05-14-2020, 10:30 AM | #1 |
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Wanlut blasting my valves (pics)
OK, so I am the original owner of my car and it has 52,000 miles on it. My water pump took a "break" so I decided to tackle it myself.
It started with the notion of replacing a water pump/thermostat. Grew to, better do the OFHG, belts, hoses, charge pipe. That grew to, well if I am talking off the intake manifold, might as well look at the valves which at 52,000 miles told me, "Clean me". So, another order to FCP and a few hundred dollars later, I am using my nuts wisely and am blasting the valves. So cool! It tooks hours to get to this point but once there and setup, what you see here is literally less than 20 seconds total of blasting. So amazing and so satisfying. Plan to put in an oil catch can to slow the process in the future. |
05-14-2020, 03:13 PM | #2 |
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Kinda jealous right now!
I walnut blasted my valves closer to 95,000 miles, and, well, let's just say it took a bit longer than 20 seconds to clean them, and they still didn't come out that good! Process was fine, and worked as expected, just took a lot longer to clean out the much thicker carbon deposits!
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1and1
135i - E82.N54 2009 BSM - MHD / xHP / DCI, PR CP & 7.5" Race IC / N55 mid & Borla . . WL RSFI, Koni, Eibach & Dinan CP's, M3 CA's / EBC Red's & Firehawk 500's X1 - E84.N20 2013 MGM - JB4 - The Wife's, now with new turbo & ewg |
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05-14-2020, 09:12 PM | #3 |
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If it makes you feel any better, each of the next ones have taken a LOT more time. I worked all afternoon through 5 cylinders (1 more to go). Lots of little snafu's to be honest. First is, if you don't have a huge compressor, you can only work in about 5 second blasts which makes it hard to aim at the places you need to get to. Kind of like hitting that last pin in bowling after you knocked down 9 of them.
Second is I kept running out of media in the blaster. I actually ran through the whole bucket of walnuts, ran to the store to buy more but they were out. So, I sifted out the big pieces and reused the media and it actually seems to work OK. Wouldn't do that routinely but in a pinch, it did still work. Third, I still needed to use a pick set to occasionally scrape some crud I just couldn't reach with the blasting. The stuff that comes out is more like tar rather than char and I didn't want to leave any walnut bits stuck in it. When each cylinder was done though, they looked pretty clean so hopefully will be worth it in the end. Very tired right now and I have a lot more work to do after that's all done on the other parts but baby steps, right? Last edited by johnr265; 05-14-2020 at 09:18 PM.. |
05-15-2020, 06:23 AM | #4 |
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Heck right!
And walnut blasting your own intake valves is a great merit badge to earn! Wear it proudly! Give a stern looking over to the OFHG's while your there, make sure everything is nice & dry...
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135i - E82.N54 2009 BSM - MHD / xHP / DCI, PR CP & 7.5" Race IC / N55 mid & Borla . . WL RSFI, Koni, Eibach & Dinan CP's, M3 CA's / EBC Red's & Firehawk 500's X1 - E84.N20 2013 MGM - JB4 - The Wife's, now with new turbo & ewg |
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05-15-2020, 08:08 AM | #5 |
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Yup, new OFHG on the way. In fact, gaining access to that last bolt was why I decided to do the valves in the first place. If you are already there, you might as well!
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05-18-2020, 05:22 PM | #8 |
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Make sure to properly bleed the coolant and build oil pressure after doing the OFHG (disconnect the injectors and crank for three 10s bursts with a 20-30s starter cool down break in between)!
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05-18-2020, 07:09 PM | #9 |
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Nice job johnr265! I had pretty much the same experience. A good air compressor is very nice to have, plan on more media than you think you'll need, and you'll still need to get in there and do some scrubbing to get everything perfect (intake cleaner and a small piece of Scotch-Brite pad worked great for me). Getting everything apart and back together was the hardest part. The blasting itself was pretty gratifying.
I just ran across a forum PM I sent when I was in the middle of the job: I'm doing it today. I'm in process and currently deciding whether to put everything back together and let a pro do it or just finish and *never* let myself do it again. I'll update in a separate post when everything is done.And that's pretty much exactly what happened. It did feel great to finish and to know it was done right and no corners were cut. |
05-20-2020, 09:58 AM | #10 |
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Drives: e82 1M, f87 M2cs
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I bow to your DIY prowess.
I enjoy a day in my shop as much as anyone, but IO have my limits. Over the past 2 years, I have replaced the brakes and shocks on everything I own including my tow rig (which also got a diesel lift pump installed), the e30, the 1M and the RX-8. The e30 also got all new vacuum lines and new rear wheel bearings/hubs. Did the 1M thermostat and water pump preventatively this year. So far, no oil leaks. Having said that . . . I would not do the walnut blast. LOL I had the valves inspected by scope at 40k miles right after I tuned to stage2+, and they looked remarkably good. They were chemically cleaned with a BG product. I have a catch can, which should help after the tune, and I am nearing 60k miles, hence the water pump replacement. I still plan to take the 1M to my favorite N54 indy shop this fall to have all the belts and pulleys inspected, possibly install oil cooler if I need it despite now running lower coolant target at the track, and will have them reinspect the valves.
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1M track toy mods: BMS chargepipe, BMS OCC, ADE FMIC, ADE motor mounts, MadDad/Lightweight Ti exhaust, ADE custom oil thermostat/cooler, custom MHD tune, F10 550i clutch, Ohlins R+T, Vorschlag camber plates, M3 'vert FSB with Turner endlinks, Stoptech Trophy BBK.
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05-20-2020, 10:55 PM | #11 |
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So it's all done and the car feels great. Really does feel hyper-responsive now and runs better than ever! I must say, that first start was pretty nerve racking. So many thing that could have gone wrong (snapped belt, leaking water pump, seized engine, etc..). So happy with the outcome and TOTALLY sympathize with the whole, "..not sure if I would do this again" while you're in it but then, when you're done, all water under the bridge and you're ready for the next project.
Actually, the one thing I hated the most was removing the radiator fan. What a poor design. Waiting for my catch can to come in the mail so I can slow the valve gunking for next time. |
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05-26-2020, 03:28 PM | #12 | |
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