Carbon Build-up on Valves on 2.3 Ecoboost

[ORRadtech]

Carbon build up on 4 cyl form lugging them is a multi decade issue. Just need to rev them often ...at least that worked for me always

Believe me, I'm not "lugging" my engine, ever...
Ecoboost engines, no matter the brand or name they call them, use direct injection which means that zero fuel flows past the valves into the cylinder. No fuel flowing over the valves means they don't get cleaned which causes carbon build up.

 

[Hanavarian]

Believe me, I'm not "lugging" my engine, ever...
Ecoboost engines, no matter the brand or name they call them, use direct injection which means that zero fuel flows past the valves into the cylinder. No fuel flowing over the valves means they don't get cleaned which causes carbon build up.

An enduring wiv stale then haha. Does catch can help enough to warrant expense?

 

[ORRadtech]

I don't know if they work or not. Seems kinda late at 80k to throw one on now.. If mine ever exhibits symptoms I'll have it walnut blasted and probably try one then.

 

[llinthicum1]

The 1.5 Dragon Ecoboost 3 cylinder in the Escape and Bronco Sport has both port and direct injection. And, Ford added Port Injection (with Direct) to the 2.7 and 3.5 V6 engines. I know it will come down to cost, so not sure if Ford will add Port injection to the 2.3, but that sounds like the solution. Maybe for the S650.

 

[jdsfly]

If carbon buildup is a problem on the 2.3 Ecoboost, where are all the cars with problems? Ford says they've resolved the issue, and I've looked across multiple forums, and I could only find one engine with mild carbon buildup. There's a guy on this forum that pulls his intake manifold every 10,000 miles to check for carbon, and he hasn't seen any issues yet. I use Top Tier gas and API SP oil to help prevent carbon buildup and LSPI. If I have any symptoms of carbon buildup, I'll pull the intake manifold and clean the valves, but I don't think it will happen. If an oil catch can gives you peace of mind, go for it, but I don't think it's needed.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

Food for thought - you don’t want chunks of carbon breaking off and entering the combustion chamber and ultimately onto the turbo.

Blasting the valves has been the go-to solution. The most common thing you’ll see is walnut shell blasting.

Stating the obvious here, but the intake manifold is removed and the cylinder being blasted obviously needs to have the intake valve closed. The shell media is blasted into the port and it clears the carbon debris off the valve, then all the media is vacuumed out of the intake port. Rinse and repeat for the other cylinders.

 

[Coyote Chase]

All direct injection motors will be prob to valve issues, reason is we don’t have port injection spraying fuel on the valves keeping them clean. Catch can will slow down this process a lot but that’s your only defense, STP makes a injection cleaning system that you can get at AUTOZONE and if you check your valves before with a scope and then after you do the proces, the valves are almost perfectly clean. So I do this every 5-6k miles along with my catch can.

Sure. But it wouldn't be illegal to install a factory catch can, or to ditch the direct injection, or to use a combined direct/indirect injection, or to design valves and/or an inlet system that make carbon deposits less likely to form, or whatever - you name it.
I'm sure there are solutions. Sweeping the problem under the carpet isn't one of them.

I just installed an auxiliary fuel system that uses both direct and port injection. I also capped all inlets other than outdoor air into my intake system including the OEM manifold.
It will be interesting to see what condition my valves are in at the end of the summer.

 

[ORRadtech]

Food for thought - you don’t want chunks of carbon breaking off and entering the combustion chamber and ultimately onto the turbo.

Blasting the valves has been the go-to solution. The most common thing you’ll see is walnut shell blasting.

Stating the obvious here, but the intake manifold is removed and the cylinder being blasted obviously needs to have the intake valve closed. The shell media is blasted into the port and it clears the carbon debris off the valve, then all the media is vacuumed out of the intake port. Rinse and repeat for the other cylinders.

If I have to have someone else do it I will look for someone to walnut blasted the valves.
If I decide to try it myself then there are several YouTube videos showing how to do it with small scrapers, brushes, solvent and compressed air. It looks tedious and not as thorough but the cost difference is significant.