2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: The 'Carbon' Problem...

I'm 3.5 years into my warranty. Performance seems to be off a bit, I'm hoping to get some sort of test done to see if I need this done while its under warrenty. What kind of test would be most indicative of carbon buildup, besides the butt dyno

 

In the video, the hose attachment with the aluminum piece that's shaped like a banana is just the pickup that removes the walnut shells that knock the carbon buildup off the intake valves. The small curved tool passes through the pickup and delivers the shells to the valves (aka sandblasting, but much gentler). He's working the tool around in an attempt to get all the angle he can to knock the carbon off all the sides and back of the valve stem.

You can still have good compression even with carbon buildup on the valves. The carbon buildup impedes flow acting like a restrictor to the air entering the cylinder.

No, I haven't had this done yet as my current mileage is only 12k.

 

Generally a sense that there is a reduction in performance. In really bad cases a cel may get thrown. It kind of depends how cooperative your dealer is. Just rushing in complaining about lack of power may not convince them. It needs to be obvious. They do need to pull the intake track and use a borescope to inspect the valve stems for the carbon buildup. They will always find some carbon buildup. But the excessive buildup is what restricts the flow.

 

I'm thinking if that carbon gets bad enough it could cause the valves to not seat correctly leading to burned valves. Although with these cars having the diagnostics they do I'm sure all kinds of bells & whistles would be sounding. In the old days we drove them till they dropped. Cars have gotten so much better over the years.

 

Yep, it's all a matter of degree. It's a progressive change. Goes from good to bad. Those with a R56S are all somewhere on this timeline. That is, until the timeline is reset with some kind of maintenance. BMW / MINI did make an upgrade to the valve cover that has a different PCV maze to improve oil vapor containment at the 11-2008 through 3-2010 S model N14 engine (11127572854 OLD P/N.....11127585907 NEW P/N), until the introduction of the N18 engine. The N18 engine further changes the PCV routing with only one PCV hose leading to the turbo cold side. The fJCW soldiers on with the dual hose valve cover.....

 

After 7300 miles on the N18 engine I pulled the intercooler to put a larger one on. No residue of oil in it or the hot and cold side tubes going to it, clean as a whistle!

 

I'm very happy you guys & MINI are figuring this stuff out. By the time I get an R56 this should all be well documented & no big deal.

 

^ wow!!! :eek6:

 

:cornut: Seafoam! Seafoam! Seafoam! every 3kmi and NOT just in the gas tank which by passes the intake valves. Also an O.C.C. keeps all of that carp off of the intake valves in the first place.

Jason

 

Maybe I should buy a Walnut blaster from BMW if I were to keep my car. :idea:

 

Chuck, I'm not getting any CELs', maybe the only thing I'm getting is a case of paranoia. I have to stop reading these threads. Nevertheless, thanks for putting my mind at ease, for now :cornut:

 

:cornut: (just me) I did this while in warranty and Mini of Dallas never even blinked. They called over the other techs and said,"Hey! Look at this. Pretty cool huh?" My OCC is the BSH with BSH boost tap that I got on sale from our very own Defenders Of Speed(GOOD PEOPLE) right here on MA. People have done work on dual OCCs. Check the threads on OCCs here on MA. The main problem with dual OCC is that they require space that's unavailable under our bonnets. BSH OCC with Boost Tap catches every thing and still lets the PCV system work properly(on Margi 08 R56 MCS/JCWm there are 2 avenues of PCV. 1 direct from the crank case to the head and 2 from the crank case through the head to the turbo intake). Margi's BSH system has been on now >20kmi and at 48kmi she blew a head gasket which allowed me to see the intake valves, clean as a whistle. Every ~200mi, I empty her OCC of 2-3oz Blow By Dinosaur Snow that won't get to her intake valves.

Jason

 

what happened to the head gasket?

 

Here is a good thread from the BMW forum on the walnut cleaning process. Be aware, there are two "suction" tools. If you intend to go this route, get the MINI specific tool.
[ame=http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=682116]REVIEW: Cleaning of intake valves with BMW walnut shell blasting tool - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum - E90Post.com[/ame]

Similar process, just a different engine.....

 

:cornut: The smart a$$ answer would be,"they put a new one in and trashed the old one.":lol: This however is MA and we don't tolerate that so:cornut:............. They couldn't identify the cause. They checked the head for warping,negative. Coincidental or not, they found that the 2 temp thermostat was out and replaced it. 1 kmi later(just over the 50kmi warranty) the water pump went out, replaced it. Now 15kmi later, all okay.

Jason

 

Thanks y'all..

Thumper

 

:cornut:I guess that(as usual) my fingers can't type what my mind is trying to say. I use Seafoam and have the BSH OCC with BSH tap. Some thousands of miles after installing/beginning 3kmi use THEN, she had her head gasket changed and at that time was when I saw CLEAN intake valves/stems. If I had had a camera phone at that time then, I could have shown photos but, I didn't and I can't. There, clear as mud? SEAFOAM and OCC(Not Seafoam OR OCC) are PREVENTATIVE and not THERAPEUTIC!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason

 

Sorry for the delay, the dealer only said the valves were very black. The dealer also did a software update that he said would help reduce (not eliminate) the carbon buildup. Last week a local mechanic suggested (as several here have) that I start using a "Seafoam" equivalent every 3000 miles.

Edit: I would also like to add that my oil consumption is way down from what it was. I don't know why and neither did the local mechanic. I wish I thought of asking to see the valve condition.