[brfatboy.3]

I only used one extension. Surprisingly the walnut shells didn’t chew it up as much as I thought it would. To get it to stay in there I used a grinder to reduce the diameter of the large end of the extension just enough so I had to force it in the end of the gun then I just tightened the set screw down on it tight and it stayed put the whole time. I ran the compressor at about 100psi.

 

[dave00]

I only used one extension. Surprisingly the walnut shells didn’t chew it up as much as I thought it would. To get it to stay in there I used a grinder to reduce the diameter of the large end of the extension just enough so I had to force it in the end of the gun then I just tightened the set screw down on it tight and it stayed put the whole time. I ran the compressor at about 100psi.

Thank you and I'm going to be giving this a shot this summer. Last question, did you use the Coarse or Fine walnut shells that Harbor Freight offers? I was wondering if the coarse would help better in the carbon break up. Just curious?

 

[brfatboy.3]

I used the fine shells. I’m not sure how much bigger the shells would be with the course version.

 

[dave00]

I used the fine shells. I’m not sure how much bigger the shells would be with the course version.

Thank you!!! I'm going to give them both a shot and see how it goes. Any advise on scrubbing the intake chamber? It looks like you used a toilet or bottle brush of some sort. How did you get all the stuff out, I assume just lots of compressed air and patience?

 

[brfatboy.3]

Mainly a bottle brush. On some of the harder deposits I used a bent and sharpened screwdriver but you have to be extremely gentle so you don’t gouge anything. It took about an hour a cylinder if I remember correctly.

 

[brfatboy.3]

For getting all of the stuff out I disconnected the media feed tube and used just the gun to blow lots of air in it and the vacuum hose over the top.

 

[dave00]

For getting all of the stuff out I disconnected the media feed tube and used just the gun to blow lots of air in it and the vacuum hose over the top.

Thank you so much and fingers crossed that this goes well this weekend. The car has been acting pretty weak lately and the idle seems to bounce around a bit, so I'm hoping cleaning it all up will help.

 

[brfatboy.3]

Just be careful not to introduce much liquid into the valve chamber. Depending on the condition of the valve seats, the liquid can get into the cylinder and when you go to start it you will damage the engine. Same thing with getting shells in an open valve. There is not much room between the piston and head at TDC so it does not take much to cause issues. Make sure you have plenty of extra time if needed so you don’t feel the need to rush.

 

[dave00]

Just be careful not to introduce much liquid into the valve chamber. Depending on the condition of the valve seats, the liquid can get into the cylinder and when you go to start it you will damage the engine. Same thing with getting shells in an open valve. There is not much room between the piston and head at TDC so it does not take much to cause issues. Make sure you have plenty of extra time if needed so you don’t feel the need to rush.

Great advise. I'll do short blasts of valve cleaner along with scrubbing before I blast them with the walnuts. Good thing is if you let it sit a little while, most of the cleaner should evaporate off.

 

[dave00]

Finished her up today and took me around 4-5 hours. Man those valves were caked and you were right, as there was no way of getting some of that carbon off without a pic of some sort. Ended up using a long flat head screwdriver as you did and it worked like a charm. The main thing I did differently is I used a different blaster that my neighbor had that has the top feed/hopper on the gun. On the gun I removed the nozzle as it has a 1/2" set screw to hold it on and I installed a brass 1/2" to 1/4" compression fitting with a 1 foot section of 1/4" copper tubing. The copper was great as it allowed me to get down into the intake right on top of the back of the valves and even bend it around to hit different areas in the chamber. I was shocked at how little of the walnut shells I used as I probably have 20# of the 25# box left over. Cleaned it all up and the idle is much smoother and doesn't slightly bounce around any more. Plus the power gain was amazing!!! Car feels like it picked up 50hp - no joke it gets now!!! This is a great write up and I'm going to keep on top of her now with the CRC every oil change to make sure the valves don't cake up again.

 

[brfatboy.3]

Good news! Glad to hear it made a noticeable difference!

 

[Threenox]

Very interesting and very well done on both catch can install and walnut blasting.

One clarification please ......
Did I understand what you said correctly?
You said
-->> "you Used CRC intake valve cleaner and then you had misfires". <----
Then after using crc valve cleaner and getting misfires
^^^ then you decided to walnut blasted your intake valves

 

[brfatboy.3]

Yes I did the CRC and did not see an improvement however my misfire issues were minimal. Just when cold during startups, no engine light. After digging into it to walnut blast, the deposits were so hard and thick I do not see how any single use of a solvent could possibly remove enough to make a difference. I’m not saying it is not good stuff but you would have to use it several times to have an affect on higher mileage deposits or use it as a maintenance every x amount of miles to keep the buildup down.

 

[brfatboy.3]

I just re read your question. The CRC did not have any affect on my misfire problem. It did not make it worse or better.

 

[Threenox]

Understood ,
you had misfires before using crc
And after using crc intake valve cleaner you still had misfires.

To be clear
After your impressive walnut blasting procedure to clean intake valves,
Besides engine feeling more responsive......
Did misfires go away ????

 

[brfatboy.3]

They almost completely went away. Still get a few at startup when it’s cold.

 

[Threenox]

Great info,!
In summary,
walnut blasting your Traverse intake valves reduced your misfires
Thus
misfires could be caused by carbon falling off intake valves into combustion chamber, (Low speed pre-ignition)
And
using crc intake valve cleaner did NOT help reduce misfires...!!!!

That ^^^ is good to know !

Perhaps a tank-full of shell premium gas with a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner will eliminate residual misfires by cleaning any residual carbon trapped on top of upper piston ring, between piston and cylinder wall.... who knows

 

[electbc]

https://www.traverseforum.com/33-en...etrain/19529-rough-idle-no-power-misfire-1-3-5-camshaft-sensors-bank-1-a-2.html

I did wonder if the loose carbon would damage things using the CRC. I guess it would be case by case as some have had positive results. If the deposits are loosened, few, and soft enough, they probably would not do any damage.

 

[cintocrunch]

I'm not sure if I totally buy that the carbon deposits are scratching the sidewall... are they truly harder than the material of the sidewall, if not they should not be able to score the sidewall...

I think it's more likely the rings get damaged from those deposits that get between the piston and the sidewall due to their thin profile and flexibility.

 

[Threenox]

This guy, Tracy Lewis, has said he has disassembled engines and sen the scratches,....

"Seafoam, BG, CRC, X66P, etc. are all basically the same make up. Ford has release bulletins that is will void warranty on any ford GDI engines, but have not seen GM issue the same yet.

These are safe with carbureted or port injection engines as the coking deposits are the "soft carbon" and very little to loosen and expel.


GDI engines the valves run far hotter with no fuel touching intake valves to cool and clean them,
so when (crc, BG) is used,
these absorb into the deposits causing them to swell and expand and break loose a portion
and most is then expelled out the exhaust where it makes contact with the catalytic converters and clog's and/or causes damage from the cooling shock of this solvent hitting the catalyst honey comb material when it is up to temp.

The real damage though is from the smaller particles forced down between the pistons and cylinder walls as it can be as hard and abrasive as sand. That is never good as the scratches/scouring left (on cylinder walls and piston)
allows even greater blow-by
and oil consumption.

We also see a high incidence of rod bearings failing shortly afterwards if oil and filter are not immediately changed to remove the solvent and particulate matter forced into the crankcase.

Now on port injection engines, these have been and can be used safely, but they do not have intake valve coking issues like GDI engines"

Tracy Lewis ^^^^^