Walnut Blasting for n55

[135i_Vert]

Does anyone know of a decently priced place in Austin, TX (or anywhere near by) for Walnut Blasting?

I just recently bought the Dinan s2 tune since it was on sale and the shop that installed it, said that I should have my intake values cleaned and spark plugs replaced, eventually. (My gut tells me that's them just wanting more money)
The same shop is going to charge almost 700 dollars just in labor for walnut blast and spark plugs

So if anyone could steer me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated because I'm not trying to drop a grand on something that cost less than half that.

Thanks guys

[2PUTT]

how many miles does your car have? how were they able to tell from just flashing your car. definitely trying to upsell you for more service. can you say "inception"...

[135i_Vert]

Originally Posted by 2PUTT

how many miles does your car have? how were they able to tell from just flashing your car. definitely trying to upsell you for more service. can you say "inception"...

Just hit 80k ... And they don't know. The only reasoning behind them telling me I need it done, was that they said "it feels like your car isn't breathing correctly"
However I am at 80k and I've only had the car for 4 months so I don't know if it needs to be done or not. But if I could find somewhere cheap I would consider getting it done for peace of mind.

[zx10guy]

If anyone knows definitively, I think all of us N55 owners would like to know whether walnut blasting is necessary or not. So far there hasn't been a definitive answer. Everyone seems to agree the N55 had changes made to make it less prone to the carbon build up that is a known issue with the N54. But some say yes and some say no to the need for walnut blasting with the N55.

[Ric in RVA]

BMW shop said my valves were fine at 60k when they had the intake off.

[135i_Vert]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

If anyone knows definitively, I think all of us N55 owners would like to know whether walnut blasting is necessary or not. So far there hasn't been a definitive answer. Everyone seems to agree the N55 had changes made to make it less prone to the carbon build up that is a known issue with the N54. But some say yes and some say no to the need for walnut blasting with the N55.

Awesome thanks for the feedback

[Sam_M]

Owning a 74k N55 135i, selfishly I'd like to see the state of your inlet ports/valves

If it were me I'd let em do the blast and change the plugs myself whilst they do it, opposite sides of the engine eh?

[c1pher]

Will using Techron or equivalent help reduce the need for walnut blasting or at least decrease how often it is needed?

[bNks334]

Originally Posted by MGM135is

Will using Techron or equivalent help reduce the need for walnut blasting or at least decrease how often it is needed?

not one bit. Direct injection means the cleaner will never get sprayed on the valves...

[Served]

I did some searching on this topic awhile back and the consensus was that n55s don't suffer nearly as bad from carbon build up, and could probably go 100k or more without cleaning. Couldn't even find any pictures of n55 intake valves that were super dirty.

700 in labor sounds pretty steep for those services. They are trying to upsell you. IIRC the book time on spark plugs is 1.7 hours. Not sure about walnut blasting.

n55s are due for plugs at around 60k, so I'd get those done if they haven't already been and skip the walnut blast unless your car has verifiable symptoms.

[Dylanize]

My local performance shop recommended walnut blast at 100k.

Based off how my intake valves looked at 70k I'd agree.

[gtjosh]

Originally Posted by 135i_Vert

Does anyone know of a decently priced place in Austin, TX (or anywhere near by) for Walnut Blasting?

I just recently bought the Dinan s2 tune since it was on sale and the shop that installed it, said that I should have my intake values cleaned and spark plugs replaced, eventually. (My gut tells me that's them just wanting more money)
The same shop is going to charge almost 700 dollars just in labor for walnut blast and spark plugs

So if anyone could steer me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated because I'm not trying to drop a grand on something that cost less than half that.

Thanks guys

There is a guy on the Austin craiagslist page that wlil come to you and walnut blast for $400. You could easily get the plugs from rockauto and do them yourself and save some money.

[jsublime]

This is well discussed on here. Try :

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1122875