Walnut Shell blast needed?

babek1 · 01-12-2015, 03:59 PM

Hi all,

I try my best to keep my 2006 330i E90 (N52B30 engine) in great shape via regular and preventative maintenance. These forums have been a great help to me in this regard.

I recently noticed a lot of posts discussing cleaning your intake valves with the BMW walnut shell blast. It seems like this cleaning technique is very useful for engines that have direct injection. I thought my N52 is direct injection... but most of the walnut related posts I've found only talk about the N54 engine.

My question is therefore simple. Would my vehicle benefit from a walnut shell blast cleaning? The alternative (probably cheaper too) would be to get my local indy shop to perform the BG Fuel/Air induction service.

My vehicle currently has 140,000km (~87,000 miles) and I use the car everyday, with some days being mainly highway and some days only city driving, and many days a combination of both. I have used various in-tank products over the years, including BG 44k, techron, and BMW fuel system cleaner (I believe it's techron also).

Thank you in advance,

gtaccord · 01-12-2015, 05:22 PM

The N52 is not direct injection. I think that getting a walnut blasting would probably be a waste of money for you.

babek1 · 01-12-2015, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtaccord

The N52 is not direct injection. I think that getting a walnut blasting would probably be a waste of money for you.

Thank you very much, much appreciated

For my own peace of mind, would someone else kindly confirm what gtaccord suggested?

Thanks in advance!

robthewrench · 01-13-2015, 07:28 AM

Agreed. Direct injection engines do not have fuel washing the intake port and intake valves. An non-direct injection engine does get fuel washing these areas.

Cars that are not direct injection should not need any sort of intake port / intake valve cleaning unless something else has gone terribly wrong.

Squark · 01-13-2015, 10:16 PM

Agreed. The N52 is not direct injected and shouldnt need any walnut blasting.

babek1 · 01-15-2015, 12:38 PM

Thanks guys.

Do you guys think that putting in a bottle of Techron or the BMW Fuel system cleaner (which I believe is also techron) every 10k miles would be sufficient to keep the intake valves clean?

I only use top tier 91 octane gas which is what the gas cap says to use.

Thx!

01-12-2015, 03:59 PM	#1
babek1 New Member 6 Rep 22 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 330i Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Vancouver, Canada iTrader: (0)	Walnut Shell blast needed? Hi all, I try my best to keep my 2006 330i E90 (N52B30 engine) in great shape via regular and preventative maintenance. These forums have been a great help to me in this regard. I recently noticed a lot of posts discussing cleaning your intake valves with the BMW walnut shell blast. It seems like this cleaning technique is very useful for engines that have direct injection. I thought my N52 is direct injection... but most of the walnut related posts I've found only talk about the N54 engine. My question is therefore simple. Would my vehicle benefit from a walnut shell blast cleaning? The alternative (probably cheaper too) would be to get my local indy shop to perform the BG Fuel/Air induction service. My vehicle currently has 140,000km (~87,000 miles) and I use the car everyday, with some days being mainly highway and some days only city driving, and many days a combination of both. I have used various in-tank products over the years, including BG 44k, techron, and BMW fuel system cleaner (I believe it's techron also). Thank you in advance,
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01-12-2015, 05:22 PM	#2
gtaccord Major 56 Rep 1,464 Posts Drives: 2009 BMW 335xi Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Maryland iTrader: (7) Garage List 2009 BMW 335i xdrive [0.00]	The N52 is not direct injection. I think that getting a walnut blasting would probably be a waste of money for you.
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01-13-2015, 07:28 AM	#4
robthewrench Captain 266 Rep 952 Posts Drives: 11 E90 335i Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Columbus OH iTrader: (0)	Agreed. Direct injection engines do not have fuel washing the intake port and intake valves. An non-direct injection engine does get fuel washing these areas. Cars that are not direct injection should not need any sort of intake port / intake valve cleaning unless something else has gone terribly wrong.
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01-13-2015, 10:16 PM	#5
Squark Private First Class 6 Rep 120 Posts Drives: 2007 328i Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: North Carolina iTrader: (0)	Agreed. The N52 is not direct injected and shouldnt need any walnut blasting.
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01-15-2015, 12:38 PM	#6
babek1 New Member 6 Rep 22 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 330i Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Vancouver, Canada iTrader: (0)	Thanks guys. Do you guys think that putting in a bottle of Techron or the BMW Fuel system cleaner (which I believe is also techron) every 10k miles would be sufficient to keep the intake valves clean? I only use top tier 91 octane gas which is what the gas cap says to use. Thx!
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