Valve Cleaning DIY

[Zach L]

No reason to pull the spark plugs.

Just use a 19mm 12pt socket to turn the crank pulley clockwise. While turning just have someone looking into the intake ports to see when the valves close (or turn it a bit then get up and check). I've always been able to do three cylinders then have to rotate the crank to close the valves on the final cylinder.

 

[Zach L]

Lol, Ill be attempting this soon, No kids to worry about.

You know your dump schedule that well to plan your valve cleaning around it? :biggrin:

 

[JP2008]

No reason to pull the spark plugs.

Just use a 19mm 12pt socket to turn the crank pulley clockwise. While turning just have someone looking into the intake ports to see when the valves close (or turn it a bit then get up and check). I've always been able to do three cylinders then have to rotate the crank to close the valves on the final cylinder.

Thanks for clarifying. I went down there with a 19mm socket and was wondering which pulley it could be because my bit was to small. Is that something I can get at any auto parts store? Gees, going on 5 days now and havent been able to clean the valves. My available time sucks.

I didn't get the reference... Now I do haha.

 

[Zach L]

The crank pulley is the big one connected to the crankshaft, passenger side down low with six crank pulley bolts. Remove the passenger fender liner to have easy access. Without turning it you should be able to clean at least 2 cylinders, most likely 3 cylinders. 12-point sockets are not uncommon.

If you buy any mechanics tool set with more than 200 pieces you'll definitely be getting 6-point and 12-point sockets. I started off almost 10 years ago with a basic 250ish piece set that included a carrying box and have rarely bought anything other than specialty tools as I've needed them. Including several engine swaps, rebuilding internals, and pretty much everything other than rebuilding a transmission.

I know many car enthusiasts that started off with similar sets. If you're not working on cars for a living, it is more than enough. They go on sale about twice per year for $200, and that time is NOW. Here's the current version of what I bought: http://www.craftsman.com:80/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00931783000P?vName=Hand+Tools&cName=Tools+Sets&sName=Mechanics+Tool+Sets&prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=L5

 

[JP2008]

The crank pulley is the big one connected to the crankshaft, passenger side down low with six crank pulley bolts. Remove the passenger fender liner to have easy access. Without turning it you should be able to clean at least 2 cylinders, most likely 3 cylinders. 12-point sockets are not uncommon.

If you buy any mechanics tool set with more than 200 pieces you'll definitely be getting 6-point and 12-point sockets. I started off almost 10 years ago with a basic 250ish piece set that included a carrying box and have rarely bought anything other than specialty tools as I've needed them. Including several engine swaps, rebuilding internals, and pretty much everything other than rebuilding a transmission.

I know many car enthusiasts that started off with similar sets. If you're not working on cars for a living, it is more than enough. They go on sale about twice per year for $200, and that time is NOW. Here's the current version of what I bought: http://www.craftsman.com:80/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00931783000P?vName=Hand+Tools&cName=Tools+Sets&sName=Mechanics+Tool+Sets&prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=L5

Thanks Zach, thats a nice set. I do have quiet a bit of tools, just not familiar with proper terminology. Kinda funny as I've installed all modes on my car minus the ECU upgrade to stage 1 and 2. This is definitely my last project for a LONG time haha.

This maintenance is important but man so crazy. I wish while I was in there, I could replace all the injectors for safety but I just dont have the money right now. Hopefully this gets rid of the misfires. Anyways, was able to easily obtain the 12pt socket. Thanks everyone for your constant help. I look forward to posting my success here shortly.

 

[jeffs471]

hey guys want to start by thanking everyone for this awesome info. Almost all my questions have been answered so far. I'm stuck at the point pictured below however. In the Stasis pdf it says to "Cut and remove hose clamp for vacuum fitting on driver’s side of the intake manifold. Slide hose off of intake manifold"

Anyone have some tips for doing this and does this clamp really only come off by being cut? How will I reattach the hose and how did you guys cut this off without damaging the hose?

Thanks for the help.

 

[The Fed]

Perhaps being REAL careful with a Dremel?

 

[Pantera]

The reason I asked is, the dealer more or less said they would like to clean my valves. I'm going to take it in tomorrow to try to diagnose misfires. Could really be almost anything. It was a couple of months ago that they replaced the valve cover gasket, maybe something came loose. If not, it could be clogged injectors, since I started out a month ago with misfires just on cylinder 1, now I have them on 3 and 4. Or carbon (I have 36K miles), coils, plugs, who knows. They are not doing anything if it's not covered under warranty.

So what did the dealer quote you on the cleaning?

 

[NJdubber]

Tipping my hat off to the OP, this is a good write up for the community...

 

[TypeR_126]

hey guys want to start by thanking everyone for this awesome info. Almost all my questions have been answered so far. I'm stuck at the point pictured below however. In the Stasis pdf it says to "Cut and remove hose clamp for vacuum fitting on driver’s side of the intake manifold. Slide hose off of intake manifold"

Anyone have some tips for doing this and does this clamp really only come off by being cut? How will I reattach the hose and how did you guys cut this off without damaging the hose?

Thanks for the help.

It's a single use clamp, so yes it has to be cut-off. Just replace it with a standard hose clamp when re-assembling.

The clamp is made from very weak metal, so a decent pair of side cutters will snip it off without damaging the hose. If you want some extra clearance you can just pry a flat tipped screwdriver under it to distort it a bit and give your cutters more clearance.

 

[jeffs471]

hey guys finally got back to this today. Was able to get the intake off, wow a lot of gas drained out. All 4 injectors staying in the block so that was good. Which way do I turn the crank nut and should the car be in a certain gear? How hard is it to turn?

here's what i am looking at are they all closed?

i scraped a little in cyclinder 4 its like sticky mud. No cleaner used yet.

 

[jeffs471]

I decided to turn clockwise in order to not loosen the nut. Seemed to work fine in case any future DIYer's are wondering the same thing I was.

So I got the valves all cleaned up and having previously bought all new PCV equipment started by putting the new hose on that goes underneath the manifold to the top of the engine. When I got the hose off I instantly thought I had ordered the wrong hose because my original was so heavy in comparison then a bunch of "juice" flowed out everywhere and I started to investigate. Anyone have any idea what this stuff is?

the consistency reminded me of cream you would find in a donut.
Should I be worried about this?

 

[NJdubber]

Moisture build-up with oil, Very common

 

[rarredoa]

Forgive me if this sounds like a dumb question, but will performing this repair improve my car's performance, dramatically? I have 92K miles on it, and it has NEVER been done to this car before.

Thank You

 

[Rajini98]

Forgive me if this sounds like a dumb question, but will performing this repair improve my car's performance, dramatically? I have 92K miles on it, and it has NEVER been done to this car before.

Thank You

If your car is having misfires, knocks, or the ocassional buildup breaking loose and blasting a big cloud of smoke from the exhaust, yes this will help. Performance-wise though, the gains are minimal only if your valves are incredibly cruddy. It'll function the same as when the car was new.