I have a 2008 MCS N14. Does anyone know if there is a way to see if there is carbon on the intake valves without removing the intake manifold? It's running fine and no codes. I just want to know if there is an easy way to check the valves.

 

No, normally you just see reduced power and throttle response or rough starting.

 

How many miles are on the car? And when was it done last if done under your ownership?

Chances are if it's never been done under your ownership that it wouldn't be a bad investment.

 

On an N14, my mech recommends to walnut blast it every 50K-60K miles. (N18 every 60K-75K miles)

 

I did mine at 65k on my n14 and they were terrible. The car started misfiring upon startup on a regular basis. I plan to do it again at 90k after seeing how much of an impact it had.

 

Rough throttle response, less hp, but the best way is to look at it hands down. You can have someone scope the intake with small camera, but you will have to do it past the throttle body and up the intake runner to the head. Otherwise you will have to pop the intake manifold off to look.

Here is the carbon blaster diy : 81292208038

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-cleaning.html

 

Just about every 50,000 miles the intake valves need to be cleaned to maintain optimum engine performance. Once the build-up reaches the maximum tolerable level, the engine will begin to run rough and misfire. You may have a rough idle, poor acceleration, stalling or single to multiple cylinder misfires. If you have any of these symptoms, check for valve residue build-up. From our DIY, this is what our R56 valves looked like when we got it.