Yes, I get your meaning. Seems it's easy to enter the realm of rant, so I'll backtrack and return to my honest self. I love my Mini and will not give it up for another car. For better or worse we are together for life!

 

Yes, "if only"... but here we are with what is and I for one will be married for life to my 2007 mini! I have found an excellent and fair mechanic which will save me huge bucks, that, along with better maintenance on my car (due to your excellent link) will see me through this life with one car only AND by the Grace of God which handles all of this that we have to go through better than we could ourselves! Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

 

That valve could be a number of things. It is an intake valve & they are the ones that suffer from carbon build up. If the valve does not close completely it can cause the edge of the valve to burn, but that doesn't look like what happened. Or a piece of that carbon can come loose & get jammed between the valve seat & the valve. To me that seems most likely. Carbon is very hard. I don't believe the material the valves are made from is the issue. The issue is the direct injection the engine uses causing carbon deposits, if they are removed & not ignored you won't have valve issues.

You are getting off cheap at $1,324. Had that valve failed failed completely & dropped into the piston your whole engine would be toast.

 

Yes, awesomely cheap! Fortunate indeed am I that the engine wasn't toasted! With what all I have learned here on this thread about direct injection and carbon buildup as going hand in hand, and the method to use to keep combustion and valves running clean and clear I am set for say, 400,000 miles?!

 

I had been reading about the carbon problem on these Boards so was expecting it. At about 32,000 I thought it was happening but they had to replace the turbo fuel pump. Then 36,000 I was back and it was the carbon. They told me MINI had a "fix" for the problem - a complete reprogramming. If you ever get offered that solution, DO NOT take it. When I drove off after picking it up, I was convinced they had given me the wrong MINI. I even looked in the armrest expecting to see someone else's stuff and have to turn around and go back. But, it was my stuff?!? MY MINI, since the reprogramming (now at 58,000 miles and in the shop now for the timing chain & cracked thermostat housing) drives like it is NOT a turbo anymore. I still love it, but it is not even close to as fun to drive as it was the first 36,000 miles. Appreciate the info in this thread - I am going to forward some of the suggestions to my local mechanic regarding cleaning procedures.

 

I had my carbon cleaning done in June of this year and the dealer updated the ECU, there was much improvement. I'm baffled as to why you seem to have lost power...?

 

had my 2010 MCS in for the cleaning at 27k (performed for nothing under warranty, along with an ECU update)... I purchased the car at 23.5k, so I can only vouch for the fuel/care from then on... all I know is that I never, EVER want this car going into "safe" mode again...

 

I've had my MINI for about 2 years, its an 08 Cooper S, bought with 80K, now at 116K. I had a walnut shell blast last year which helped the engine but now with the cold weather it seems to be an issue again.. should I get the walnut shell blast done again? I've had my timing belt tensioner replaced, heat shield, thermostat housing, and gasket cover.

 

Well how is it running? At 36k miles seems like a good time to do it.

 

Repair went very well. Drives like a top, but the Check Engine Light is still on with code P115C and has been throughout 2013. . Work done this past year in an effort to resolve P115C code:
1. M*** Air Flow Sensor replaced twice - used a Bosch part. Work done early 2013 2. Dealership diagnoses valve cover leaking, timing slightly off and carbon buildup but NO issue with MAFS. Diagnosed early June. 3. Valve cover replaced middle of June with factory valve cover. My backyard mechanic noted that its possible that the MAFS may need to be the original factory-built part instead of the Bosch part (because the P115C code was still displaying). 4. Engine valve job done this past December.

My observation this past week is that there is still a tiny leak from valve cover. Also, timing is not perfect. Note: Mechanic resets the code, but it comes back immediately when driving 10 feet. Sorry, for the long msg! Do you have any other idea as to what could be causing the Check Engine Light to turn on? Thank you!

 

R56 09 MCS, miles 51k

Went to the dealer with a few engine codes and CE light. I suspected carbon build up and was right but there was more. The car was new to me at 45k miles got it 4 months ago as a Mini Next CPO car. Carbon cleaning / Walnut shell media blasting cost me just under $300 and included an ECU reflash. However one of the problems I had was on cold (close to or below 0f) mornings the car would go into limp mode. Here is the text from the work order identifying the problem and the free fix.

A CUSTOMER STATES THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT IS
CAUSE: F
0000556 PERFORM VEHICLE TEST
286 WM
1 11-61-4-584-240 INTAKE MANIFOLD:116010
1161551 Replacing intake manifold

PERFORMED VEHICLE TEST AND FOUND FAULT CODES 2B2B, 2B32, 2B31
NET
STORED FOR THROTTLE VALVE JAMMED. PERFORMED TEST PLAN PROCEDURE AND PER
TEST PLAN, CHECKED FOR ICE IN THROTTLE. FOUND ICE IN THROTTLE AREA.
REMOVED AND REPLACED INTAKE MANIFOLD WITH UPDATED MULTIPORT MANIFOLD.
REASSEMBLED AND CLEARED FAULTS. TEST DROVE VEHICLE. TOPPED OFF ALL
FLUIDS. ADJSUTED TIRE PRESSUES AND RESET TPM. DONE
************************************************** **


The car does feel better, it pulls a little harder and seems to have more "Go" in it. Its hard to evaluate it more accurately due to the weather conditions. I just filled the tank as well so I'll see how the gas mileage goes although I am driving it a little harder to try and get a feel for performance since the work.

 

Out of all these carbon issues reported, how many actually run non-ethanol fuel? I know from previous mechanic work on vehicles other than coopers- I have witnessed some serious buildup in the intake manifolds attributed to ethanol added to gasoline. I do use non ethanol fuel (92 octane) in my cooper. It is difficult to find in my local area, but- I do believe its worth the trouble to find it. Local (8 miles from my house) Conoco station carries it. Cost more for a fuel without an additive than a fueld with an additive- go figure... Mini Coopers Owners Manual clearly states "Do not use Ethanol or Flex Fuel - will cause damage to engine". Most Gas stations only carry ethanol additive fuel at their pumps.

 

Fuel quality has nothing to do with buildup in the ports and on the port side of the valve in direct injected engines as that side of the valve doesn't see the fuel - in direct injected engines the fuel is sprayed in the cylinder. Fuel quality definitely has a lot to do with buildup in the cylinder and on the combustion chamber side of the valves....but these are two completely different issues.


I just did mine this weekend. 55k and the buildup wasn't horrible as I've seen on some cars, but there was plenty even so. I can't really tell any difference in performance.


Before/after pics

 

After,

 

Understanding what you are saying. I have seen the butterfly valve on the intake gummed up preventing proper operation and resulting in insufficient fuel/oxygen ratio thus causes a lean fuel burn. My land-cruiser which I burn what ever is available in it, I recently had to remove the cold start injector- completely gummed up with a black carbon looking deposit to point that there was no longer spray into the manifold. I was shocked at how much carbon was present. Air filter was cleaned regular, PCV valve also checked regular. This was in the uppper portion of the manifold plenum of a fuel injected vehicle.

 

what did you use to clean it?

 

MINIdave that's not too bad, but I'm more concerned about carbon on the valve stem possibly preventing the valve from closing. My intake had more moisture to the carbon where yours is dry carbon which is strange because I live in a hot climate.

N14 or N18?

 

Hot air can hold more water than cold air, maybe it is because you live in a hot climate that you had wetter carbon deposits.

Dave

 

We use only non-ethanol fuel and we got an engine light about a month ago that the dealer said is for the carbon build up. Going to have it cleaned out Monday. Our car has about 75,000 miles on it though, which is higher than what I see most people have to get theirs cleaned out at. Ethanol is horrible in a lot of ways.

 

- 03 R53 with 75k

- purchased used at 65k

- installed oil catch can and water/meth injection at 70k

- have had no problems although unaware of the previous owners maintainence/repairs

- $400 for w/m kit. $100 occ to trap waste and steam clean internals > $600 walnut blast imo.

 

This is a gen 2 issue. Carbon buildup/walnut basting is a waste on Gen 1 cars..

 

Just had my car in for carbon cleaning. 47k. They tried to charge me $958 and blame it on the gas I was using. I told my service advisor nicely to talk to somebody with more authority and call me back. 20 minutes later the service was free. Sounds great right? Well, I got the car back and drove it for a few days. The DI noise seemed louder than usual but I shrugged it off as being a MINI "querk". The third day I had it back when I started the car there was really bad valve pinging and the hesitation that was present before the carbon cleaning came back. No CEL this time but I immediately called the dealership and said I was bringing it back. It's still in the shop and I'm interested to hear what they have to say. Honestly, my invoice didn't have a great description of the service done which made me leery. Normally the invoices have every line item and a description of each step taken.

They approved the cleaning and said the car would be ready in just over an hour. I get that the top end was already apart to check for carbon, but to take everything completely apart, clean everything, and put it all back together in an hour just sounded fishy to me. I've never had an issue at this dealership so I'm holding my opinion until I hear what they wanna do next...

in 3 years a car with less than 50K miles has cost almost $5000 in repairs. I haven't had to pay a single dollar towards any of that which is why I still own the car and why I continue to be a fan of MINI but this could my breaking point.

 

Funny, the carbon is not do to bad gas it's do to oil vapors being drawn into the combustion chambers. It cakes the intake runners, valves of both sides and on top of the pistons.

Keep us updated.

 

My local dealership recommended the walnut carbon treatment and vanos replacement for $850. My 08 Clubman S has just over 84k and just started experiencing the "death rattle" and cold start issues in the past 2-3 weeks.

 

hi at 7ok cooper s r56 thought i would inquire at main dealer in northampton UK carbon cleaning ( walnut blasting ) 4 hr 48 work units ? £ 500.00 + vat!! sorting kit to do myself joke!!!!