[suspenceful]

I finally set aside some time to give my 335i the walnut blast it deserved at 140k miles.





Here are the supplies I used:

• Fine Grade Walnut Shells
• Intake Valve Cleaner
• Intake Manifold Gaskets (6)
• Abrasive Blaster Kit
• Vacuum Adapter & Blasting Wand
• Brass Adapter Fitting
• Remote Starter Switch
• Pick Set
• 8mm, 10mm, 11mm, T20, T25 & Hex Sockets
• Pistol Grip Blow Gun
• Shop Towels
• Vacuum
• Air Compressor

Here are the steps I took to get to the valves...

Step 1: https://bit.ly/2JvZ98O
Step 2: https://bit.ly/2Yn6rQr
Step 3: https://bit.ly/309uSCo
Step 4: https://bit.ly/309komL

Let's get started...











Well, I think I figured out why the car couldn't eclipse 13's in the 1/4 mile! I couldn't believe what I found after removing the intake manifold!



After loosening up some of the carbon with a pick...





Then after one pass of walnut blasting...
(see video at the bottom for a detailed explanation of how to do this part)



Lots of walnuts and manual scrubbing later...



I even cleaned up the intake manifold ports because those were caked with carbon as well. You can see the cleaned port on the left and the dirty port on the right.



It was a lot of work, but totally necessary. If you want to watch my whole process with more of a DIY/How-To style, check out my YouTube video. It also has some more information and a drive at the end showing the power increase/restoration.

I hope this helps other N54 enthusiasts!

[Cm452]

Nice write-up, and thanks for the thoroughness!
These posts remind me to just rip the bandaid off and see what I've got going on at 100k.
-Cm

[nissubaru]

You've got a big air compressor, yeah? I did a walnut blasting last week with a pancake compressor and it sucked balls. I probably got 30 seconds to a minute worth of blasting time before the regulator pressure dropped. Stopping and starting was unbearable. It had me thinking that if I had a bigger compressor I could get maybe 5 minutes of blasting at a time before needing to stop and wait 2-3 minutes for the compressor to refill.

How long would you blast for usually before checking the progress? I eventually stopped checking the progress every time because it was pointless after 30 seconds of blasting.

[suspenceful]

Originally Posted by Cm452

Nice write-up, and thanks for the thoroughness!
These posts remind me to just rip the bandaid off and see what I've got going on at 100k.
-Cm

I appreciate the kind words!

It's definitely not a bad idea. Just set aside some time to at least see what they look like. It's not all that difficult to get in there, just takes a little time.

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Originally Posted by nissubaru

You've got a big air compressor, yeah? I did a walnut blasting last week with a pancake compressor and it sucked balls. I probably got 30 seconds to a minute worth of blasting time before the regulator pressure dropped. Stopping and starting was unbearable. It had me thinking that if I had a bigger compressor I could get maybe 5 minutes of blasting at a time before needing to stop and wait 2-3 minutes for the compressor to refill.

How long would you blast for usually before checking the progress? I eventually stopped checking the progress every time because it was pointless after 30 seconds of blasting.

This is good advice...thanks for it. I have a pancake compressor but I could borrow a sausage compressor from a buddy for this job.

How much did it take you start to finish?

[woodex m.e.]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

This is good advice...thanks for it. I have a pancake compressor but I could borrow a sausage compressor from a buddy for this job.

How much did it take you start to finish?

Neither one of those compressors will be sufficient. I used a 35gallon compressor that put out 3.7cfm at 90psi and it was almost intolerable. I spent a lot of time waiting between blasts. These walnut blasters use a crap ton of air.

[Wolf 335]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together, great work.

Is there any concern in getting the ports on top clogged with walnuts?

[mweisdorfer]

Nice intake box.

Wow, I can't believe how much carbon build up was on your intake valves. That's crazy.

I hope you bought your own system, so you can do it every other year or 36,000 miles etc. $200.00 up front and then $25-30.00 after that in ground 18-40 walnuts.

Did you get a catch can?

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by woodex m.e.

Neither one of those compressors will be sufficient. I used a 35gallon compressor that put out 3.7cfm at 90psi and it was almost intolerable. I spent a lot of time waiting between blasts. These walnut blasters use a crap ton of air.

I have a DeWalt 4.5 gallon single tube, but it's got 200psi and the SCFM something like 5.0.at 90 psi

It has no problem keeping up. I'd say my biggest issue is having a better shop vac. Mines only 5 hp. I need a 6hp

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I have a DeWalt 4.5 gallon single tube, but it's got 200psi and the SCFM something like 5.0.at 90 psi

It has no problem keeping up. I'd say my biggest issue is having a better shop vac. Mines only 5 hp. I need a 6hp

How much times does it take start to finish???

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

How much times does it take start to finish???

I need about 25# of 18-40 walnut shells.

I usually soak the cylinder(s) for 10-15 min with seafoam intake cleaner and use a pick to get at the crap on the valve stem.

I'll suck it up with the shop vac and then blast 1 cycle

In a cycle, usually will blast it 3-4x at 4-5 sec blasts.

I take the cylinder adapter off, use a pic and some intake cleaner on it one more time. Suck it out with the shop vac.

Then I do one more cycle, for a total of 2 cycles per cylinder.

I also use a steel tooth brush to clean up the cylinder where the cylinder adapter covers up.

I just do it every other year because I own my own equipment. It seems to help keep the engine running smooth and efficiently w/ out hesitation issues.

[nissubaru]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I need about 25# of 18-40 walnut shells.

I usually soak the cylinder(s) for 10-15 min with seafoam intake cleaner and use a pick to get at the crap on the valve stem.

I'll suck it up with the shop vac and then blast 1 cycle

In a cycle, usually will blast it 3-4x at 4-5 sec blasts.

I take the cylinder adapter off, use a pic and some intake cleaner on it one more time. Suck it out with the shop vac.

Then I do one more cycle, for a total of 2 cycles per cylinder.

I also use a steel tooth brush to clean up the cylinder where the cylinder adapter covers up.

I just do it every other year because I own my own equipment. It seems to help keep the engine running smooth and efficiently w/ out hesitation issues.

Got any before and after photos? The only way you're blasting that little is if your valves are already pretty clean, which it sounds like they are since you've done this already before. I'll probably do mine again in a year but this was the first walnut blast on an 85k mile motor and I would say each cylinder took 10 minutes of blasting to get clean combined with brake cleaner and scraping with a pic.

That's 10 minutes spaced out over 30-45 second intervals and maybe 2 minutes or so in between to catch up. It honestly sucked, I would never do the job for anyone locally at that pace.

Still haven't heard from OP as to how long he spent blasting each cylinder?

[suspenceful]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

This is good advice...thanks for it. I have a pancake compressor but I could borrow a sausage compressor from a buddy for this job.

How much did it take you start to finish?

It took me a long time just because the buildup was so bad, and I had to film/photograph in between. I'd recommend a big compressor with a lot of pressure for faster results.

Originally Posted by woodex m.e.

Neither one of those compressors will be sufficient. I used a 35gallon compressor that put out 3.7cfm at 90psi and it was almost intolerable. I spent a lot of time waiting between blasts. These walnut blasters use a crap ton of air.

True this! To efficiently do this, you'll want a big compressor with a lot of pressure and a vacuum that can keep up.

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Thanks for taking the time to put this together, great work.

Is there any concern in getting the ports on top clogged with walnuts?

Attachment 2051677

I just used a pick to get up in there afterwards. I didn't see anything come out but I did check all crevices with a pick.

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Nice intake box.

Wow, I can't believe how much carbon build up was on your intake valves. That's crazy.

I hope you bought your own system, so you can do it every other year or 36,000 miles etc. $200.00 up front and then $25-30.00 after that in ground 18-40 walnuts.

Did you get a catch can?

Thanks! The car actually has a catch can on it already, but it only functions when in boost. You need a dual catch can setup, one in between both the high and low sides to catch vapors 24/7.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by suspenceful

I just used a pick to get up in there afterwards. I didn't see anything come out but I did check all crevices with a pick.

Do you know what those ports are for?

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by nissubaru

Got any before and after photos? The only way you're blasting that little is if your valves are already pretty clean, which it sounds like they are since you've done this already before. I'll probably do mine again in a year but this was the first walnut blast on an 85k mile motor and I would say each cylinder took 10 minutes of blasting to get clean combined with brake cleaner and scraping with a pic.

That's 10 minutes spaced out over 30-45 second intervals and maybe 2 minutes or so in between to catch up. It honestly sucked, I would never do the job for anyone locally at that pace.

Still haven't heard from OP as to how long he spent blasting each cylinder?

I don't have any pictures. I do have a Mishimoto catch can, which helps. Also, keep in mind that unless your shop vac is 6 1/2 hp, you really can't blast more than 6-7 sec bursts. Mine is 5hp. Ya, I know it sucks. I'm looking into a 6 1/2hp this spring. Maybe MM sale at HD. Being that I blast around 28-30,000 mile intervals, the build up isn't too bad.

[nissubaru]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I don't have any pictures. I do have a Mishimoto catch can, which helps. Also, keep in mind that unless your shop vac is 6 1/2 hp, you really can't blast more than 6-7 sec bursts. Mine is 5hp. Ya, I know it sucks. I'm looking into a 6 1/2hp this spring. Maybe MM sale at HD. Being that I blast around 28-30,000 mile intervals, the build up isn't too bad.

I have a 3.5hp/6 gallon shop vac and I was fine? I also barely made a dent in the box of walnut shells I bought. Probably got more than half of the box left.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by nissubaru

I have a 3.5hp/6 gallon shop vac and I was fine? I also barely made a dent in the box of walnut shells I bought. Probably got more than half of the box left.

I probably use 19-20#

[nissubaru]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I probably use 19-20#

Geez, that makes me wonder if my blaster was working correctly. The only way I could tell was to place my hand in front and pull the trigger lol if it hurt, the shells were coming through.

But for you to use 19-20 pounds in that amount of time seems odd, to me at least. I set the regulator to 90psi, which I figured was all the adjustment possible? Do you have the Harbor Freight portable blaster or the bigger one?

Maybe that's why my shop vac had no problem keeping up and yours does

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by nissubaru

Geez, that makes me wonder if my blaster was working correctly. The only way I could tell was to place my hand in front and pull the trigger lol if it hurt, the shells were coming through.

But for you to use 19-20 pounds in that amount of time seems odd, to me at least. I set the regulator to 90psi, which I figured was all the adjustment possible? Do you have the Harbor Freight portable blaster or the bigger one?

Maybe that's why my shop vac had no problem keeping up and yours does

Idk. I probably go 6-7 second quick blasts, maybe 3-4x, two in each cylinder. I do that 2x.

This time around, I used CRC 05319 GDI IVD Intake Valve & Turbo Cleaner 11 oz to soak the cylinders and in between cycles.

This stuff is a little better than seafoam intake cleaner IMO.

Below is a pic of my setup. I bought the red tank on Amazon for around $99.00. Works great.

[Newb_bimmerE92]

You can also rent what I would call a double hot dog air compressor from home depot (maybe lowes too) that runs on a gas engine. My 21 gallon couldn't keep up so we went to home depot and rented one with nearly 14 CFM and it did the trick. I think it was 50 bucks for the day.

[nissubaru]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Idk. I probably go 6-7 second quick blasts, maybe 3-4x, two in each cylinder. I do that 2x.

This time around, I used CRC 05319 GDI IVD Intake Valve & Turbo Cleaner 11 oz to soak the cylinders and in between cycles.

This stuff is a little better than seafoam intake cleaner IMO.

Below is a pic of my setup. I bought the red tank on Amazon for around $99.00. Works great.

I wonder if that's the difference? Does that tank need to get pressurized before it's usable? The way the Harbor Freight portable blaster works is by siphoning the walnut media through a hose and then spraying it through the gun. It's kinda like a foam soap blaster for washing your car that uses a little straw/hose to suck up the soap and mix it with the water.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm beating this topic to death, I spent forever trying to blast my valves. This is also going to end up being one of the more popular DIY's so I'm curious to figure it out for the future. To be more clear, the question is how big of an air compressor is necessary? You seem to have done fine with a small compressor whereas some others like woodex m.e used a 35 gallon compressor with 3.7cfm at 90psi. I looked up the specs on your Dewalt, as you stated it is 5cfm @ 90psi, but only 4.5 gallons. Interestingly enough, this makes some sense considering your CFMs are higher.

Two other questions though, what psi did you set your regulator to? I did 90psi and it sounds like woodex m.e does 90psi as well.

Lastly, does the portable blaster not pick up/blast as much walnut media as the bigger metal blaster? I went to the Harbor Freight website just to see if there was any info and I found this, "The pressurized design of this heavy duty abrasive blaster delivers 30% more blasting power than siphon units. " If that's the case then I might want to redo my setup next time around. However, I'm not sure which is more important, the blaster tank or the compressor? If you only blast for 6-7 seconds at a time my compressor should have been able to handle that just fine.