Intake valve debris

[BWT]

My CPO has expired and I finally decided its time to have some fun with the S. I recently picked up a JHM intake manifold and had to pull my stock one off to ship it out. I believe this was the first time the manifold was removed from the car so there was some build up/gunk around the base of it. When I lifted the manifold off, some of the debris fell into the lower manifold where the valves are. I'm wondering if I should be concerned with these little pieces of debris that are on the intake valves? Or is some buildup around the edge of the valve normal?






This is a picture of the engine after I cleaned it up a bit.



The debris seem to be a mixture of sand/dirt, oil and coolant (some of it may have been carbon buildup). There were some bigger chunks as well, but I was able to vacuum them out. Fortunately, only 1 cylinder is open and I don't think much of anything fell into that one. If it did, it didn't stop at the valves so there's not much I can do at this point.


Is there any way of cleaning the valves without disassembling the entire top half of the motor?

While the manifold is out, I also plan on replacing the valve cover gaskets. Is there any other maintenance items that would be logical to replace at this point?

Any knowledgeable advice is appreciated.

Background info: It's currently at 63k and up to date on all necessary maintenance. The only performance mod at this point a FI 2.5" catted fullback exhaust.

[Scotty@Advanced]

Blow a bit of compressed air in there that should blow everything out.

[BWT]

^I tried that with a can of air and they didn't budge. I don't have an air compressor...My shop vac also didn't have an effect on the stuff in the pictures.

[S4fun]

I was able to use a shop vac to get the sand and stuff out, but I didn't have carbon build up like that. I used the attachment with the smallest opening, then used duct tape to attach a straw to it. It was small enough to get the valves, and sealed so there was no loss of pressure.

[BWT]

I was able to use a shop vac to get the sand and stuff out, but I didn't have carbon build up like that. I used the attachment with the smallest opening, then used duct tape to attach a straw to it. It was small enough to get the valves, and sealed so there was no loss of pressure.

Great idea. I hadn't thought to try and attach a straw to the end of the shop vac. I'll give that a shot.

[S4fun]

Great idea. I hadn't thought to try and attach a straw to the end of the shop vac. I'll give that a shot.

lol, that's the result of getting a bunch of dirt in there, cussing about not knowing how to get it out, then going to Burger King for lunch to think it over.

[B6JoeS4]

That small amount of carbon near the top portion is normal. Clean that up if you can. Brake cleaner and a toothbrush should take care of it

[SquiddyB6S4]

Good rule of thumb: when you remove an intake manifold, use compressed air and blow out EVERYWHERE around the manifold. Under, around, over, etc. That will minimize the amount of crap falling into your engine when you break it free. Spraying some brake cleaner in there to loosen up the stuff stuck in the grease down there might also be worth your time.

You can rent a compressor from THD for a nominal fee if you don't have compressed air, but you know you really want to go out and buy a compressor if you don't have one At least get a tiny pancake compressor for stuff like this - they're cheap, and then you can use it for cleaning the fins on your A/C unit every year, etc (though a tiny one would just piss me off).

[BWT]

Thanks for all the pointers guys. I spent a good 2 hours cleaning all the valves/runners and they came out spotless. The straw attached to the shop vac worked wonders. In addition, a toothbrush and some carb cleaner really took care of the carbon. I had no reservations when I started the engine up because I knew that I got everything off the valves.

I got the JHM manifold put on last night as well and absolutely love it. It was exactly what I was hoping for paired with a 2.5" fullback. The car pulls hard in the upper rpm band now and has very smooth/consistent power delivery. I'm guessing the polished manifold/tb and clean valves have a lot to do with it as well.

Also, I had always read what a difference the spacers make but it was still a shock to feel it for myself. After a few hard pulls, the engine was very hot but the IM was just warm to the touch.

Next up, JHM tune!