[lsturbointeg]

anyone having any objections of doing it this way vs tearing off the manifold? read some issues if you plan on removing the manifold and making sure all the valves are closed and making sure the product doesn't enter the cylinder.

[Unspec]

read some issues like making sure all the valves are closed and making sure the product doesn't enter the cylinder?

That doesn't make sense. It's being squirted into the intake while the car is running, how would you make sure it doesn't enter the cylinder?

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by Unspec

That doesn't make sense. It's being squirted into the intake while the car is running, how would you make sure it doesn't enter the cylinder?

no, let me re edit my post my bad i probably didn't word it correctly. referring if you pull the manifold off

just wanted to get some pros and cons from the guys here who are more mechanically inclined when it comes to the maintenance side of things. i ask because it would cost me $700 to take it to the dealer for a fuel injection service and carb intake combustion service

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

no, let me re edit my post my bad i probably didn't word it correctly. referring if you pull the manifold off

just wanted to get some pros and cons from the guys here who are more mechanically inclined when it comes to the maintenance side of things. i ask because it would cost me $700 to take it to the dealer for a fuel injection service and carb intake combustion service

I've read that if there is significant carbon when it breaks off large chunks could damage the turbo vanes. I haven't investigated if this is true or even plausible.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

I've read that if there is significant carbon when it breaks off large chunks could damage the turbo vanes. I haven't investigated if this is true or even plausible.

It was actually mentioned here in this training video.

[Surly73]

I only skimmed through really quick to get the basic idea of what he's saying. It looks like a slight variant on what folks have been doing "forever" with water or Seafoam.

I wouldn't expect this to be effective. First, you have no control where the cleaner is actually going. Cylinders 1, 6 and anything with tight turns isn't going to get much cleaning. Second, a Valvetronic engine has nearly no vacuum or air flow until the engine loads increase. I'm not sure there would be enough velocity and turbulence to get things where they needed.

For the life of me I cannot find it, but someone did something I think would work well and I would consider if I had the much more deposit-prone N54. He drilled and added fittings and caps to his IM close to the head. In this case he used Amsoil Power Foam which is formulated to form and expanding, clingy foam that fills voids and works on the deposits. He just removed the caps/fittings, inserted the straw (which may have been something more like a 3 foot tube not just the little straw that came with the can), filled the area close to the valves, replaced the caps, wait 20 minutes, then drive. Easy to repeat frequently (as required by N54s).

Out of curiosity I watched a few N55 and N54 videos using this CRC cleaner. The idea of having the valves closed is so that this cleaner can sit and dwell on the valves and get the cleaning done well, and not get enough in the cylinder to hydrolock. Folks pump the used cleaner out of the valve chamber and wipe things up before moving on. Even at that I saw an N54 owner who still pulls all the plugs and runs on the starter for a bit to blow out all the cylinders.

TL;DR - It's really interesting to read alternative views, see what people are doing and discuss. I'm not sure I'd do it this way on an N55.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by Surly73

I only skimmed through really quick to get the basic idea of what he's saying. It looks like a slight variant on what folks have been doing "forever" with water or Seafoam.

I wouldn't expect this to be effective. First, you have no control where the cleaner is actually going. Cylinders 1, 6 and anything with tight turns isn't going to get much cleaning. Second, a Valvetronic engine has nearly no vacuum or air flow until the engine loads increase. I'm not sure there would be enough velocity and turbulence to get things where they needed.

For the life of me I cannot find it, but someone did something I think would work well and I would consider if I had the much more deposit-prone N54. He drilled and added fittings and caps to his IM close to the head. In this case he used Amsoil Power Foam which is formulated to form and expanding, clingy foam that fills voids and works on the deposits. He just removed the caps/fittings, inserted the straw (which may have been something more like a 3 foot tube not just the little straw that came with the can), filled the area close to the valves, replaced the caps, wait 20 minutes, then drive. Easy to repeat frequently (as required by N54s).

Out of curiosity I watched a few N55 and N54 videos using this CRC cleaner. The idea of having the valves closed is so that this cleaner can sit and dwell on the valves and get the cleaning done well, and not get enough in the cylinder to hydrolock. Folks pump the used cleaner out of the valve chamber and wipe things up before moving on. Even at that I saw an N54 owner who still pulls all the plugs and runs on the starter for a bit to blow out all the cylinders.

TL;DR - It's really interesting to read alternative views, see what people are doing and discuss. I'm not sure I'd do it this way on an N55.

Thanks for chiming in

[Trainwreck914]

If you're going to remove the manifold might as well do walnut blasting. I'm a fan of the method. Seems more efficient than spraying chemicals into the intake. As long as you turn the engine to where the valves are closed. All is sucked back out with a vacuum. So no worries about large chunks of carbon making their way into the engine.

[95blkmax]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

anyone having any objections of doing it this way vs tearing off the manifold? read some issues if you plan on removing the manifold and making sure all the valves are closed and making sure the product doesn't enter the cylinder.

Keep in mind that the video ultimately failed to prove that worked. It IS a great tutorial of using the product and what to expect.

From a pure science standpoint, the only way to know if it's any good is to photograph each cylinders' intake tract, put the IM back on, apply this product, then photograph the intake tracts again to compare. Which at that point you might as well walnut blast it lolo (is there no reputable indy shop in your area willing to do this for less?).

If you and others interested have time, go on YouTube and check out Project Farm. It's a channel that did dude dedicated for comparing oils, fuels, additives, cleaners, etc... In THIS video he compares BG against SeaFoam and Marvel Mystery Oil . It's a good watch to get an idea of just how effective (or not) this chemical methods are... so you can get a good idea of what CRC cleaner would end up doing.

If I were to rank methods in order of effectiveness I'd say;
1- Walnut Blasting
2- Chemical PLUS abrasive (like those that go in with a gun-cleaning kit's wire brushes and scrub off the carbon being softened up by the chem). As effective as the user's arm and lower back are willing to continue


Chemical cleaning alone I would not put on the list at all. I THINK (based on what Project Farm shows and other folks testing these) this method seems more effective as preventers of build up rather than removers of already built-up carbon. But then you'd have to START with an already de-carbon'd engine, AND add them chemical treatment to your scheduled maintenance. Side note- as much as some of these products say they are cat and o2 safe, I wouldn't trust that for repeated use.

Hope that helps.

[Surly73]

This guy goes through a chemical only method WITH IM removal on an N54. Seems to me like it works well enough to be considered for the shady tree mechanic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6NVHLy-Xc

[95blkmax]

Originally Posted by Surly73

This guy goes through a chemical only method WITH IM removal on an N54. Seems to me like it works well enough to be considered for the shady tree mechanic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6NVHLy-Xc

This is effective! It's chemical PLUS abrasive since he's in there scrubbing it around. But I think the OP meant the thread more if this CRC cleaner was good by itself (AKA, just spraying it in and letting it do it's thing). At that I say no. Using in IN CONJUNCTION with abrasives (like this video you're sharing) is certainly the way to go if one does not have access to REASONABLY PRICED walnut blasting.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by 95blkmax

This is effective! It's chemical PLUS abrasive since he's in there scrubbing it around. But I think the OP meant the thread more if this CRC cleaner was good by itself (AKA, just spraying it in and letting it do it's thing). At that I say no. Using in IN CONJUNCTION with abrasives (like this video you're sharing) is certainly the way to go if one does not have access to REASONABLY PRICED walnut blasting.

just finding an easy way of doing this without the labor of taking the manifold off but after spending more time it looks like that would be the best way of doing this. i just don't want to hydrolock my motor

[Trainwreck914]

Taking the manifold off is not hard at all. It's 7 bolts and 1 nut. The connectors to the ecu and the vacuum lines. 40-60 min tops first time. I can do it in 20 now.

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck914

Taking the manifold off is not hard at all. It's 7 bolts and 1 nut. The connectors to the ecu and the vacuum lines. 40-60 min tops first time. I can do it in 20 now.

buddy and i have already done this.

[95blkmax]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

just finding an easy way of doing this without the labor of taking the manifold off but after spending more time it looks like that would be the best way of doing this. i just don't want to hydrolock my motor

hehe nah you'll be fine dude. If this is a concern you have for real, just remove the spark plugs and give it a crank for a bit. Make sure you have a towel or something over it because it's going to spray out fuel and whatnot. Don't want to get that on your paint. But yea once you have the engine spit out whatever (if any) went into the cylinders, put the plugs back in and you are done!

[pierreye]

The first youtube video is wrong. That's not MAF sensor but MAP sensor. You don't remove the sensor from chargepipe. The right way is to remove the MAF sensor from intake pipe and spray in there. It should also clean your turbo blade which is why it's called CRC Intake Valve and Turbo cleaner.