I have been going through the preventative maintenance items on my 'new to me' 2015 Fit CVT with 155k on the clock. From all the forum talk, it seemed as though valve cleaning and adjustment were important to maintain engine health. I purchased a media blaster and 25lbs of walnuts in preparation of cleaning the intake valves. Once I had everything apart and the intake ports visible, I remembered a product my dad had mentioned to me years ago - Berryman's B12 Chemtool. I figured the walnut blasting operation was going to make a huge mess, so maybe before I go that route I would try the Berrymans product in a closed valve port. I am happy I did! The results were pretty outstanding; from a gunky nasty valve condition to nearly clean with minimal effort and zero mess.

The procedure was pretty easy - rotate crank until cylinder is at TDC and the valves are closed. Pour Berrymans into valve and let sit. I would take a pick tool and loosen up some of the sediment attached to the valve, the solvent did the rest. I then used a large syringe to remove the solvent from the intake port and mopped up the residual with a clean shop towel.

Less that $6 a can, it is worth a shot for most DIYers!

 

Project Farm did a review on Berrymans more than 5 years ago, although they did it on a lawnmower, not a car. The most interesting is to be found in the comments at the bottom of the screen of people who have used it.:

 

Interesting.. It's pretty apparent how volatile of a solvent it is, due to how quickly it takes care of the carbon deposits. I believe the method in which I used the product would not affect any parts that could be distorted or compromised by the strong solvent as it was dried completely and not ran through the valve seals. I would be wary to introduce it into the fuel system though.

 

@dually Interesting thread. I hate direct injection.

 

OP, can you tell us the OCI you follow as well as the fuel you plan on using?

Very interesting thread. Thank you for posting

 

I purchased the car with 153k on the odometer. The oil change intervals listed on the carfax were anywhere from 5-6k. I plan on keeping 5k intervals with 0w-20. I am usually running 87 but run a tank of 91 every other fill.

 

It also matters how the car is driven. Cars that are driven only occasionally and at low speed will have more buildup (and here in the DC area, that's most of them). My 15 Has 92k whereas most of the ones we get at the dealership have 1/3 of that. I also do a lot of spirited driving. As far as oil and fuel, I do strict 3k OCIs. I get the oil from the dealership for free anyway, so why not? For fuel, I've only ran 87, but I've never had issues. Perhaps I'll pull my manifold and see if I need a blast. I haven't tried B12 Chemtool specifically, but I have had good luck with other brands like Seafoam and CRC on my old 13 Accord with the K24W1. Perhaps I'll try the B12 myself.

 

Are the fuel injector additives any good?

​​​​I use them occasionally, but I wonder if all they do is make me feel good.

 

Since fuel isn't sprayed at the back of the valves, it certainly doesn't help with that issue.
Aside from that, it's pretty good at reducing wallet weight.

 

Ha! There's a sucker born every minute, and this minute belongs to me! ;-)

At least the stuff is cheap and I've used it three times in eight years.

 

I've been highly curious about Berryman's products after hearing about them from The Smoking Tire but this for sure has piqued my interest!

Seems like it would be ideal to do this while doing valve adjustments as well. Pour in the B12, allow to dwell while adjusting that cylinder's valve, pick/vacuum out then move on to next cylinder.

 

I think they have a place, and Techron is the best of them. However, I have never heard of anyone using Techron to resolve carbon buildup on direct injection engines. Maybe I don't get out of the house enough.