Hi,
I have been reading your comments and appreciate what you've said about the intake valve buildup issue. I am the new owner of a 2015 5.0, and only learnt about this issue a few days ago. I have no problems, but I think a lot of my driving is going to be to and from work (10 miles each way, suburban driving). I'm hopeful that I won't run into problems. I have owned numerous German cars and can turn a wrench, but am by no means a professional mechanic. I do not miss the sludgy B5 Audis and Passats.
So if I have the carbon buildup issue, how easy is it to remove the intake manifold and to clean out the valves with a liquid and some brushes? And is it really carbon per se? I would think that under conditions, it would be somewhat more akin to heavy, saturated hydrocarbons.
Thanks!
Hi Markymark. I hear you about the Audi and Passat sludging issue. There were other cars marques with a similar problem, most notably Saab back a couple decades ago. "Sludging" cost a few engines, and a few million dollars for the OEM's on warranty repairs and goodwill
You're right, it isn't carbon in the coal sense, it is hardened, thickened condensed byproducts of combustion which are building up on the backs of the intake valves. Most of those byproducts originate in the gasoline. However whether there are any hydrocarbon molecules left I don't know. My gut feel is that there are none, because if there were they would act as a solvent and reduce buildup.
Nothing wrong with the intake valves, it's just that they cool down faster than the exhausts when the engine is shut down, and they have a direct pathway to the crankcase through the intake manifold and emissions plumbing.
An early sign of excessive deposits is roughness at idle. As the condition worsens the affected cylinders will run rich and can eventually misfire. Interestingly, the misfires can also occur in non-affected cylinders because the PCM will be drastically cutting back on injector pulse time in an effort to balance the reduced air intake. Some systems are smart enough to identify individual bad cylinders and adjust the air:fuel ratio just for the bad cylinders, but I don't know if the Tau engine can be controlled in that manner.
Don't lose sleep over it. Use Top Tier gasoline which early reports show helpful in reducing further deposits, and in reducing the amount of existing buildup. I think it is Shell which has the white paper research on this, but I haven't personally read it.
If you get to that point, and are handy with tools, the job isn't difficult, just a little time consuming. A pleasant Saturday would be the most for the average DIY'er. Lots of videos on the process of cleaning can be seen on YouTube, though we professionals tend to use corncob blasting. [WITH CLOSED INTAKE VALVES!]