Want to clean the intake valves but need help.

[hawkijustin]

So i have my carbs off being worked on and i noticed i can see the intake valves are covered in carbon. Is there anyway i can clean some of that off without taking the valves out? Will spraying carb cleaner in there work without hurting anything??

[ohgood]

if the valves are covered in carbon, i'd bet the seats are too. if you start trying to clean them with anything really strong, you may make the seal worse. like if only half the valve was cleaned, and the OTHER half of the seat surface.

seafoam is supposed to do this, and i've tried it on my truck, but i have no visual proof of it actually doing enough of a cleaning job to matter.

[leedutcher]

i have a bunch of carbon deposit in my intake maniflod in my car and i use oven cleaner..works really well.. just got to let it soke for about 20 min and then it should come off....

[510]

I would also recommend the seafoam. It's probably the easiest solution that will definitely not damage your engine in any way. Others might recommend spraying distilled water into the intake while it's running as a cheap substitute to seafoam, but I dunno about that.

[hawkijustin]

Im worried about doing something that will damage my bike but i dont think it would harm it any if i sprayed some cleaner on it let it soak and air dry off. Couldnt be any worse then 1/8th of a inch carbon buildup on them lol..

[ben2go]

If the carbon drops into the cylinder it could gall(scratch) the cylinder wall and cause compression loss.Possible bend or hang a valve open.Sea foam helps burn carbon off the valve faces and piston crown.It might help the exhaust valve as the heat passes by mixed with the sea foam.Carbon usually doesn't build up on intake valves, unless they are left out of adjustment to long, and hang open a little.Maybe it's varnish build up from the fuel deposits on the valve.If you have thick carbon build up on the intake valves,you may have other problems.If it was mine, I'd pull the head,clean it, check the guide tolerances,lap the valves and reinstall it.