Intake valve cleaning from carbon build up

[GenesisAdvisor]

Definitely get buildup on the 3.3s. This was in the 70k mile range with no service. Pretty normal for this amount or more on any GDI engine. Have seen plenty.

 

[carguy75]

My 5.0 with about 90k miles has carbon buildup mostly on the valve stems but not too much in the chamber or the back of the valves.

A wire brush and CRC solvent should clean this up.

 

[Andyj]

Yes go ahead

yes do the crc and then do the oil and filter

 

[G80_Ultimate5.0HTRAC]

Can of Seafoam sucked into the intake through a vacuum hose. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Blow it all out with some high revs. Done!
Repeat often

Hey guys, just ran across this post and I wanted to add something... something kind of long.(as someone that has had great experiences with valve cleanings) This is absolutely the correct method guys, but do NOT BUY THE CAN!!! Well the other thing comes in a can too but its a liquid you can pour instead of a spray. If you live in California, REALLY DONT BUY THE SPRAYS! They are a diluted version of the real stuff. However, even in California, the liquid Seafoam yields much better results.
Like 2for1 says, you need only to unplug a vacuum hose from the intake manifold. Alot of older cars would have random vacuum ports on the intake manifold that you could access and plug your own vacuum hose into it.
Try to choose a vacuum hose that does not go directly to a sensor if you can find one.
Its MUCH MUCH easier to do this with two people& the other person doesnt even have to know anything about cars to help.(could be your wife even)
With an already warmed up engine, have them bring your RPMS to 2K. Open your can of liquid seafoam and dip the vacuum hose slightly onto the surface layer of the liquid in the can. This should take you 10-15 mins to slowly suck up all of the liquid in the can. Anything less and you sucked it up too fast(probably will still have good results, but not best results). If your engine stalls you are forsure doing it to fast. TAKE IT SLOW, trick is to barely allow any air to flow through the hose& just a small addition of the seafoam to be added into the air/fuel mix. YOUR ENGINE WILL NOT BLOW UP FOR REVVING IT AT 2K FOR 15 MINS!! If it did, it was on the way out forsure. Once its done, do not shut the engine off. Just return the vacuum hose setup to how it was before you touched anything& rev at 4k with occasional throttle snaps until no more smoke is coming our of your exhaust.
*BIG NOTE*
The more carbon build up you have, the more smoke will come out. I recommend doing this towards the evening once its getting dark because you WILL leave a MASSIVE cloud that usually covers the entire neighborhood& may even pass for a fire ending in firefighters showing up. Not that happened to me or anything.
*2nd BIG NOTE*
Do your best to pick a vacuum hose that is closer to the middle of the intake. Helps(HELPS) to spread the product evenly through runners& it away from sensors.
I will be cleaning my Throttle Body soon& was going to do a valve cleaning service to go along with it and thats how I stumbled onto this thread. I will post pics of how I chose to do it.
Thanks for reading, happy cleaning!

 

[G-656810]

Yes, I understand that we are talking about direct injection engines. 93 octane burns cleaner and also keep the high pressure fuel injectors clean which helps reduce carbon buildup on the valves. 93 octane or 91 octane allow the engine to go into the entire compression stroke which help with the combustion process by completely burning the fuel in the combustion chamber. Applying a hard throttle allows the engine to rev higher which moves the valves faster so that deposits are not able to stick to the valves as easy as when the engine rides along in low rpms.

But hey what do I know? I have owned about four direct injected engines before I bought my current direct injected Genesis 5.0 V8: VW 2.0T/3.6 VR6, KIA 2.0T, and GM 3.6 Flex fuel; so I have been researching what will work and will not work on preventing carbon build-up for about decade. However, if you believe that what i suggest will not work then just prepare to clean the carbon off your valves with the methods I posted.

Please understand from a technical standpoint, higher octane fuel has an additive included to retard detonation on higher compression engines? It does not make an engine run cleaner?

 

[TinsleyC]

Please understand from a technical standpoint, higher octane fuel has an additive included to retard detonation on higher compression engines? It does not make an engine run cleaner?

Yeah the idea that high octane allows for higher RPM which shakes off more contaminates doesn't make sense. That's like saying my 3.8 can't reach 6000 RPM without premium fuel.

Premium doesn't burn cleaner.

Also, note his comment was from 2019, and last post was from February (I think).

I knew a guy who always put premium in all his cars, including his four cylinder NA Camry because "it cost more and therefore must be better for the engine".

 

[Husam]

I've recently used BG GDI Air/Fuel induction service kit along with its catalytic convertor cleaner service and the results were amazing. I don't have pictures of the before and after but I can tell you, the car idles better, revs better and has its power restored. Surprisingly, it made transmission shift points more accurate somehow.

New BG GDI Fuel/Air Induction Service Solves the GDI Carbon Problem

The new BG GDI Fuel/ Air Induction Service is designed to remove carbon from the entire GDI fuel system in under an hour, without engine teardown.

www.techshopmag.com

 

[rroyce46]

I've recently used BG GDI Air/Fuel induction service kit along with its catalytic convertor cleaner service and the results were amazing. I don't have pictures of the before and after but I can tell you, the car idles better, revs better and has its power restored. Surprisingly, it made transmission shift points more accurate somehow.

New BG GDI Fuel/Air Induction Service Solves the GDI Carbon Problem

The new BG GDI Fuel/ Air Induction Service is designed to remove carbon from the entire GDI fuel system in under an hour, without engine teardown.

www.techshopmag.com

Thanks for the info. How many miles on your car?
I'm @ 35000 on my 2016 & wondering when I will notice any lack of power or rough idle as my car runs fine & lots of power & smooth idle for being almost 9 years old.

 

[Husam]

Thanks for the info. How many miles on your car?
I'm @ 35000 on my 2016 & wondering when I will notice any lack of power or rough idle as my car runs fine & lots of power & smooth idle for being almost 9 years old.

Mine is at 168k miles

 

[rroyce46]

Mine is at 168k miles

Great to hear. Been a good car or any significant issues? When did you change Differential & Transmission fluid & Coolant ?

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[radi0]

So you sprayed it into this long hose that runs on the top, why not spray it on the other end as shown below?

This is the inlet I've used on my 3.8. I sprayed CRC into it, 1 sec press every 5 secs while my lady pressed the accelerator. She later reported the car entered limp mode and threw a code about 15 seconds in. She had to go full throttle just to hit 2,500 rpm. Putting on a coat and a mask was a good idea since it's hot and dusty when the engine runs. Just wish I'd put on earplugs too.
After a heat soak there was no huge white cloud. Limp mode and CEL went away by themselves, although a clear command before I shut down might've helped. After an interstate run the idle is smoother. I'll do a sacrificial conventional oil change in about 100 miles, run that for a couple thousand, and then synthetic.

 

[Shady_panda]

anyone know where to spray into for the 5.0? pictures please I'm pretty useless with fixing car

 

[acelottski]

The 3.8 has one PCV valve. I would think the 5.0L is the same.

No need for two as both heads and crankcase are connected via oil drain back passages.

My 5.0 has one PCV valve on the passenger side of the engine. I mounted my catch can there.