Turbo Direct Injection Carbon Buildup on Valves

Indy Lonnie

Well-Known Member
When I had my Goblin dynoed, the tuner said I was a little bit down on power. Over the weekend - I read about the problem with large amounts of carbon that can build up on the intake valves with the turbo Ecotecs. A light bulb went off and am wondering if this can be my missing power. My car has 129,000 miles. I have read that the problem can start at or around 30,000 miles. I am astounded with the amount of crude that can build up over time. After reading almost all weekend, I have come to the conclusion to remove the carbon you have to remove the intake manifold and scrub off all the carbon with brushes, CRC intake and valve cleaner and a lot of patience and elbow grease. I wish I would have known about this problem before I put the engine in the car. It would have been a lot easier.

Anybody have experience with cleaning the valves this way.

11582
 

Karter2026

Goblin Guru
I think there is some "Top Engine cleaner" products out there. I have never used any but I have heard some promising results
 

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
Lonnie, yes, but the head was off the engine so the valves could be removed. Not sure they can be cleaned thoroughly enough if left on the engine? I would be worried about any chemicals getting past the valves into the cylinder and mucking things up with the pistons and rings. This is just me, but I would take the time to do it right and have a top-end refresh on the engine with clean-up, valve lap, new seals, etc. - but I am also something of a perfectionist when it comes to working on vehicles. :D
 

Briann1177

Goblin Guru
My donor had 47k miles and my valves pretty much looked just like that. I cleaned mine while the head was still on the engine. I used Chemtool B12, an old toothbrush, a lot of paper towels, and quite a bit of elbow grease. Make sure the valve is closed, fill the chamber up with some Chemtool, leave it soak for 10 minutes or so, and scrub away with the toothbrush. It really wasn't that hard to clean, but it does take time. The most time consuming part for me was getting all of the loosened up gunk out of the chambers.

If you're going to go that route, do NOT use a wire brush or a screwdriver to clean them. The last thing you want to do is gouge them and cause an oil and/or compression leak.
 

KSLunsfo

Well-Known Member
I may very well end up going through this step myself in the near future. I've seen a write up / video of the walnut blasting while on the engine before, definitely going to take patience.

I intend on adding a quality catch can system to minimize this issue in the future. Or maybe just vent the PVC instead of routing back to the intake altogether...
 
Last edited:
Top