Top End cleaner to prevent carbon buildup on valve stems.

[GreenCatDude]

I use the CRC intake valve cleaner on my wife's DI 2015 Honda CRV every 20,000 miles. Many disagree but for $10-12 I'm comfortable using it. I spray it in the brake booster port on the intake.

Do you happen to have a picture of the break booster port and how to access it?

I’m due for another round and haven’t found a great place near the intake.
Thanks!

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[mcluvin]

I use the CRC intake valve cleaner on my wife's DI 2015 Honda CRV every 20,000 miles. Many disagree but for $10-12 I'm comfortable using it. I spray it in the brake booster port on the intake.

I've got 230K miles on my 2016 CR-V. I used that stuff once chasing a problem. You could hear the carbon rattling through the exhaust. I'd be concerned about clogging the catalytic converter.

How many starters have you had to replace on your 2015?

 

[sanpablo]

I've got 230K miles on my 2016 CR-V. I used that stuff once chasing a problem. You could hear the carbon rattling through the exhaust. I'd be concerned about clogging the catalytic converter.

How many starters have you had to replace on your 2015?

I used the CRC intake valve cleaner the first time at 25,000 miles on my wife's 2015 Honda CRV. Huge cloud of smoke but I didn't hear any big chunks of carbon rattling around. Second time at 40,000 miles no smoke at all.
Only 49,000 miles on the CRV, original starter. Are they problematic? I had to replace my son's 2008 Honda Civic starter around 120,000. What a PIA!

 

[sanpablo]

Do you happen to have a picture of the break booster port and how to access it?

I’m due for another round and haven’t found a great place near the intake.
Thanks!

Apologies to MTC for a little thread high jack
Here are pics of intake and hose I use. I drilled out a wood dowel for the spray can hose. Hose is long enough to reach driver's seat so I can keep RPM around 2500 while spraying the cleaner.

 

[mcluvin]

I used the CRC intake valve cleaner the first time at 25,000 miles on my wife's 2015 Honda CRV. Huge cloud of smoke but I didn't hear any big chunks of carbon rattling around. Second time at 40,000 miles no smoke at all.
Only 49,000 miles on the CRV, original starter. Are they problematic? I had to replace my son's 2008 Honda Civic starter around 120,000. What a PIA!

When I used the CRC cleaner I was ~150K miles. My problem was actually intake hose rot that was not readily visible. Keep an eye out for that. They moved the starter to the back of the engine where it gets cooked. My first went out ~130K miles. The second made it to 230K. I've heard of them failing much sooner. You go in through the right wheel well and have to hold it in place with one hand, arm fully extended, shoulder deep, while trying to thread a bolt with a couple fingers of that same hand. It's a bit**. I'm taking it to a local shop this, hopefully last, time.

Press the start button and get no crank followed by pressing it again and it starts right up, that's probably your starter and it will gradually get worse.

 

[Jalopy Technology]

I'm thinking of drilling and tapping four small holes into my intake manifold and inserting brass fittings with a threaded removeable plug. It would allow me to inject a carbon cleaner directly onto the intake valves in order to clean any carbon from them.

If you use a aerosol cleaner that injects into the intake make sure that amine is part of the formula ... that's the secret sauce that does the carbon removing...

 

[Cherokee]

I have an F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost and I use this every 5,000 miles. PEA is the magic ingredient. After reading and also watching a couple Lake Speed vids on how much difference it makes I decided it cant hurt and likely helps.

With the EcoBoost I also absolutely, definitely change the oil at 5,000 mile or less intervals.

Hahahaha I'm getting so friggen old, I love it !
We used Gumout back in the seventies.
Marvel Mystery Oil,
Slick 50,
STP,
Then came Chevron's Techron, All good valid products.

Then things changed.

I took a 2008 2.7 Ltr Tacoma to 528,000 trouble free miles with out ever adding a thing.
394,000 out of a 1996 Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0L straight six engine designed by AMC in 1967.
I think the last time I added anything to my fuel was back in 1989.

Just regular maintenance, all filters as needed and all fluids.
I keep my tanks above half in the summer and above 3/4 in the winter.
Additives are expensive, I just don't see the need anymore.

 

[Lone Ridr]

I haven't read this thread completely. The back of the intake valves are exposed to fuel and additives for a short time through valve overlap and the fact that the intake valve isn't closed until after the compression stroke starts. I'm not going to start talking about cam lift, duration, and valve overlap (KISS). IMO, this is the main reason to use Top Tier fuel all the time to reduce carbon buildup. Additives introduced through the air intake could be used if the fuel detergents were proved to be inadequate. If this has been said before, my apologies. Personally, I intend to avoid catch cans and especially walnut shells. I won't risk partially taking an engine apart to perform maintenance. These new engines are supposed to infinitely better than engines of yesteryear. In many ways they are. In some ways, not so much.

 

[Tbone289]

I've done the walnut shell blasting process, and it's harmless as long as you ensure the valve you're working on is closed. Even if you get some dust in the cylinder, it will burn off. Removing the intake manifold from a 2.0 Ford isn't difficult or anything to really worry about. It's much easier than a V6 Ecoboost.

 

[Lone Ridr]

I have much better things to do with my time than take an engine down to remove carbon. GDI engines are a step back for engine reliability and maintenance which is number one with me. As I say with Harley's; "I don't want anything that interferes with my riding time." But hey, as I always said when I was working the service drive; "Chaching!" My monthly bonus pay was based on a percentage of what I wrote up on the service orders. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

 

[tiktokbrainrot]

I have much better things to do with my time than take an engine down to remove carbon. GDI engines are a step back for engine reliability and maintenance which is number one with me. As I say with Harley's; "I don't want anything that interferes with my riding time." But hey, as I always said when I was working the service drive; "Chaching!" My monthly bonus pay was based on a percentage of what I wrote up on the service orders. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Diesel DI has been used for decades, burns far filthier then gasoline, and they regularly run hundreds of thousands of miles.

Most DI engines run just fine, the issues are overblown.

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