Cleaning the BMW N54 Intake Valve. It is advised you do this every 40,000-50,000 miles. Setting Up an OCC (Oil Catch Can) can assist avoid a few of the carbon build-up, however cleaning is still necessary every ~ 60,000 miles.
Tools Required:
* COMING SOON TOGETHER WITH PHOTOS!
Use:
– B12 Chemtool Cleaner (2-3 cans).
– Carb/Brake Cleaner (3-5 cans).
– Brass Brushes.
– Wet/Dry Vac.
– Some kind of tubing that will fit on the wet/dry vac and also into the consumption valves.
What to Change:.
– While you’re finishing this DIY it is useful to alter out your Intake Manifold Gaskets as well.
Steps to Intake Valve Cleansing:.
1) Disassemble the whole top end of the engine– begin with the Cabin Air Filters and eliminate the real estate too.
2) Remove Sway-Bar Mounts.
3) Your engine should now appear like this (e60 535i). KEEP IN MIND: Yours might look a little various if you have a 135/335i, but all n54’s are practically the same.
4) Eliminate engine cover. It is fastened down by 4 bolts– 2 on the front of the block and 2 on the rear.
5) Disassemble the Air Consumption. You MUST remove the whole airbox, however, the tubing itself is optional. I took off as much of the tubing as possible simply to have additional room to deal with– this could be very helpful for anybody with a 135/335i as there is less room in the engine bay to work with.
6) Remove this clip on the Intake Manifold.
7) Get Rid Of the Charge Pipe (CP).
8) Pop the clip up on the Throttle Body to Charge Pipeline connection. Mine hadn’t been touched in 6 years considering that the car was produced so it wouldn’t budge without removing the whole clip.
9) Utilize a Torx to unbolt the T40 as displayed in this photo:.
10) Loosen up the clamp at the back of the Charge Pipe near the connection to the intercooler. NOTE: This clamp might be hidden unless you eliminate the air intake piping.
11) Before removing the CP fully– ensure this is unclipped. It is the same kind of clip from step # 6. The clip is right near the CP to Throttle Body (TB) connection.
12) With the CP out the next action is to remove the Throttle Body. It is fastened on utilizing 4 bolts. After the bolts are off take care moving the Throttle Body till the 2 connections are unclamped from the TB.
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13) Move the wires just above the intake manifold. This isn’t necessary but they could get pinched when getting rid of the Consumption Manifold so I like to get whatever out of the way.
13-B) Remove the o2 sensor adapters as seen in this image. I want I understood how to get these out quickly, but you really simply need to keep client and tinker them till they finally come undone.
14) Remove the Junction Box– this is a black box (that holds wires) that is linked to the Consumption Manifold. There are a couple methods:.
A) Get rid of the 3 bolts. These bolts are upside down and very difficult to reach, but it can be done– it just takes some time and perseverance.
B) Get Rid Of the Clamps. My clamps were almost super-glued on so I didn’t have luck with this technique, however lots of others have.
15) The consumption manifold is secured down with 6 nuts and 1 bolt. Reverse all of these nuts and bolts.
16) Make certain nothing is restricting the intake manifold. It is ready to be pulled off now– make certain to remove it gently and thoroughly regarding not pinch or pull any wires. NOTE: The consumption piping at the back constricts elimination but you can simply push it down and back to get it out of the way. It is easiest if you get someone to assist you keep the consumption piping and any wires out of the way.
17) Prior to you begin cleaning you NEED to confirm which Intake Valves are opened or closed (either 3 or 2 valves will be closed). If you’re having trouble telling which are opened and closed shot spraying some carb cleaner therein to see if it pools up.
18) Now the cleaning starts! There are multiple techniques for cleaning the Intake Valves (including walnut blasting), however I chose the Wet/Dry Vac technique.
19) Spray the CLOSED intake valves with Chemtool cleaner and let it sit for 30-60 minutes (let it pool up in the valve).
20) Begin scrubbing with BRASS wires. Mindful what you utilize due to the fact that some metals will scratch the Intake Valves. Brass will not scratch or damage the valves at all.
21) Water Down the B12 Chemtool cleaner with water and then suck it out with the Wet-Dry Vacuum.
22) Spray the valves with the Carbohydrate Cleaner and utilize the wet-dry vac to suck it up as you do this. This method is precisely like what dental practitioners finish with the suction and water approach.
23) Repeat action 19-22 as lot of times as required to get the valves to your desired clean.
24) So how do you open the Consumption Valves you already cleaned and get the other 2 or 3 valves to close?
— With the manual transmission you can just pull the e-brake and rock the car back and forth till you hear the valves click and change positions.
— For an automatic transmission you need to lift the car up and remove the radiator fan to get to the starter.
25) Put everything back together.
26) Congrats !! You just completed an extremely complex do it yourself project on an engine that is already hard to work on!
