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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Dealer recommends to do decarburization...
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      11-12-2019, 12:22 PM   #1
initialM
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Dealer recommends to do decarburization...

Hello folks. Dealer recommended to perform decarburization every 30k miles and they said they got a promotion going for $200. Is this worth it? Or there's an alternative to this that would be more effective and perhaps safer for your car? Any advise would be appreciated. TIA.
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      11-12-2019, 01:10 PM   #2
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Are you talking about walnut blasting? If so, this seems super cheap
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      11-12-2019, 01:36 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by mangos86q View Post
Are you talking about walnut blasting? If so, this seems super cheap
I'm not sure what they do, but for sure it's not walnut blasting...
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      11-12-2019, 02:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by initialM View Post
Hello folks. Dealer recommended to perform decarburization every 30k miles and they said they got a promotion going for $200. Is this worth it? Or there's an alternative to this that would be more effective and perhaps safer for your car? Any advise would be appreciated. TIA.
What does that require? Valve cover and possible head removal?
I seen a post by Sophisticated Redneck where he was doing that and it looked like he tore the whole head down.

For them to only charge $200 for it seems like a helluva steal.
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      11-12-2019, 07:21 PM   #5
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They run a cleaner through the intake system to hit the back of the valves and through the injectors to clean them. I had it done to hopefully head-off any future need for the much more expensive (and intrusive) walnut blasting. I'll have to wait and see if this was a wise choice.
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      11-13-2019, 11:05 AM   #6
initialM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
They run a cleaner through the intake system to hit the back of the valves and through the injectors to clean them. I had it done to hopefully head-off any future need for the much more expensive (and intrusive) walnut blasting. I'll have to wait and see if this was a wise choice.
I agree. Walnut blasting seems pretty intrusive and I'm hesitant about disassembling and reassembling engine parts in general if unnecessary.

Thanks for those who shared their inputs. Appreciate it as always
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      11-14-2019, 10:11 AM   #7
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I would go buy a bottle or two of Techron fuel system cleaner and save the additional $190.00 since this is probably what the dealer is going to do.

Good luck.
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      11-14-2019, 03:52 PM   #8
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Dealers make money, that's what they do. I heard of decoking an engine decades ago, 1950's or 60's, perhaps due to engine design and fuel quality back then. I know diesel generators need to be run at full load to clean the engines to allow them to operate properly when needed, it's called maintenance. But regarding BMW modern petrol engines I have never heard it mentioned apart from in this original post. Regarding diesel BMW engines you just drive them for long distances every now and then. I know with my engines I drive them hard every now and then, to clean the soot and "carbon" out of everything. And I know my mechanic cleans out the turbos due to oil residue from a over-boosting mod.

$200 is 200 dollars, you can spend it on something else, beer comes to mind.

I'd say just drive your car hard in sports mode or manual to gets the revs up and make the engine sing and clean itself as it does its job. The engine will love you for it. And remember engine speed is not to be confused with road speed, that's where the gearbox comes into play.
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      11-14-2019, 11:46 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiNorm View Post
I would go buy a bottle or two of Techron fuel system cleaner and save the additional $190.00 since this is probably what the dealer is going to do.

Good luck.
It's different now. With direct injection no fuel touches the back of the valve so it doesn't get cleaned. The dealer shoots cleaner into the intake track which cleans the back of the valves.
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      11-16-2019, 11:54 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrannieMoral2017 View Post
What does that require? Valve cover and possible head removal?
I seen a post by Sophisticated Redneck where he was doing that and it looked like he tore the whole head down.

For them to only charge $200 for it seems like a helluva steal.
If its only 200 then its just a cleaner they are running in the intake. It can make a mild difference but nothing short of walnut/soda blasting will remove heavy deposits. The cleaned valve below took 1.5 hours in a heated ultrasonic cleaner plus touch up with a heavy duty nylon brush and its still only 95% clean. Some of the deposits are on like epoxy.

Walnut blasting is normally around 600-800ish for 6cyl BMW engines, and about 3000+ for the N63/S63 and the TU variants due to having to remove the engine (I removed the heads as I don;t have a car lift and I also wanted to clean the combustion chambers and pistons)

All direct injection engines will need some form of carbon cleanup on a long enough time line but some are worse then others. The N63 is one of the worst, with its extreme operating temps and absolute joke of a CCV system...well just look at the pics below.

A proper catch-can setup with Bronze Micro-filters will greatly reduce the carbon build-up. The Bronze Micro-filters are key. Ironically most catch-cans dont have them but the 25 dollar cheapies off Amazon include 50 micron bronze filters and work better then catch-cans costing 10 times as much.
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      11-17-2019, 08:35 AM   #11
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This may sound a bit naive but why not ask the dealer exactly what they are going to do.
I always ask what the process is. If they are reputable, they will explain in detail or maybe have a pamphlet.

I too drive my car long distances to burn off carbon.
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      11-17-2019, 01:43 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
It's different now. With direct injection no fuel touches the back of the valve so it doesn't get cleaned. The dealer shoots cleaner into the intake track which cleans the back of the valves.
So the OP should go buy the Seafoam kit that does the same thing and still save most of the money.
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      11-25-2019, 02:11 PM   #13
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How do you get the seafoam or whatever cleaner on the back of the valves since no fuel touches it? Does anyone have a DIY for this?
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      11-25-2019, 06:54 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc View Post
It's different now. With direct injection no fuel touches the back of the valve so it doesn't get cleaned. The dealer shoots cleaner into the intake track which cleans the back of the valves.
If no fuel touches the back of the valve, how does the valve get dirty enough to need this "treatment"?
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      11-25-2019, 11:50 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin_Campbell View Post
If no fuel touches the back of the valve, how does the valve get dirty enough to need this "treatment"?
The PCV system recirculates blow-by gasses back into the intake track. This "contaminated" air has oil particulates that stick to the back of the hot valves. Since no fuel (which has detergents to clean these deposits) passes over the back of the valves the carbon just builds-up. Search walnut blasting or N54 carbon build-up. The N55 has better engine ventilation so carbon build-up isn't near as bad as the N54.
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      11-26-2019, 08:14 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw5er View Post
How do you get the seafoam or whatever cleaner on the back of the valves since no fuel touches it? Does anyone have a DIY for this?
Basically what you do is stuff a tube from the seafoam bottle into the intake right after the MAF sensor and this is how it gets to the valves. The difference it makes though is minimal IMHO. I highly recommend anyone considering to use seafoam to jump up on youtube and do a search for it. Many videos of the before and after. While it does seem to help, it is nothing like walnut blasting.

I think if you start using it on a regular basis on a new engine like every oil change, it could really help keep the deposits down, but after 60k+ of hard deposits are set in, one little bottle isnt going to do much. Watch the you tube videos and decide if its worth it to you.

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