[335i 07]

History:
2007 335i with 78K miles. I just got the JB4 tune on about 9K miles ago. I have no catch can or meth to aid in preventing carbon build up. Valves were never cleaned or sea-foamed before this.

Thoughts of procedure:
Very time consuming. Hardest part was removing the screws form the little box of connections under the throttle body. (2 Hours)
Scrubbing the valves and ports took about 4 hours. I had to fill the ports and scrub 3 times in order to get clean. I have an automatic transmission so I hit the starter to move valves to closed position. Luckily I only had to hit the starter twice to close three valves at a time.

Tools Used:
-Air compressor to blow out valves
-Hand pump siphon Walmart 6.99
-Gun brush kit Walmart 15.99
-4 tooth brushes for final scrub phase 1.99
-8 pack of paper towls- Used for bedding
-5 EA Seafoam- for 30 min soak phase- Do not let carb cleaner (sea foam) touch your skin, paint, electrical connectors or engine block. It nasty stuff. Gave me a rash on my skin. WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES!!

First Ride:
The car did seem to idle slightly better during and after warm up. As far as power goes I did not see a big improvement. As far as better MPG I will report back later because I don't have enough data yet.

ADDED after 500 miles: The car defiantly starts faster during cold start ups. The car seems to rev faster. After logging 0-60s the car is slightly faster under similar conditions.

History:

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by 335i 07

2007 335i with 78K miles. I just got the JB4 tune on about 9K miles ago. I have no catch can or meth to aid in preventing carbon build up. Valves were never cleaned or sea-foamed before this.

Mentioning catch can, assume these are intake valves. Seafoam no help there.

Would you say deposit was more than paper thin?

[galahad05]

Originally Posted by CALWATERBOY

Mentioning catch can, assume these are intake valves. Seafoam no help there.

Would you say deposit was more than paper thin?

Assuming seafoam can do a cleaning job wherever it's introduced....then yes it would help there. Seafoam through intake (vacuum line).

[David1]

Originally Posted by galahad05

Assuming seafoam can do a cleaning job wherever it's introduced....then yes it would help there. Seafoam through intake (vacuum line).

Seafoam does nothing.

[Bartman619]

Don't see why Sea Foam wouldn't work, unless the engine is DI.

[TOPEC]

Originally Posted by Bartman619

Don't see why Sea Foam wouldn't work, unless the engine is DI.

the engines ARE DI, thats y theres the carbo build up issue, no gas to wash the valves.

Seafoam would work via a vac line, but u wont know how well its cleaning and if it reaches every valve equally

[Bartman619]

Originally Posted by TOPEC

the engines ARE DI, thats y theres the carbo build up issue, no gas to wash the valves.

Seafoam would work via a vac line, but u wont know how well its cleaning and if it reaches every valve equally

My bad, I was thinking of N52. I guess all N54 owner are going to have to spend a little extra to get their intake valves cleaned every several thousand miles. My friend's A4 with 2.0T intake valves needs to be cleaned at least once a year. One major pitfall for DI engines.

[DASHOCKER]

The inside of that motor looks like a gas station toilet.

[issabmw]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

The inside of that motor looks like a gas station toilet.

[Maestro]

okay, I do not understand the build up they is occurring on the intake ports. I have never seen anything like that. Where is all the black soot coming from. If they coming form the turbos, if it is, it seems like the turbos are leaking exhaust into the input side, if the intake ports like like what does the intercooler look like then.

[mike-y]

That's just dirt/grime that gets built up on the port walls.. There is often a very fine oil mist that comes out of the crank case breather system during operation. Most of the oil is captured and routed back to the pan, but there is still a very small amount that gets run back through the intake system.

Since there is no gasoline injected into the ports, the oil doesn't get washed down. so after a while, little bits of dirt/debris that get past the air filter stick there.

[JunkStory]

Originally Posted by mike-y

That's just dirt/grime that gets built up on the port walls.. There is often a very fine oil mist that comes out of the crank case breather system during operation. Most of the oil is captured and routed back to the pan, but there is still a very small amount that gets run back through the intake system.

Since there is no gasoline injected into the ports, the oil doesn't get washed down. so after a while, little bits of dirt/debris that get past the air filter stick there.

+1

BTW, there was an independent test showing that paper filter does a better job of filtering out dirt than the aftermarket ones. Since OP is using DCI, could that attribute to this amount of buildup?

[335i 07]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

+1

BTW, there was an independent test showing that paper filter does a better job of filtering out dirt than the aftermarket ones. Since OP is using DCI, could that be a reason for this amount of carbon buildup?

Ive only been using DCI for about 1000 miles. Keep in mine this build up is from oil blow by recirculated through the PVC line.

[JunkStory]

Originally Posted by 335i 07

Ive only been using DCI for about 1000 miles. Keep in mine this build up is from oil blow by recirculated through the PVC line.

I see, thanks. Is there any way I can check or test how severe the amount of buildup is in my engine without taking out the valves? I have 47k miles on my 07 335i.

[335i 07]

Originally Posted by galahad05

Assuming seafoam can do a cleaning job wherever it's introduced....then yes it would help there. Seafoam through intake (vacuum line).

Sea Foam will not work well through intake line! The carbon was rock solid and I had to soak and scrub 3 times. I used three different brass gun brushes. I used the same active ingredient as sea foam for the soaking phase. Others used sea foam through vacuum line and pulled intake manifold to inspect with no or very little results.

[335i 07]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

I see, thanks. Is there any way I can check or test how severe the amount of buildup is in my engine without taking out the valves? I have 47k miles on my 07 335i.

YES you can borescope by disconnecting the clip from the throttle body and inserting. Its like a small steerable camera. Rent one from autozone or buy one from harbor freight for a 100 bucks. Trust me you wont like what you see.

[galahad05]

That borescope (Harbor Freight special) is high on my buy-it list.
I strongly suspect some serious buildup on the lower intake tracts.

[SteVTEC]

Wow. Well I guess that answers my questions. The BMW N54/N55 engines are *NOT* immune from the direct injection carbon buildup crud issue... Thanks for the report.

[Saintor]

I didn't expect the 'before' pics to look that bad.

[samchoi604]

The borescope method is an extremely good idea 335i_07. Sorry for the noob question though, where is the throttle body clip you mentioned? Do I need to remove the air intake box?

[m6pwr]

335-07 (Op): what kind of oil were/are you using and how often do you change it?

[335i 07]

Originally Posted by m6pwr

335-07 (Op): what kind of oil were/are you using and how often do you change it?

BMW OIL (oem) I change mine very often about every 3k-4k miles. I cant speak for the person that put the 55000 miles before me though.The history looks like they did all BMW services.