Valve cleaning?

[4x4Tyrant]

Alrighty so hit that 30k mark on my 2.0L. Being that it is direct injected, I've seen with atleast some DI BMW's, that's around the time people take them in and have the valves / intake walnut blasted. I haven't experienced any hesitation or starting issues as of yet, but has anyone had experience yet with taking the 2.0 in for walnut blasting? And for people who owned DI engines before what was the tell tale sign that it needed the valves cleaned?

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[Avar928]

I just hit 32k on mine very recently. I would say you only need to have a fuel induction and valve cleaning IF you have any type of issue. My Jeep performed beautifully on my ~12,000mi roadtrip (and I passed through Bishop for climbing during the Craggin Classic).

The dealership says on it's recommended maintenance to get fuel induction service at 30k but at the cost of $300? or more...not worth it. You can take the throttle body off and wipe it clean and then run BG44k in your tank on next refill, run through it all prior to your next oil change, then drop the oil. FAR cheaper than what the dealer is offering. That's what I did when I was restoring my old '86 Porsche 928 at 168k miles and she pepped up (though she's probably due for an actual engine breakdown).

EDIT:

As for signs, one is increasingly bad gas mileage as the valves don't seat and seal properly due to gunk build up. You shouldn't be seeing that on our vehicles or brand new ones these days unless I believe you have an engine issue and running super rich or very dirty gas. We're not racing our Jeeps either so valve cleaning should be the least of our worries let alone the engine break down required to have them removed to blast them.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

I just hit 32k on mine very recently. I would say you only need to have a fuel induction and valve cleaning IF you have any type of issue. My Jeep performed beautifully on my ~12,000mi roadtrip (and I passed through Bishop for climbing during the Craggin Classic).

The dealership says on it's recommended maintenance to get fuel induction service at 30k but at the cost of $300? or more...not worth it. You can take the throttle body off and wipe it clean and then run BG44k in your tank on next refill, run through it all prior to your next oil change, then drop the oil. FAR cheaper than what the dealer is offering. That's what I did when I was restoring my old '86 Porsche 928 at 168k miles and she pepped up (though she's probably due for an actual engine breakdown).

EDIT:

As for signs, one is increasingly bad gas mileage as the valves don't seat and seal properly due to gunk build up. You shouldn't be seeing that on our vehicles or brand new ones these days unless I believe you have an engine issue and running super rich or very dirty gas. We're not racing our Jeeps either so valve cleaning should be the least of our worries let alone the engine break down required to have them removed to blast them.

Thanks man that's some great info, I was thinking about wiping and cleaning throttle body as well so I'll have to look into this BG44 your talking about.

 

[Avar928]

It's considered one of the best fuel system cleaners out there, basically put a full can in your gas tank (1/2 or so full) then fill your tank (so that it mixes instead of just floating on top at the end of a refill) and drive normally.

 

[melendez69]

Thanks man that's some great info, I was thinking about wiping and cleaning throttle body as well so I'll have to look into this BG44 your talking about.

I use this in all my vehicles... excellent stuff. There's also a "platinum," but this is sufficient.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K0T94LC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Jebiruph]

I just hit 32k on mine very recently. I would say you only need to have a fuel induction and valve cleaning IF you have any type of issue. My Jeep performed beautifully on my ~12,000mi roadtrip (and I passed through Bishop for climbing during the Craggin Classic).

The dealership says on it's recommended maintenance to get fuel induction service at 30k but at the cost of $300? or more...not worth it. You can take the throttle body off and wipe it clean and then run BG44k in your tank on next refill, run through it all prior to your next oil change, then drop the oil. FAR cheaper than what the dealer is offering. That's what I did when I was restoring my old '86 Porsche 928 at 168k miles and she pepped up (though she's probably due for an actual engine breakdown).

EDIT:

As for signs, one is increasingly bad gas mileage as the valves don't seat and seal properly due to gunk build up. You shouldn't be seeing that on our vehicles or brand new ones these days unless I believe you have an engine issue and running super rich or very dirty gas. We're not racing our Jeeps either so valve cleaning should be the least of our worries let alone the engine break down required to have them removed to blast them.

Isn't the issue that the PCV system dumps vaporized oil into the intake manifold that then passes through and leaves deposits on the intake valve. The air/fuel mixture spray from a port injected engine also passes through the intake valve and helps keep the intake valve clean. With a direct injection engine, the air/fuel mixture does not pass through the intake valve and does not help keep the intake vale clean of the oil vapor deposits, regardless of any additives in the fuel.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

Isn't the issue that the PCV system dumps vaporized oil into the intake manifold that then passes through and leaves deposits on the intake valve. The air/fuel mixture spray from a port injected engine also passes through the intake valve and helps keep the intake valve clean. With a direct injection engine, the air/fuel mixture does not pass through the intake valve and does not help keep the intake vale clean of the oil vapor deposits, regardless of any additives in the fuel.

From what I understand that and blow back that can occur during combustion if the valves get gunked up and that accelerates them getting dirty. Yeah fuel system cleaners won't clean our valves due to the DI but it will keep the rest of the system is good working order.

 

[Avar928]

From what I understand that and blow back that can occur during combustion if the valves get gunked up and that accelerates them getting dirty. Yeah fuel system cleaners won't clean our valves due to the DI but it will keep the rest of the system is good working order.

The Mishimoto catch can should then be a good mitigation right?

 

[WXman]

Ford issued a TSB several years ago on their EcoBust engines that said DO NOT walnut blast to clean the soot from the induction system. Apparently a little bit is all it takes to wipe out a turbo.

 

[ztobro]

I just hit 32k on mine very recently. I would say you only need to have a fuel induction and valve cleaning IF you have any type of issue. My Jeep performed beautifully on my ~12,000mi roadtrip (and I passed through Bishop for climbing during the Craggin Classic).

The dealership says on it's recommended maintenance to get fuel induction service at 30k but at the cost of $300? or more...not worth it. You can take the throttle body off and wipe it clean and then run BG44k in your tank on next refill, run through it all prior to your next oil change, then drop the oil. FAR cheaper than what the dealer is offering. That's what I did when I was restoring my old '86 Porsche 928 at 168k miles and she pepped up (though she's probably due for an actual engine breakdown).

EDIT:

As for signs, one is increasingly bad gas mileage as the valves don't seat and seal properly due to gunk build up. You shouldn't be seeing that on our vehicles or brand new ones these days unless I believe you have an engine issue and running super rich or very dirty gas. We're not racing our Jeeps either so valve cleaning should be the least of our worries let alone the engine break down required to have them removed to blast them.

Super solid advice, thank you! I'm at just about 14,000 miles. 30,000 will be here before I even know it.

 

[4x4Tyrant]

The Mishimoto catch can should then be a good mitigation right?

Yes, unfortunately I live at over 4,000 feet and the catch can trigged a CEL. To avoid it Mishamoto had me take the small filter in the intake part of the can off. I ran like that for 10,000 miles and when I popped open the can it was completely dry. Even with the filter off I'd get CEL's above 8,000 feet where I normally play. So sadly the can won't work for me.

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