Nasty looking. I've been thinking about doing this myself on my 2019. CRC makes a good intake valve cleaner.

 

I have the Subaru upper engine cleaner tool that I got from the US. It works really well but I have no experience with CRC. The only upside to seeing what my valves look like is it's possible to clean using the induction cleaning since it's not super caked in yet.

 

Wow! If it looks that bad at 30k, just imagine at 100K! I'm in shock how bad it looks for such low miles. I guess the built in PCV oil separator doesn't work to well? A lot of the newest designed DI engines now add a little bit of fuel through the intake runners for wash to try and prevent this.

Be sure to post your results if you use the cleaner tool. What a pain though as you'd have to take the intake back off again to see how much it cleaned things up.

 

I know at VW they don't get bad until you're into the 100k mark (60k miles) but I also took it apart to see if it was really bad because I have a rough idle and it's noticeable at idling at a stoplight but if I lift my foot off the brake pedal slightly it raises the rev and it goes away.

I couldn't really clean out the TGVs but I was able to clean out the intake plates and throttle body, it has improved a bit but it's still noticeable but not as bad as before.

I'll update the thread again when I'm at 100,000km to compare it with the once-a-year induction cleaning I plan on doing.

 

Hey guys, I've been looking all over the internet for photos of carbon build-up on the intake valves on our 18+ Crosstreks since we have direct fuel injection with the FB20D.

I was curious to see how much build-up I have on my intake valves so I decided to remove the intake manifold to inspect. I have just under 50,000km (30k miles), mostly city driven (70% city/30% highway), and I do my oil changes more frequently than the average owner at 5k intervals.

I've had a fuel induction completed at the dealership at 18,000km (11k miles) and 36,000km (18k miles). The first induction cleaning the dealership used two bottles and when I did it myself I used two bottles as well. It's hard to say how much of a difference those induction cleaning did to the intake valves because I don't have a before and after to compare... I was expecting a lot worse and was planning to walnut blast but I will do an induction cleaning once a year and see how things look at 100,000km (60k miles).

I know there's another thread regarding this topic so if the Mods want to merge the thread into a super thread, feel free to do so. I guess we can use mine as a starting point since I have photos and more owners can add in to this topic with their finds/pictures.

View attachment 311313 View attachment 311314 View attachment 311315 View attachment 311316

Those are some ugly looking valves. I know a lot of people were concerned when that engine first came out. But I didn't expect that.

 

You should see the intake plates. Those look nasty.

 

Is it possible to shove a borescope via the intake path to have a look at them without removing the TB?

 

No, the TGV flaps will get in the way because they're semi-closed. When I mean semi-closed I mean closed with a slight gap that's impossible to fit anything through besides a coin, and the intake plates take up a good portion of the room so you gotta remove everything.

 

I really appreciate and hate this. Didn’t expect it to be so bad for the mileage. This has been my biggest issue with consideration for direct injection only vehicles. Knowing it looks like this means i won’t wait until 36k to do it. Upside being the intake holes facing up so easy walnut cleaning if warranted!
Edit: also going to be on cleaning the pcv valve more often

 

I really appreciate and hate this. Didn’t expect it to be so bad for the mileage. This has been my biggest issue with consideration for direct injection only vehicles. Knowing it looks like this means i won’t wait until 36k to do it. Upside being the intake holes facing up so easy walnut cleaning if warranted!
Edit: also going to be on cleaning the pcv valve more often

Not sure if you've started looking but I know they make an adaptor to make walnut blasting easier for other cars like VW/Audi products. I hope someone could make one for the FB series engine. I know there's one available for the FA20 but not sure if it'll work for the FB engines.

Is it cheaper to clean the PCV valve instead of replacing it?

 

This answer many skepticism on Catch can and regular PEA cleaning, waiting for more pictures from car with catch can installed

 

Is this FB20D 2.0L engine DI only? No port injection? I know some manufacturers (particularly toyota) started doing a combo DI/PI to minimize this issue.

 

DI only.

 

Google Search

 

Price we pay for economy. Thanks EPA

 

I did the catch can mod (Used these directions: ADD W1 Catch Can install), and my can is 1/4 full of water/oil every oil change. That stuff would otherwise have gone into the air intake and into the TB and valves.

 

I did the catch can mod (Used these directions: ADD W1 Catch Can install), and my can is 1/4 full of water/oil every oil change. That stuff would otherwise have gone into the air intake and into the TB and valves.
View attachment 311334

That small amount of liquid won't do diddly over an oil change in my opinion.

 

Interesting, thanks for posting this. At 18k, the family's MY18 is dead smooth at a stop light now(IE barely notice it running). I'll be interested to see what things look like inside when I pull the intake, especially after using techron annually. The car will probably need motor and trans mounts in a couple years(cvt hard on the mounts).
regards

 

Not surprised in the least to see this. Thanks for posting.

 

Same here. Was planning on starting the yearly cleaning around 10,000 miles. May actually move that up to next oil change to try to stay on top of it.

 

right, the PCV is there to vent the excess pressure, it would generally carry the same type of air/oil/gas mixture regardless of the injection type.

 

If you end up taking a peak please take pics and send them here for comparison because it'll let us know if the catch can works or not. What kind of driving do you do? Have you done any fuel induction cleaning since owning the car?

 

Mostly city driving. I had planned on not doing any intake cleaning to see at 30,000 miles what the valves looked like . But after failing with the borescope, I later ran one can of CRC thru for the heck of it before an oil change, but if I get a buildup , walnut blasting is the best solution.

 

Scotty Kilmer uses Lucas through a vacuum line;

 

He also probably gets a paycheck to say he uses it. LOL

I plan on using CRC and Berryman. Berryman seems to be a bit easier to use by yourself, as it's done at idle and has a metered release of the product.

 

That's nasty and it's why some of us are staying with the 2012-2017 XVs
My 2013 CVT (top of the range version with all recalls done, incl valve springs @ about 140,000km) now is at 175,000km and is still going 🦾 with no engine issues whatsoever!

 

Can the walnut blasting be done with everything still on the car, or do you gotta remove the head?

 

I believe that the walnut blasting is done on the car- only requiring removal of the intake manifold. The engine has to be turned over by hand to keep the valves closed in the cylinder number being blasted. Then clean-up with a strong vacuum.

 

Would be interesting to see someone who has not done ANY type of cleaning to take before/after pics to see the difference.

 

this is a great example of how it to do it with and without the adapter on a Mini Cooper. would be simpler on our engines I think.

 

My friend can 3D print the FA20 adaptor. When I hit 100,000km I'll try to see if the adaptor will work on the FB series engines, and I think it should work because the FA and FB are very similar engines.

 

I'm watching this guy for some time. See this

 

Did mine with crc x2 few weeks ago

 

You ran two cans through back to back?

 

I installed a catch can in my Impreza but not on the crosstrek. Mostly because it's my kids car and I can't depend on him to empty it and won't have access myself on a regular basis. I was surprised that an NA car would have as much to empty as it does.

When I got the Crosstrek, I put some additive in the fuel but also treated it with STP intake valve cleaner. I like it because it's has an easy to use delivery system that you can do without needing an assistant to manage the throttle. There is a timer delay to start the flow. You just hook it up turn a knob, like an egg timer, and it gives you 30 seconds or so before it starts spraying.

 

Curious, why didn't you make use of the vacuum port downstream of the TB instead of injecting it at the TB?

 

I feel putting it in at the throttle body gives a more even distribution plus hits the TB butterfly valve too.

 

I've been going back and forth on how I wanted to do it, that's why I asked. I was thinking along those same lines on why I would want to do it at the TB.

 

I have this sitting in the garage waiting. The Berryman stuff is also easier to use than the CRC. It can be done at idle and has a metering device which limits the flow of product along with a lock on the output valve dispersing the product.

Amazon.com: Berryman Products - 2611-PRO Intake Valve and Combustion Chamber Cleaner PRO Pack (16 Fl. Oz, Pack of 6) : Automotive

Amazon.com: Berryman Products - 2611-PRO Intake Valve and Combustion Chamber Cleaner PRO Pack (16 Fl. Oz, Pack of 6) : Automotive

www.amazon.com

 

I don't see mention of you running an oil catch can. I wonder if that would have made a difference? Those look nasty! I installed a Mishimoto oil catch can right after I bought my brand new 2022 Crosstrek Premium. It had 500 miles on the odometer when I installed it. I get about 2oz of nasty smelling fuelly/oily liquid every 1000 miles or so. I'm going to pull my intake manifold at 15,000 miles and revisit this thread for comparison.😎 I run one bottle of Redline Synthetic fuel treatment every 3000 miles also. According to detailed videos on YouTube. This stuff is very effective at removing intake valve deposits if used regularly. This will be a good experiment to compare to your findings.👍

 

I run one bottle of Redline Synthetic fuel treatment every 3000 miles also. According to detailed videos on YouTube. This stuff is very effective at removing intake valve deposits if used regularly.

Not in GDI engines. LOL There's nothing one can put in the fuel to help with intake valve deposits on GDI engines because the backside of the intake valve never sees fuel.

I'm also doing a bottle of Redline SI-1 at every oil change (3,000 miles) in both of our GDI vehicles, but this is to help keep the injectors and combustion chamber clean to hopefully help with LSPI long term. We also only fuel up at Top Tier stations, which BP/Amoco and Kwik trip (WI) no longer are.

If I lived in a warmer climate, I would have a catch can. My buddy blew oil out his rear main seal because his PCV lines froze on his truck due to the catch can he used to have on it.

I just did my very first of yearly CRC cleanings on my Crosstrek this weekend with 7,200 miles on it. Set off a "too rich" code that I was able to clear with a normal BT OBDII scan tool, however, when I hooked the SSM4 up to it I had a handful of pending codes. I was able to clear them all via SSM4.