[joec500]

I know this has been discussed here and there, but I thought it would be helpful to get everyones input on one thread on this serious issue, especially for guys with higher mileage cars.

I have seen this product

http://www.bgprod.com/products/fuelair.html

Some guys use sea foam, but was curious if other folks have had their intake valves cleaned? I personally know one person who had misfire issues at around 25k miles and the dealer cleaned all his valves.

I know these are on Audis, but could be a good resource for us too, since their motors are DI as well:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-up-Megathread

[vasillalov]

Some of those links contain images of carbon build up levels that are super concerning. Yesterday, I was working under the car and I noticed that the intercooler connection at the hot side was leaking with oil, but nothing on the cooler side.

It is most definite that a quality oil catch can is an absolute must for the new engines. It also seems that a good intercooler acts as a stop or a catch can on its own. Unfortunately, that most definitely leads to carbon buildup inside the intercooler as well and it will require frequent cleaning.

There was a thread back in the VW technical forums about the proper procedure and the frequency of cleaning an intercooler. Some users have reported that on the VW/AUDI 2.0 TFSI engine, the intercooler gets completely coated in oil in just one month of spirited driving (no racing) after a clean up with degreasers.

Another subject that I wanted to touch on was fuel and other additives that help clean injectors and intake parts. Most fuel injector cleaners and products like sea foam have the tendency to degrade the quality of the oil significantly. It seems that the general consensus about using such products is that those should be used in the last tank of gas prior to doing an oil change and avoided right after an oil change.

Vasil

[cn555ic]

Meth injection should help in the matter...Steam cleaning internally!

[enrita]

My car has 40K miles. i just opened the engine because of a failure.
All the exhaust valves were quite dirty and did not seal well. Also lot of play on those. These leads to a head rebuild but the intake valves were spotless . i have been using meth for about 3K miles.

[joec500]

Originally Posted by enrita

My car has 40K miles. i just opened the engine because of a failure.
All the exhaust valves were quite dirty and did not seal well. Also lot of play on those. These leads to a head rebuild but the intake valves were spotless . i have been using meth for about 3K miles.

Interesting, I thought it was the intake side we needed to be concerned about. Hmmm maybe I should run Meth just to keep my valves cleaned.

[shifterboy45]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

Some of those links contain images of carbon build up levels that are super concerning. Yesterday, I was working under the car and I noticed that the intercooler connection at the hot side was leaking with oil, but nothing on the cooler side.

It is most definite that a quality oil catch can is an absolute must for the new engines. It also seems that a good intercooler acts as a stop or a catch can on its own. Unfortunately, that most definitely leads to carbon buildup inside the intercooler as well and it will require frequent cleaning.

There was a thread back in the VW technical forums about the proper procedure and the frequency of cleaning an intercooler. Some users have reported that on the VW/AUDI 2.0 TFSI engine, the intercooler gets completely coated in oil in just one month of spirited driving (no racing) after a clean up with degreasers.

Another subject that I wanted to touch on was fuel and other additives that help clean injectors and intake parts. Most fuel injector cleaners and products like sea foam have the tendency to degrade the quality of the oil significantly. It seems that the general consensus about using such products is that those should be used in the last tank of gas prior to doing an oil change and avoided right after an oil change.

Vasil

i really doubt youll ever experience a problem with carbon build up in the intercooler, possbily reduce efficiency due to the oil wetting the runners in the core, and/or oil ingestion in the intake tract which would ultimately lead to some of the oil getting deposited on the intake valves -- and with the heating and cooling of the engine, turning into carbon deposit situation at the valve face and stem area.. it take a signifcant amount of heat (and the IATs) are never high enough to create a that type of scenario..


cheers...
caught signal 12, exiting gracefully

[shifterboy45]

Originally Posted by joec500

Interesting, I thought it was the intake side we needed to be concerned about. Hmmm maybe I should run Meth just to keep my valves cleaned.

any type of water/meth vapor will wipe the intakes clean...

we used to do a "carbon treatment" back in the late 70's, early '80s which consisted of running the car up on the chassis dyno, and pouring a small amount of water in to the intake (non fuel injected car) ... you'd be suprised what would come out the tailpipe

J.C Whitney used to sell a little gadget that did it automatically -- the maker stated it would improved gas mileage and performance..

but 100% water played havoc on cars that had catalyic converters, they didnt like the radical temp changes... but since meth burns in the process its cool to use ..

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by shifterboy45

cheers...
caught signal 12, exiting gracefully

I'll still check for some core dumps just in case

[jb's335]

I was recently bored at work and decided to pull my intake mani off to check my intake valves. Let me go ahead and say, pulling the intake manifold on this car is a piece of cake, it seriously took me less than 45 minutes from the time I started to when I was pulling the manifold off the block. I didn't pull it completely from the car because there was a block of vaccum hoses and other sensors on the bottom of the manifold I didn't feel like dealing with, but enough to get to every runner.

I have had a Riss Racing OCC on my car from about 5k miles, and I was right at 45k when I pulled the mani. The valves were not very clean, in fact they were coated with a bit of black soot, but nothing that was obstructing flow or that acutally looked like it would hinder the action of the valves. Now they were far from spotless, I still did some cleaning and shot some valve cleaner down there, but they were not as bad as I have seen from the Audi and VW people. I am sure the fact that I have had an OCC on the car for most of its life has helped, and would recommend it to anyone as a first mod to help keep maintenence in the future to a minimum.

I didn't take pics because I really didn't see anything that seemed out of the ordinary for a DI car, the valves were dirty but there were no extrusions jutting into the path of air. The valve stems themselves were relatively clean and did not have the ring of goop that I see in the pics of the 2.0T guys...

[rbaldwin28]

Looking at some of those pics this can't be something normal that is effecting all DI motors. The spark plugs are just covered in carbon but I changed my plugs my self when I put my tune on at 35,000 miles and they look nothing like those do. Also I don't understand why they just don't vent the crank case some where else. I mean shouldn't there be some way to filter that crap with a charcoal canister or some thing and then just vent to the atmosphere.

[R1000K3]

Originally Posted by enrita

My car has 40K miles. i just opened the engine because of a failure.
All the exhaust valves were quite dirty and did not seal well. Also lot of play on those. These leads to a head rebuild but the intake valves were spotless . i have been using meth for about 3K miles.

Good to get confirmed the intake valves stay clean with OCC and meth whichever is doing the majority of the job.

Oil leaking down worn valve steams causes carbon built up on back of valves but also in the combustion chamber and on top of pistons. This should not be the case on an engine with just 40K miles and worn sleeves also leads to bad valve sealing and burnt valve and seat faces. A longer sleeve would be more durable if possible to fit. The N54 has a number of design flaws and this reveals another one

[hun77777]

no meth here yet. occasional seafoam and i am quite satisfied with the result...

[onefastman]

I just use seafoam every few thousand in the vaccum line.

As well as meth @100% with a m10

[el1818]

that's no seaform available in my country, would carb cleaner applicable? or it does more harm than good?

[chuckee98]

Originally Posted by vasillalov

It is most definite that a quality oil catch can is an absolute must for the new engines.

Would a oil catch can void the new car warranty?

[vasillalov]

Originally Posted by chuckee98

Would a oil catch can void the new car warranty?

I don't think so. Besides, the OCCs is one of the few mods that are VERY easy and fast to remove before a dealership visit.

[onefastman]

+1, it shouldnt

[hun77777]

my dealer didn't care about intake, oil cooler, intercooler, or exhaust but they did mind about tune and downpipes.

[Mooreski]

Originally Posted by chuckee98

Would a oil catch can void the new car warranty?

I was in for backfires on startup around 25k miles with a OCC. The service report had a note that they noticed it, but that was all. SA didn't even say anything, it was just noted in the report.