics to entertain when i do the job

[MSMS3]

I did this before, about two years ago, and it worked great. Just used liquid B12 with shotgun brushes and gasoline for flushing and an good air compressor for drying out everything. Worked great. Now I'm at 101,000 miles and it's time to repeat. Last cleaning was about 35-40k miles ago, so thing are probably pretty disgusting looking in there now. I've also noticed a loss of g/s flow at high rpm, high load, and every other explanation has been eliminated, so the IM is coming off.

While I'm at it, it's time to replace the serpentine belt and what better time to do it, since you have to loosen it to do this job. I'll check the tensioner and idler pulleys at the same time and might go ahead and replace anyway, given the mileage and how cheap they are (Gates) although I did them back at about 65K miles.

Access to some of the manifold bolts seemed to be the hardest part, from my memory of having done it before. And, it makes sense to time this to do right before an oil change, as no doubt, no matter how careful, some B-12 and raw gas is likely to seep past the valves, past the piston rings, and end up diluting the oil.

[223Patriot]

Cleaned my valves this weekend using this how-to. Worked great, but I wanted to report on some of my findings and some things I found worked well for me.

1. As others have mentioned, COVER THE ENGINE BAY IN PLASTIC!!! Media blasting makes a big mess, but this at least kept the engine bay clean of walnut shell. Also note, I didn't bother with the plastic hose as I found it cumbersome and I liked using the gun to target certain parts of the valve.
2. I made some modifications to the media blasting gun by hogging out the hole in the hopper. I also drilled out the valve to make it slightly bigger and used a larger drill bit to add a taper to the inlet to prevent jamming. I tested the gun the day before the cleaning and it would constantly jam, but after these modifications I didn't have a single issue.
3. As others also stated, I was able to use a small 3 gallon air compressor. I found the method that worked the best for me was to blast in short pulses (fraction of a second) and every now and then clear out the media that collects around the valve. I think that when the media collected it was absorbing the impact of media being blasted which prevented it from cleaning the valve. I also added an in-line water separator to keep moisture out of the media.
4. B12 worked well, but I don't think soaking overnight made much, if any, difference over soaking for 30-60 minutes. I was able to get the valves on 3 of the cylinders seated and soaked those overnight. The final cylinder I only soaked for around 45 minutes and didn't notice any added difficulty in cleaning.
5. The B12 played havoc with my fluid transfer pump. Not sure if it was the solvent itself or the gunk that was being sucked up, but after the first use it became really hard to pump. After the first one I flushed some clean water through it to try and clean it out and that seemed to help.


TLDR: Use plastic, modify gun, small compressor works, B12 60mins=overnight

And EGR delete and OCC while you're at it. OCC is much easier to install while the IM is off...

[theurgy]

^^ Great job and yes.. well done with the plastic and masking.

[sallyspeed3]

Originally Posted by MSMS3 I've also noticed a loss of g/s flow at high rpm, high load, and every other explanation has been eliminated, so the IM is coming off.

Do you know how many grams short you are? Only reason I ask is because I'm at 90K miles and have never had them cleaned and compared to a year ago I'm losing about 30 g/s on my E85 tune. Just wanted to know if the dirty valves were my only issue or if there was another possible problem.

[MSMS3]

Originally Posted by sallyspeed3 Do you know how many grams short you are? Only reason I ask is because I'm at 90K miles and have never had them cleaned and compared to a year ago I'm losing about 30 g/s on my E85 tune. Just wanted to know if the dirty valves were my only issue or if there was another possible problem.

I'll log again tomorrow. It is about the same, between 20 and 30 g/s. I have the same concern as to whether I have more than one issue. Boost onset, target and taper seem the same, but it seems to be down on power after 5,500 rpm.

[jacek3743]

I regret not doing this earlier.... At 120k, i had to have two beers to keep me from losing my shit. At the beginning I had problems with the gun, as previous post suggest, take the gun apart and drill/file the hole of the hopper and gun to be bigger, otherwise you'll have the walnut stuff jamming up constantly.

Home Depot also sells a fitting for the Shop Vac if you have a larger diamater hose from the vaccum which will fit perfectly to the end of the clear tube.

[MSMS3]

Originally Posted by sallyspeed3 Do you know how many grams short you are? Only reason I ask is because I'm at 90K miles and have never had them cleaned and compared to a year ago I'm losing about 30 g/s on my E85 tune. Just wanted to know if the dirty valves were my only issue or if there was another possible problem.

Down about 25 grams. That's serious. Dirty air filter was 5 of it. Still down 20. Compression is normal. No boost leaks. Will clean MAF next, but I think most of it is the intake valves.

[sallyspeed3]

Originally Posted by MSMS3 Down about 25 grams. That's serious. Dirty air filter was 5 of it. Still down 20. Compression is normal. No boost leaks. Will clean MAF next, but I think most of it is the intake valves.

Yeah that's crazy. And you have cleaned before correct? So I can't imagine how much I'm losing at 90k miles. Just strange that I was at about 310 g/s last summer and now I'm maxing at 275 g/s. I have off all of August so I'll be tackling this along with egr delete, catch can, and vtcs removal.

[MSMS3]

Originally Posted by sallyspeed3 Yeah that's crazy. And you have cleaned before correct? So I can't imagine how much I'm losing at 90k miles. Just strange that I was at about 310 g/s last summer and now I'm maxing at 275 g/s. I have off all of August so I'll be tackling this along with egr delete, catch can, and vtcs removal.

Yes, cleaned before. Time again. Hoped to do it this weekend and had too many things on my plate. Power is definitely down WOT past 5,500 rpm, when it was really nice up top before. Now, its like its gasping for air, straining, like on stock tune. Off .3 seconds on third gear 50-75 mph pull.

[deyomatic]

Just curious, how long does the whole job take, from the time you open the hood or loosen the first lug nut?

[223Patriot]

Originally Posted by deyomatic Just curious, how long does the whole job take, from the time you open the hood or loosen the first lug nut?

I would plan on a whole day at the least. If you are in a hurry and know what you're doing you could probably get away with a half a day.

[someguy]

Originally Posted by deyomatic Just curious, how long does the whole job take, from the time you open the hood or loosen the first lug nut?

First time I ever pulled the IM on a speed 3 (to do thermal gaskets) and also do an OCC install took about 5-6 hours. This wasn't rushing anything and working at a pretty leisurely pace. Flat out now, apart and back together for the just the IM would be easily doable in under two hours. Add in cleaning time to that and you can get it done in an afternoon.

[pfp22972]

Originally Posted by 223Patriot I would plan on a whole day at the least. If you are in a hurry and know what you're doing you could probably get away with a half a day.

Agreed. Including the two 1 hour wait times while the valves soaked, it took me about 6 total hours. I used a gun cleaning kit and a vacuum. Worked just fine.

[jeffvans]

Just as an FYI for anyone that is buying the gun/media from harbor freight, make sure you Google "harbor freight coupon". They always have at least 20% off codes available.

[Jury]

Originally Posted by Sam4 I'm being a big pussy - I don't like the idea of my brake booster hose sucking up Seafoam, sooo I bought the spray can. Question - I assume it will wreck my MAF sensor if I use it like starter fluid in my intake, and that's headed for the turbo anyway. Thoughts? Suggestions? (leaving myself wide open here!)

I believe it says not to use your brake booster hose one the can.

[snsn8r]

Question before i tackle this soon. Where any gaskets replaced other than the thermal one? I am stock right now no mods, do i need to do the EGR delete while i have it that far disassembled?

[fercha]

Can I just use the shifter to achieve TDC for the intake valves instead of taking off the passenger side wheel and messing with the power steering pump and belt??? Thank you!!!

[snsn8r]

Originally Posted by jacek3743 I regret not doing this earlier.... At 120k, i had to have two beers to keep me from losing my shit. At the beginning I had problems with the gun, as previous post suggest, take the gun apart and drill/file the hole of the hopper and gun to be bigger, otherwise you'll have the walnut stuff jamming up constantly. Home Depot also sells a fitting for the Shop Vac if you have a larger diamater hose from the vaccum which will fit perfectly to the end of the clear tube.

wow that is a huge difference, how did it run after?

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[snsn8r]

Originally Posted by fercha Can I just use the shifter to achieve TDC for the intake valves instead of taking off the passenger side wheel and messing with the power steering pump and belt??? Thank you!!!

I don't see how shifter will help to turn valves. are talking about both front wheels in air and turn them? I think ps pump is in the way of manifold. so it will have to be removed.

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[aackthpt]

Originally Posted by snsn8r I don't see how shifter will help to turn valves. are talking about both front wheels in air and turn them?

Originally Posted by fercha Can I just use the shifter to achieve TDC for the intake valves instead of taking off the passenger side wheel and messing with the power steering pump and belt??? Thank you!!!

Easiest way to turn the engine to change which valves are open and closed is to put car in gear, parking brake off, and push it. Higher gear will require less moving, lower gear will be easier to move against motor friction. Maybe try 4th first.