So a couple months back, I started having slightly longer (but noticeable) cranks and my idle seemed to be rougher than it had previously. After seeing some of the threads on the forum about intake valves covered in carbon buildup, I thought I should get my intake valves cleaned... for the sake of good maintenance, if not for the problems I had above.
First, I called BMW Bloomfield (Bloomfield, NJ). The service advisor didn't even know what I was talking about. Then I called Prestige BMW (Ramsey, NJ) who quoted me $750 for the job. I wanted to see what other options were out there, and since VAC had recently done my Quaife LSD, thought I'd give them a call.
Mike@VAC, was extremely helpful, as always, and told me that they had just received the actual tool used by BMW service facilities for their intake valve cleaning!
We set up the appointment for last Wednesday.
Mike took a picture of the intake valves for me (before they were cleaned) and wow... the build-up really WAS as bad as the others I've seen on this board... And as you can see in the after pictures, they look brand spanking new after the service!!
First thing I noticed was the idle was much much much smoother. Where as before I would have some occasional fluctuations in the idle, it's smooth and stable now. More importantly, though, the car feels much smoother on acceleration and dare i say more responsive. I'll be the first to tell you about the placebo effect, but I really do feel like the car is more responsive to throttle input now.
In any case, the over-all effect is a healthier engine and as always, VAC did an impeccable job!!
