Liqui Moly intake valve cleaner

[Fed P]

Hi all,

I was recently buying a bunch of Liqui Moly stuff (oil, cleaners of all types, etc) and I noticed a product called Einlassventilreiniger fur direktenspritzer. As far as I can tell from the German and the way it was translated to Russian, in English it would read "Intake Valve Cleaner for Direct Injection". Dackelone and perhaps others have mentioned another product they have called something like Drosselklappenreiniger which is a Throttle Valve Cleaner but has apparently been successfully used on our N54s to at least somewhat clean the intake valves. I have tried using it before but couldn't even get black smoke, which led me to believe that it wasn't working for me for whatever reason.

Now, I will of course agree that the best way to really clean your carbon buildup is by a proper mechanical method, i.e. walnut shell blasting or similar. However, given the price of the can I figured there is no harm in trying.

My issue is the following, the instructions are pretty wild:

Unscrew your spark plugs
Spray 25-50ml into each spark plug hole
Wait 6-12 hours
Crank engine without plugs using starter
Reinstall plugs and go

1) Does pouring that stuff in there seem safe and ok to everyone?
2) How does one crank the engine without plugs on an automatic? Can you just unplug the coils/plugs and press the start button or how does it work?
3) The can says the cranking gets rid of the solution and gunk. Doesn't that mean it ends up in the oil? Or is it meant to be thrown into the exhaust? Neither seem great.
4) As we know from carbon buildup cleaning DIYs some of the valves are open and some are closed at any given time. To me this seems that the solution would only help with the valves that are open and thus submerged in this liquid. What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

[Experimental]

I have to agree. Spraying it into the spark plug holes won't do much for your intake valves in my opinion. Not that I'm recommending it, but it would be more efficient to spray the stuff into your intake tract just before it hits the intake valves.

As far as cranking an automatic without the plugs in...you would be cranking it just like you are trying to start the engine any other time.

The chemical is meant to soften carbon deposits over that 6-12 hour period. Then when you crank the car, it blows that stuff out the exhaust...chemicals and deposits together.

[Freon]

I don't see how pouring anything down the spark plug hole will help clean the back of the intake valves, which is the real problem.

I would generally doubt the effectiveness any intake valve cleaning that doesn't involve removing the intake manifold.

I would worry how much of whatever you are pouring into your engine will seep down into your oil. I would change your oil immediately after this treatment.

[Fed P]

It's good to see that I'm not the only one who thought this was weird then.

Question - all the DIYs of carbon buildup cleaning I've seen so far have been on manuals so the instructions with regards to closing the "other" valves when you are done with the ones that were initially closed have been about rocking the car back and forth a bit etc. Supposedly there is a way to move the crankshaft as well. Do you guys have any idea how to do this and what methods would work on an auto car?

[Dackelone]

Humm... interesting post. I've never heard of this product. I'm gonna have to ask my German parts store about it!

Maybe it goes in the gas tank? Liqui Moly makes other intake valve and fuel injector cleaners that you just pour into the fuel tank. Like these...




But I have not used these above injector cleaners in my 135i.


I also have used a product from Motul that is designed to be used on D.I. engines, a fuel injector cleaner. With that product you just add a can to the fuel tank. Then drive the car. It does say to change the oil afterwards. I think with any of these products and oil change afterwards is advised. I used this Motul injector cleaner in my 135i, but did not notice any difference in performance before/afterwards.



Motul direct injection fuel cleaner?
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ighlight=motul




Btw... The Liqiu Moly Drosselklappenreiniger (Throttle Valve Cleaner) when I used that on my e39 v8, 535i, its produces a white smoke. Not black. Also lots of back fires and popping noises when you inject that stuff into the intake manifold. It did seem to make my old e39 run smoother afterwards. AND I changed teh oil afterwards too, just for my peace of mind.

[Fed P]

Ah, interesting about the white smoke. I did have white smoke, but it was hard to tell if it was just normal vapor as usual or not. No backfires or popping noises though.

The product looks like this here. Strangely, I could only find it by choosing Russia on the Liqui Moly site, couldn't find it on Germany, UK, and a few others I tried in English.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Fed P

Ah, interesting about the white smoke. I did have white smoke, but it was hard to tell if it was just normal vapor as usual or not. No backfires or popping noises though.

The product looks like this here. Strangely, I could only find it by choosing Russia on the Liqui Moly site, couldn't find it on Germany, UK, and a few others I tried in English.

Germany is full of tree huggers! The US too. I don't think you have that problem in Russia.


Btw... you know here in Germany, the Polizei can give you a "fix it ticket" when your car smokes! That is a no, NO! Most Germans buy a new car every three years or so.

[Fed P]

No, we still have far more trees than tree huggers, so not a problem yet

I've seen the road police here stop trucks/really old busted cars that had black smoke out of the exhaust, so it is possible to get their attention as well =) But it must be really bad! And of course you won't get a ticket, you'll have to give them some money as always... On the plus side, there is no such thing as an emissions test.

As for Germany, judging by my colleagues from the German office, it is quite affordable to lease BMWs and Porsches, cause it seems every single employee has one New car every three years is very easy to do if you're leasing!

[MilehighM3]

You can crank the engine in 3 easy ways that come to mind.
1- the start/stop button. Just make sure to stop it after a short cranking burst.
2- 22mm socket on the crank directly.
3- with the intake removed, use a starter button between the B+ connection and the start signal terminal of the starter. This is my preferred method. You can see the valves while you crank, and it requires no extra disassembly of the fan and other components on the front of the engine to access the crank pulley.

[Fed P]

My primary concern with using the start/stop button was exactly stopping - i.e. considering the engine did not start, would pressing the button again stop the starter or not? It seems you think it would, and that is my hope also. Exactly how long should I let it crank was the second question... I'm guessing like 2-3 seconds is enough? Or no?

I must say I didn't realize that accessing the crank required disassembly, but in all honesty I haven't read about it all that thoroughly. Have you seen any DIYs for either method 2 or 3?

[MilehighM3]

You should only bump the starter. Almost as quick as you can stop it, do so. The button will stop the starter. You really only need about 120 degrees of rotation to get to the next set of valves.
To get to the crank pulley, you'll need to pull out the aux fan.
I don't have any DIYs, but I've done it several ways. Do what ever you're comfortable with. If you're hesitant to do it, don't. It's not worth the financial risk involved if something goes wrong!

[deploytosave]

Originally Posted by Bmw135er

You should only bump the starter. Almost as quick as you can stop it, do so. The button will stop the starter. You really only need about 120 degrees of rotation to get to the next set of valves.
To get to the crank pulley, you'll need to pull out the aux fan.
I don't have any DIYs, but I've done it several ways. Do what ever you're comfortable with. If you're hesitant to do it, don't. It's not worth the financial risk involved if something goes wrong!

What's wrong with cranking the motor without spark plugs? Lolllll

There won't be any compression, it'll still be oiled, and there obviously won't be combustion...

[MilehighM3]

You don't have to pull the plugs to clean the intake valves

[Fed P]

Well, every time I've done something I've been hesitant because I'm pretty paranoid and extra-careful, but most times it's turned out much better than at the dealer, which always breaks something. =)

My understanding about bumping the starter is regarding getting the "other" valves to close for the cleaning (i.e. the backside of the intake valves). If however I was doing the Liqui Moly route and it says to flush this stuff out, that would require a longer cranking right?

I'm still making a plan regarding what to do, but I think after cleaning the back side of the intake valves i.e. where the walnut blasting is done, I will also do the Liqui Moly thing inside via the spark plug holes, for the reason that looking in there things are really covered in black gunk, including injectors, spark plugs, and most likely exhaust valves too for that matter.

[Dackelone]

Hey Fred P, I was at my German auto parts store today. I looked for this LM stuff... but its not listed on their LM book/chart. So looks like your correct in that this product is only offered in Russia at the moment.

[Fed P]

At some point I will let you know if that is because it destroys your car, the environment and/or something else =)

[N54sDUSTxi]

Originally Posted by Freon

I don't see how pouring anything down the spark plug hole will help clean the back of the intake valves, which is the real problem.

I would generally doubt the effectiveness any intake valve cleaning that doesn't involve removing the intake manifold.

I would worry how much of whatever you are pouring into your engine will seep down into your oil. I would change your oil immediately after this treatment.

Agreed..