Has anyone used a combination of the methods below to help clean up your engine valves with success? -intake spray -fuel additives -leaded fuels such as VP U4 or MR12
I've never tried additives or sprays that were intended to be used on a fully assembled engine. Not the answer you're looking for, but.. I always experience great results by pulling the valves, chucking them in a drill, and using scotchbrite/emerycloth with some Berkebile Gum Cutter or MPPL to clean. Follow that with a valve lapping. I usually use coarse and then fine lapping compounds. Are you leaking past some valves?
The best way is like the above, pull the head, take out the valves and clean them. I used marvel mystery oil and a brass brush.
Just wondering if you were having a valve problem. But I use seaform about once a month or so in the bikes, 1 ounce per gallon of gas, it's also a good fuel stabilizer too. I use it in my mowers too with great results, just helps with the fuel we get these days.
I picked up a used trackbike over the winter and was simply going through the bike to make sure it's ready. I removed the throttle body assembly for easier access to the thermostat and it's hoses and noticed my intake valves are very dirty. Engine rebuild will have to hold off until later this year. I'm going to try Seafoam in her while on the street and some high quality leaded fuels at the track and disassemble it again to inspect the valves.
yea might want to double up on the seaform until you can get back in there with your rebuild. Take her on the express way and run the piss out of it, but be safe.
Seafoam?!?! I'm tired of seeing and hearing people say Seafoam is a fixall. If you want to know if the valves are seating correctly the only way to know is to perform a leak down test. If you are holding 95% plus the valves are closing and sealing pretty good. The only challenge is holding the wrench on the crank shaft to prevent it from rotating when you are putting air pressure in the motor. Typically 5 to 10 psi is good enough to determine if the intake and exhaust valves are sealing as they should. Again, when pumping the air in it's going to try to blow the piston back down so you need 2 people. One to hold wrench on the crankshaft the other to use the leak down tester. One gauge shows air from compressor, other gauge shows air the motor is holding. There's a knob to adjust the air going to the motor.
And per the picture you took. That is the top of the valve which is going to have some carbon build up from unburnt fuel. The spark happens on the other side of the valve where the fuel is burned. The concern is where the valve and the head meet. That is where the seal takes place which you cannot see down through the intake manifold. Fuel squirts out of the carb or injector down through the intake manifold. When the intake valves open a mist of fuel is squirted down into the cylinder through the intake valve. The piston is blown down from the explosion of the mist of fuel and spark. The exhaust valves open and get rid of the waste product. When people talk about lapping in the valves a small amount of material is taken from the head to get a proper seal once again. Valve clearances never get loose. They only get tight over time. Check your valve clearances. If they are within spec I would say ride the damn thing. Remove the valve cover and following the procedure in the manual for checking the valve clearances. You will need feeler gauges more than likely between 0.001 and 0.012.
Don't believe anybody said seafoam was a fix all but it sure helps to keep me from opening up a carb and cleaning the ethanol out of the jets and keep some of the carbon build up at bay.
I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but another thing to consider is that not all gas is created equal, even if it's the same octane. Buying a good brand of gas every time you fill up makes it easier to stay ahead of the problem. http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html As an aside, leaded gas ruins O2 sensors if you run enough of it.
I have in some cases successfully used Sea Foam to make old carbureted bikes and cars run better without having to disassemble their carbs. The vehicle has to be running well enough in the first place to be driven through a tank or two of fuel but if it is, yeah, Sea Foam can make old carburetors work better. Does it clean valves? That would have to be proven to me.
This is a great test, one of the best indicators of engine health. Just to add a few details if anyone wants to try this, I use 100 psi in, and rotate the tested piston to 0 degrees TDC. This way, the 100 psi has very little leverage to push on the piston either way, and I don't have to hold the crank. (If you get it wrong, no biggie, the piston will rotate enough for a valve to open and the pressure to release.) If 100 psi is set to come out of the compressor and your gauge on the leakdown tester reads 95 psi or higher, then you are 95% or better and good to go. You can listen for where the air is going (past the rings into the case, or past the intake or exhaust valves) and if you put your hand over the open intake and exhaust ports, you can get a better idea of where your problem might be.