Gdi cleaner and catch can

[ram_man]

What is a good gdi cleaner to use? The throttle body is low down so bonus points for a product that will spray upside down and what not.
Is it worth doing a catch can on a gdi vehicle like my 16 kia soul? Haven't ever had to concern myself with this so I am learning as I go.

 

[Propflux01]

Personally, I do not think the benefits outweigh the risks of breaking off a chunk of carbon, and the washing of oil from the cylinder walls during operation. But if you feel you must, the I would use CRC IV cleaner

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

Someone on the Kia Soul forum put together this list with some tips to keep your GDI engine happy. It’s worth a look.

How to prevent oil and power loss in a Kia Soul GDI engine​

Seems the common intake valve cleaners are CRC and Berryman’s. I’m not going to use any of that and instead I’ll pull the intake manifold off when I hit 60k miles to inspect, and/or clean the valves all in one shot with some carb cleaner, a pick, and a nylon brush on a drill. The intake manifold is easy to remove on these engines.

 

[Nick1994]

I think people way overthink GDI intake deposits. I wouldn't be concerned.

My 15' Sonata did ping on 87 though, 91 was quiet.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

I think people way overthink GDI intake deposits. I wouldn't be concerned.

My 15' Sonata did ping on 87 though, 91 was quiet.

A Kia tech posted this on the Soul forum the other day. It’s from a Soul 1.6L GDI engine with about 82k miles and “regular” oil changes (he doesn’t have a history on the car but mentioned it was sludge free). There’s a decent amount of carbon built up, but it’s not as bad as I expected. I expected it to be worse.

 

[Nick1994]

A Kia tech posted this on the Soul forum the other day. It’s from a Soul 1.6L GDI engine with about 82k miles and “regular” oil changes (he doesn’t have a history on the car but mentioned it was sludge free). There’s a decent amount of carbon built up, but it’s not as bad as I expected. I expected it to be worse.

View attachment 80674

I always see pics of the buildup. I don't doubt it builds up, but honestly, so what? Let that buildup go along for the ride.

 

[ctechbob]

I always see pics of the buildup. I don't doubt it builds up, but honestly, so what? Let that buildup go along for the ride.

Because it eventually turns into driveability issues and must be cleaned?

 

[Nick1994]

Because it eventually turns into driveability issues and must be cleaned?

It just seems to me like 1,000 people will worry to death about it, but only 1 ends up having an issue and it needs to get cleaned. At like 200k miles.

 

[Blinker]

I’m not sure why people obsess over GDI intake valve carbon either. We have 3 GDI engines in the family, 2013 Accord 4cylinder w/130,000miles, 2015 Impala 3.6 LFX w/132,000 miles, and a 2018 Sonata 2.4 w/34,000 miles. All purchased new except the Impala, it was an ex rental with 5,000 miles. They all run great, no driveability problems whatsoever.

Carbon buildup on intake valves in a port injected engine will cause a lot of issues. The fuel will get absorbed by the carbon, causing an imbalance of fuel delivery to the cylinders causing misfires. In a GDI engine fuel doesn’t touch the intake valve so there is no issue with carbon absorbing the fuel.

I suspect that carbon buildup on GDI intake valves reaches a point of equilibrium where the carbon buildup rate equals the rate at which some of it is burned off during engine operation.

 

[Accent Abuser]

What is a good gdi cleaner to use? The throttle body is low down so bonus points for a product that will spray upside down and what not.
Is it worth doing a catch can on a gdi vehicle like my 16 kia soul? Haven't ever had to concern myself with this so I am learning as I go.

Any of them will work, Seafoam is the least aggressive, followed by Gumout Regane spray, CRC, and finally Berrymans.

Personally, I do not think the benefits outweigh the risks of breaking off a chunk of carbon, and the washing of oil from the cylinder walls during operation. But if you feel you must, the I would use CRC IV cleanerView attachment 80672

No big deal, most of these spray cleaners have plenty of lubricity, I might be worried about carbon chunks with a turbo but on a NA engine it should be fine. If you want to avoid breaking off large carbon chunks the key is to do the cleaning regularly, every 10-20k Max.

@ram_man Do not follow the instructions on the can and drive like a bat out of hell as soon as you fire it up after the cleaner has hot soaked, just drive gently with a few good throttle presses until most of the smoking stops, the engine will ping and misfire a bit, it will probably make some very odd banging noises the first time you clean it if it has more than 50k on it, don't be alarmed. Also I just disconnect the air tube from the filter box and spray right down that. No MAF to worry about.

 

[350Rocket]

It just seems to me like 1,000 people will worry to death about it, but only 1 ends up having an issue and it needs to get cleaned. At like 200k miles.

My fiance's 2013 is beginning to occasionally miss on cold start and pings in the summer when hot. Personally I think it seems like there are plenty having issues but most won't even notice. My fiance won't notice the misfire until it stops going away after warm up or under load.

 

[benjy]

quickies are said to be band aids at best + only walnut blasting + similar really works!! few owners keep a vehicle long enough for issues, BUT the longer you own the worse it can be. turbod are reported the worse + thats most anything today although hopefully newer vehicles are getting better + there are a few that use BOTH types of injection, a good choice or stick to older simpler port injected rides, my choice!

 

[incognito_2u]

I think eventually all vehicles will be both port/GDI similar to Toyotas new A25A-FKS dynamic force engine.

 

[WylieCoyote]

My Focus ST had substantial deposits at 33,000 miles. I removed the intake and cleaned the valves with CRC, a brass brush, and a shop vac. You really don't want that stuff in your combustion chamber if you can possibly help it.
CRC needs to soak for a few minutes to be truly effective.

I installed a catch can the same day. Being turbocharged, I probably saw more oil in mine than you will, but it's an eye opener every time you empty it. I think they're a good investment.

 

[sk_pete]

4yo n/a pfi here. removing and rag clening the t/b did improved low rpm run.. same spray alone, not so much..

 

[tc1446]

Installed this one on a previously owned Soul 2.0L and it surprised me how much gunky coffee colored oil it caught. Had to fashion a piece of metal to mount it on the metal bar that runs atop the radiator so the can body could be easily accessed for removal and cleaning. You will likely need to buy good rubber hoses from auto shop as the ones that came were cheap plastic and not even the right size. Go on Kia Soul forum and you can find the correct size hose needed.

Amazon.com