[lordbmw]

I read that most direct injection cars will need cleaning of the valves due to carbon buildup at some point.

My car has 41K miles on it. When will I need to get my valves cleaned?

[weehe126]

N54 40-60k miles. N55 100k miles.

[antonmn]

Just turned 172,000 on my n54. Hasn't been cleaned yet.

[lordbmw]

How much will it cost to get cleaned?
And how will I know that it's time to be cleaned?

[ferocity02]

Originally Posted by antonmn

Just turned 172,000 on my n54. Hasn't been cleaned yet.

Yeah you should probably get them cleaned, it will feel like a completely different car.

[Gohan335i7]

Omg 172k miles without a Carbon Blast!? Dude, save that car from more misery!! The car will literally feel brand new...

[Seattlesquash]

Originally Posted by Gohan335i7

Omg 172k miles without a Carbon Blast!? Dude, save that car from more misery!! The car will literally feel brand new...

Plus the 335 is pretty cheap to clean, seen as low as 3-$400 for the job with independent shop. If you are handy yourself I understand that it's also a pretty straight forward DIY job.

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by lordbmw

How much will it cost to get cleaned?
And how will I know that it's time to be cleaned?

Some guy locally said he is holding a $250 special including the gaskets while others are charging at least $350-$450. A Indy shop near me IIRC will do it for $500 and even my local $tealer had a $450 price last year.

[lordbmw]

Can the condition of the valves be checked easily?

I don't really know the state of my valves and I'm not experiencing any issues at this time.

I bought this car used 2 months ago and I have no clue if the valves were cleaned
.
Wouldn't want to waste money on getting it cleaned when it was previously done.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by lordbmw

Can the condition of the valves be checked easily?

I don't really know the state of my valves and I'm not experiencing any issues at this time.

I bought this car used 2 months ago and I have no clue if the valves were cleaned
.
Wouldn't want to waste money on getting it cleaned when it was previously done.

It'll take an hour or two for the average DIYer but it isn't too bad. You'd remove the intake manifold and shine a light into the holes to inspect the valves, but by that point you've already done half the job.

It's generally worth it to get a walnut blast. After you do it, grab a BMS oil catch can to prevent further buildup in the future.

[Krynos]

I bought my 335 with 36,000 miles on it. at 40,000 miles it needed a walnut blasting.

One previous careful lady owner just used it to commute to work 10 miles each way through terrible Orange County traffic. BMW tech thinks this contributed to the need for a cleaning earlier than expected.

[STR8-6IX]

I read somewhere that a full italian tune up every 1000 miles or so should help keep carbon deposits at bay.

[GottWhat]

Originally Posted by antonmn

Just turned 172,000 on my n54. Hasn't been cleaned yet.

Please post photos here when you do get it done

[ucdbiendog]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

I read somewhere that a full italian tune up every 1000 miles or so should help keep carbon deposits at bay.

doesnt work for direct injection, no fuel spray to clean the valves.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by Seattlesquash

Plus the 335 is pretty cheap to clean, seen as low as 3-$400 for the job with independent shop. If you are handy yourself I understand that it's also a pretty straight forward DIY job.

You can buy the equipment for just about $200.00 and do it once a year or every other year. It's supposed to be done every 30-35k.

[gotturbo]

I bought the bavauto setup and did it myself.. did ofhg at the same time. I gotta say, the tear down and put back together was a breeze compared to the actual blasting. No where near as easy as people have made it sound and it just took forever and was a mess. I'm a life long machinist (30 yrs. experience) and have done any job I ever had to do on my cars myself and it kicked my ass here in the Florida heat! Lol. Plug up after plug up in the lines of the blaster. In and out of each port multiple times and not 15 seconds of blasting and on to the next by any means, like I've heard people say. I could go on and on but let's just say it sucked. I saved a lot of money, but it sucked. I love these cars though and was really happy to get to know it better. I've always been about performance, but this car I am just focusing on keeping it on the road in a perfectly maintained state! It's fast enough and maintenance is expensive enough even doing it yourself.

[lordbmw]

There is no way I'm doing this myself. I'll just pay someone when I notice my engine getting weird.

[Jarrod]

Originally Posted by gotturbo

I'm a life long machinist (30 yrs. experience) and have done any job I ever had to do on my cars myself and it kicked my ass here in the Florida heat! Lol. Plug up after plug up in the lines of the blaster. In and out of each port multiple times and not 15 seconds of blasting and on to the next by any means, like I've heard people say.

I have not done it myself (yet - just got the adapter and wand) but the experience you have will be 100% dependent on your blasting equipment. A marginal compressor and/or marginal media delivery system will be frustrating. Those inexpensive pressurized blasting tanks like Bavauto sells in their kit, get a lot of negative reviews for clogging up. And walnut shells are already prone to clogging as it is.

I'm expecting frustration, because I have a cheap siphon feed media setup with an inexpensive 10Gal compressor, both from HF. If it works at all after adapting the BMW wand to the HF blaster, I will be amazed ;-)

[John 070]

Originally Posted by F30lolz

Some guy locally said he is holding a $250 special including the gaskets while others are charging at least $350-$450. A Indy shop near me IIRC will do it for $500 and even my local $tealer had a $450 price last year.

I wonder if a $250 "special" is like half priced sushi.....at some point a person's time (a tech) has to be worth so much, and if its below some threshold, I'd prefer they not work on my car.....

[GottWhat]

Originally Posted by John 070

I wonder if a $250 "special" is like half priced sushi.....at some point a person's time (a tech) has to be worth so much, and if its below some threshold, I'd prefer they not work on my car.....

It's valve cleaning, not exactly rocket science. But I know what you mean.

[E9TOU]

$250-300 is pretty much the going rate in here in SoCal. The price depends on your location and the amount of shops competing for business. I got mine done recently and the engine feels so much more smooth.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by GottWhat

It's valve cleaning, not exactly rocket science. But I know what you mean.

I'm thinking I don't want them rushing breaking plastic stuff and not putting it back right. I almost went to this indie who was advertising $99, and then the fine print said "pistachio blast"