[Navykiller]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1972

I'm at 128K and intakes have never been cleaned, so I'm quite sure there is buildup. As for where it goes, I followed the instructions and let the engine heat soak (engine off) for an hour after the operation. Then I drove it for 10 minutes. I wasn't even out of the neighborhood (less than 2 minutes) and the engine sputtered and jerked, and plumes of white smoke shot out of the tailpipes. This lasted for 1/2 mile then stopped. After a little more sputtering, it stopped. Drove it for 10 minutes, parked it, drove it the next day for an hour and no issues. It actually seems smoother than before.

Im glad you didnt have big issues. If you have time over the weekend or something, take a look at the intake valves. Takes maybe 15mn taking your time to take a look. At least it will let you know how clean or gunked it is. Good for peace of mind since its triple the length of time it should have been done.

[bimmerfan1972]

Originally Posted by Navykiller

Im glad you didnt have big issues. If you have time over the weekend or something, take a look at the intake valves. Takes maybe 15mn taking your time to take a look. At least it will let you know how clean or gunked it is. Good for peace of mind since its triple the length of time it should have been done.

Good advice, I'll do it at some point. Need to order new gaskets if I'm going to do that.

[E93Dude]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan1972

I sprayed CRC cleaner through my MAF sensor hole this weekend. Seemed decent, I'm sure not as good as walnut but I'm lazy.

Using the MAF sensor hole is not a bad idea, but I would suggest using a product like Berryman which is designed to clean the bores through that hole while the car is idling. Makes a hell of a lot of acrid smoke for the few minutes the aerosol can is injecting cleaner via a tube/adaptor, but is a quick/easy option (I've done this very thing on my kid's 2014 Jetta). Just note two things if going this route:

1. The MAF sensor hole is way to one side, towards cylinder #6. As such, you will be cleaning the cylinders toward firewall a lot more that those towards the front.

2. Berryman is not really going to fix a 100,000 miles of gunk on an engine that's never been properly cleaned using the walnut or solvent/scrape methods. I look at Berryman as a of a regular upkeep option for some cars, not necessarily as a "fix a big problem" solution. And again, I'm not sure how effective this would be on the N54.


https://www.amazon.com/Berryman-Comb...ps%2C46&sr=8-1

[studio54]

Originally Posted by Navykiller

Im glad you didnt have big issues. If you have time over the weekend or something, take a look at the intake valves. Takes maybe 15mn taking your time to take a look. At least it will let you know how clean or gunked it is. Good for peace of mind since its triple the length of time it should have been done.

I must be a turtle

[Navykiller]

Originally Posted by studio54

I must be a turtle

I may have forgotten to take the fact that its never been off into consideration lol. A first time removal can take like an hour plus if you do not have a "go-to" way of doing it, as those tabs to pull it from without breaking are a bit challenging. As far as screw sizes, its only 3 or so IIRC.

[Dave92N54]

Originally Posted by studio54

I must be a turtle

Was gonna say. It's definitely much closer to 45 minutes to remove. I could see 15 if you encountered literally the smoothest charge pipe removal on the planet but I don't know about y'all, mine is a pretty tight fit. Same goes for the intake manifold.

[studio54]

Originally Posted by Navykiller

I may have forgotten to take the fact that its never been off into consideration lol. A first time removal can take like an hour plus if you do not have a "go-to" way of doing it, as those tabs to pull it from without breaking are a bit challenging. As far as screw sizes, its only 3 or so IIRC.

Oh yeah, that's right, i did it only once, probably if i did it again several time, it will be faster and faster, yes the plastic tab thing under the manifold was hard to remove, took a lot of my time trying to unclip this without breaking anything (ended up breaking one tab anyway), also lost some time to giggle the intake manifold and find the good angle to remove it
I can't remember exactly how much time it took me, but probably at least one hour and half.

Originally Posted by Dave92N54

Was gonna say. It's definitely much closer to 45 minutes to remove. I could see 15 if you encountered literally the smoothest charge pipe removal on the planet but I don't know about y'all, mine is a pretty tight fit. Same goes for the intake manifold.

Correct

For a first time i advice this video for the removal steps, you can download it with some online youtube2video link and then have it on a laptop or phone if you are stuck somewhere with no internet.