Looking forward to seeing your update vid to see what has built up in the since the cleaning and adding a catch can. Going to give mine a clean when the weather is nicer.
I'm about to buy a Colorado next month. And this is what I have to look forward to. Lovely. Definitely a way more complex set up than the LFX on my Impala.
Berryman B12 Chemtool Fuel System Cleaner and their aerosol version are top notch too. I used the aerosol during an engine top-end rebuild and it really dissolved the carbon buildup with ease. It will be the first thing I reach for if I tackle this valve cleaning project myself. I wouldn't be afraid to soak the valve chambers with B12 and get a nylon brush attachment for the drill and give it a good agitation, hit it with a washdown of aerosol b12 and then vacuum it out.
Great camera work ! I just changed my plugs in a 2016 Terrain 3.6 and had to take the intake off just to get to one plug #1 cylinder and now I am upset cause I did not know about the problem with the intake valves and did not even look in there just put a new gasket and closed it up. SUV runs fine though so I guess the intakes will stay dirty it was running fine before also but I have 170K miles and thought it was time for new plugs and two new coils on #1 and #3 in the back only
Thanks John, you can do great things with an iPhone. Great to hear yours is running fine with no intake valve cleaning after so many miles. Great motors notwithstanding a few quirks.
Seafoam is great stuff for this. I have a 2016 Colorado and I spray some in the intake 2 or 3 times a year. I have 52000 miles and no problems. How often do you change the oil? BTW, mine also had a Bud light in the intake...damn
Hey man thanks for posting this. I just bought a 21 gmc canyon brand new. Could I periodically put sea foam in the tank or is it utterly pointless bc nothing ever touches the back of the valves? I tend to idle a lot. I read a catch can would be unnecessary with the new redesign, is this also true? Anything else I should look out for with the truck? Thanks Man!
To the best of my knowledge putting sea foam or any additive in your tank will not prevent the coking on the valves. Absolutely zero fuel touches the back of them thanks to direct injection so it won't prevent this from happening as far as i know. Sea foam in the tank every once in a while would probably still be a good idea to clean out any junk in the system. As for the redesign i can't say as i have not looked it up with my truck being older. When did they redesign the system for the LGZ? I know i will be cleaning my valves again this year and putting a catch can on. As far as any of the other things to be mindful of it is hard to know if some of the common issues will still exist on your truck considering the years of refinement. The biggest thing i would have said is the transmission will shift like crap so just tune it immediately to save you going insane but considering you have the 8 speed i can't say. Oil cooler lines tend to rust after a few years (just finding that out now) watch for those. Other than that these are awesome little trucks and mine has been solid for the last 6 years and 200,000km.
Been putting this off because I’m worried I’m not gonna be able to tell when valves are closed completely and don’t want stuff washing down into the cylinder. What’s the easiest way for you to tell they’re closed up?
I went with a pretty unscientific method but it worked. Put a socket and ratchet on the crank snout to rotate the motor. Pick a cylinder and set of valves to watch and as you roll the motor over watch the valve close. There is a good amount where you can rotate and the valves are shut. I tested with pooling s bit of sea foam on top of the valves to make sure it stayed put. Hope that helps!
Mine didn't look nearly that bad at 240000km. I only use royal purple hps oil, shell 91 due to my trifecta tune and spray crc in thee intake a couple of times a year. 2016 lfx canyon.
@SteveDoesStuff89 260. Runs great. Tune makes the truck so much more enjoyable to drive, and I think that helps a bit. I do spray a can of crc or sea foam through the intake 2 or 3 times a year.
When I did this originally I had thought about just spraying intake cleaner but seeing how bad the valves were I was hesitant to do it as I was afraid of a piece of carbon dropping in and causing some trouble. The straight up Sea Foam worked the best to remove the crap. When I repeat this fall I am going to fully remove the PCV system and divert it to a catch can.
You could rip a bunch of upper intake cleaner through the intake. That stuff makes me a bit nervous, not sure why but i don't like the idea of it much.
I'm just about to attempt this on my Colorado as it seems sluggish and slow to response; so this was a great video to see! I'm also thinking about checking on my throttle control as well. I have never turned an engine with a breaker bar before to close the intake valves. Could you post something showing that? Thanks!
It’s not so bad as long as you take your time. It’s hard to say if mine felt peppier after or it was just in my head. Stumble at idle is 100% gone though and regardless the job needed to be done. I would say just go straight up sea foam pooled on top of the valves. Turning an engine over with a breaker bar is super easy. Put a socket on the bolt in the very centre of the balancer put your breaker bar on the socket and just start pushing. It should not be difficult to roll it over at all.
@@jonschwartz9669 I just ended up holding the three bolts at the back up with one hand and using the other picked up the intake and slid it forward. Takes a bit of farting around but not bad.
@@jonschwartz9669 I haven’t seen much for installs of CC’s on these trucks. Admittedly my research had been pretty half hearted. Did you route it back to the intake or vent it to atmosphere?
@@SDSGarage89 from pvc hose to can inlet outlet on can back to intake needs to be a ventless system to operate properly if you see a can with a vent run away the whole catchcan idea is to suck oil vapor through a screen mesh thus the oil separates from the air mixture and drips into can this cant work unless its sealed
@@SDSGarage89 my jtl brand can was 200$ but well designed in the lid it has 2 screens that do the separating holds 3 ounces but they make an extended can that holds 6 ounces im ok with the 3 ounce my engine has little blowby one more thing to consider is i run mobile 1 synthetic blend 5/30 i decided to try full synthetic mobile 1 extended performance 5/30 and let it run for 7k not 20k like they claim it protects but running the extended performance caused 1/2 less blowby and its dexos approved im now trying the high mileage extended performance to see how this oil holds up it not dexos approved but has more cleaning agents will see how much blowby gets in can
Unfortunately not. I actually sold the truck recently and got into something different. Valves very likely needed another clean and I think a catch can would have helped keep them cleaner
i used brake cleaner after closing valves and used long needle nose w\blue shop towel wrapped around end did all 8 vales in an hour on a ford focus came really clean never used wire brushes was afraid a bristle would beak off and get stuck or miss it ant would end up in the motor but to each his own gas millage shot up from 32 to 38 miles per gal they were not pristine buttons better than they were
to answer your question, yes you can get all of that shit out of there. ALL OF IT. to the point everything is shiny reflective metal. sadly since you have 100k miles of nastiness in there, you will probably have to do walnut blasting for complete removal or use a lot and i mean a lot, of manual labor using dulled picks as scrapers and other implements and assortment of brushes (including drill power). seafoam is garbage. crc is garbage. BG44k ISC is the only stuff that will dissolve that shit (and your eyes and lungs and skin in the process...). make sure the valves are really closed and literally fill them up to the top of the whole cavity and wait for a few hours. pull the spark plugs out prior tho so you can rotate the engine and also anything that gets into the cyls (especially on your final wash down pass, which you can use crc for) it will easily evaporate out of there. that would be 750$ service, thank you now. :))
Hey John, thanks for the tip. I was thinking about repeating the process sometime this summer but going all the way and doing something similar to you laid out. If I am going to go to those lengths to REALLLY clean the valves I will likely delete the PCV system and put in a catch can that vents to atmosphere. Thanks for the tip on the BG44K ISC, never heard of it but anything that will peal off a few layers of skin has my attention. Fingers crossed you can get it in Canada.
gm recommends top tier fuel it has detergents in it top keep deposits in check /also recommends fuel addative in the fuel tank every 5000 miles. that build up is coming from the poor quality fuel!!!! you get what you pay for
Fun fact, about 90% of the fuel I burned was top tier. Doesn’t matter what fuel you put in a Direct Injected Motor, this is inevitable. Fuel does not touch the back side of the valves which leads to build up. My BMW with multi port fuel injection has cleaner intake valves at 328,000km, not because it was better cared for, But because of where and how fuel is injected.
thats not all top tier fuel then how many times you have used fuel addative gm reccomends? I have worked at dealer a long time and know who does whats reccommended and the results of neglect @@SDSGarage89
look on top piston that carbon is there too! it does not burn it sticks to everything both vales are open at same time at overlap even very momentary and vale timing is variable @@SDSGarage89
Looking forward to seeing your update vid to see what has built up in the since the cleaning and adding a catch can. Going to give mine a clean when the weather is nicer.
I'm about to buy a Colorado next month. And this is what I have to look forward to. Lovely. Definitely a way more complex set up than the LFX on my Impala.
Berryman B12 Chemtool Fuel System Cleaner and their aerosol version are top notch too. I used the aerosol during an engine top-end rebuild and it really dissolved the carbon buildup with ease. It will be the first thing I reach for if I tackle this valve cleaning project myself. I wouldn't be afraid to soak the valve chambers with B12 and get a nylon brush attachment for the drill and give it a good agitation, hit it with a washdown of aerosol b12 and then vacuum it out.
Good thing this vid is 2 years old
I saw recently about walnut shell blasting/cleaning (with the valves closed of course) and it really sounds like the hot ticket.
Yeah walnut blasting is the best way to do that stuff but there were no economical options at the time
Thanks for all the tips, they will come in handy...just down the road in the hammer
Definetely helps, TQ for making this video ...
No problem. To avoid this long term i believe a catch can is the solution
Great camera work ! I just changed my plugs in a 2016 Terrain 3.6 and had to take the intake off just to get to one plug #1 cylinder and now I am upset cause I did not know about the problem with the intake valves and did not even look in there just put a new gasket and closed it up. SUV runs fine though so I guess the intakes will stay dirty it was running fine before also but I have 170K miles and thought it was time for new plugs and two new coils on #1 and #3 in the back only
Thanks John, you can do great things with an iPhone. Great to hear yours is running fine with no intake valve cleaning after so many miles. Great motors notwithstanding a few quirks.
I’m almost tempted to just wait to 200k pull heads valves and to timing chain/oil pump idk.
Amazing footage!
Seafoam is great stuff for this. I have a 2016 Colorado and I spray some in the intake 2 or 3 times a year. I have 52000 miles and no problems. How often do you change the oil? BTW, mine also had a Bud light in the intake...damn
You know you can clean the valves by running cleaner through the dirty side pcv port right?
Hey man thanks for posting this. I just bought a 21 gmc canyon brand new. Could I periodically put sea foam in the tank or is it utterly pointless bc nothing ever touches the back of the valves?
I tend to idle a lot. I read a catch can would be unnecessary with the new redesign, is this also true?
Anything else I should look out for with the truck? Thanks Man!
To the best of my knowledge putting sea foam or any additive in your tank will not prevent the coking on the valves. Absolutely zero fuel touches the back of them thanks to direct injection so it won't prevent this from happening as far as i know. Sea foam in the tank every once in a while would probably still be a good idea to clean out any junk in the system.
As for the redesign i can't say as i have not looked it up with my truck being older. When did they redesign the system for the LGZ? I know i will be cleaning my valves again this year and putting a catch can on.
As far as any of the other things to be mindful of it is hard to know if some of the common issues will still exist on your truck considering the years of refinement. The biggest thing i would have said is the transmission will shift like crap so just tune it immediately to save you going insane but considering you have the 8 speed i can't say.
Oil cooler lines tend to rust after a few years (just finding that out now) watch for those.
Other than that these are awesome little trucks and mine has been solid for the last 6 years and 200,000km.
Hey Steve, I got a question does your truck make pinging/detonation sound when going uphill ? I'm trying to figure out why mine is making it.
Nope, only thing it does up hill is fall on it's face thanks to this crappy transmission, then an epic downshift and holding a gear way to long.
Been putting this off because I’m worried I’m not gonna be able to tell when valves are closed completely and don’t want stuff washing down into the cylinder. What’s the easiest way for you to tell they’re closed up?
I went with a pretty unscientific method but it worked. Put a socket and ratchet on the crank snout to rotate the motor. Pick a cylinder and set of valves to watch and as you roll the motor over watch the valve close. There is a good amount where you can rotate and the valves are shut. I tested with pooling s bit of sea foam on top of the valves to make sure it stayed put. Hope that helps!
@@SDSGarage89Did you need to remove the spark plugs to rotate the engine?
Mine didn't look nearly that bad at 240000km.
I only use royal purple hps oil, shell 91 due to my trifecta tune and spray crc in thee intake a couple of times a year.
2016 lfx canyon.
Dang, that’s impressive. Are you in a warmer climate without winter? Not certain but that might make a difference.
@@SDSGarage89
I'm in central Canada. Very cold winters.
All long drives 100 km per day each way.
@emanuelequaterna7053 dang that’s crazy the difference! How many km on your truck now? Mine just rolled 240,000.
@SteveDoesStuff89
260. Runs great.
Tune makes the truck so much more enjoyable to drive, and I think that helps a bit.
I do spray a can of crc or sea foam through the intake 2 or 3 times a year.
When I did this originally I had thought about just spraying intake cleaner but seeing how bad the valves were I was hesitant to do it as I was afraid of a piece of carbon dropping in and causing some trouble. The straight up Sea Foam worked the best to remove the crap. When I repeat this fall I am going to fully remove the PCV system and divert it to a catch can.
Would you run something like CRC after this job? It may clean what was left around the seats.
You could rip a bunch of upper intake cleaner through the intake. That stuff makes me a bit nervous, not sure why but i don't like the idea of it much.
What’s with the bud light cans … in the engine bay?
Pls explain .
Gotta stay hydrated
I'm just about to attempt this on my Colorado as it seems sluggish and slow to response; so this was a great video to see! I'm also thinking about checking on my throttle control as well. I have never turned an engine with a breaker bar before to close the intake valves. Could you post something showing that?
Thanks!
It’s not so bad as long as you take your time. It’s hard to say if mine felt peppier after or it was just in my head. Stumble at idle is 100% gone though and regardless the job needed to be done. I would say just go straight up sea foam pooled on top of the valves. Turning an engine over with a breaker bar is super easy. Put a socket on the bolt in the very centre of the balancer put your breaker bar on the socket and just start pushing. It should not be difficult to roll it over at all.
How did you get the bolts out ?
@@jonschwartz9669 I just ended up holding the three bolts at the back up with one hand and using the other picked up the intake and slid it forward. Takes a bit of farting around but not bad.
@@jonschwartz9669 I saw on another thread somewhere that using clothespins to hold the bolts up works great.
Good job maybe concider a catch can and new pvc value
Thanks. More than considering a catch can. Going to hold off until I can do a better cleaning next Spring and then put the catch can on.
@@SDSGarage89 cool I ended going with a jtl brand on my 98 silverado it seems to catch obout an ounce every few thousand miles
@@jonschwartz9669 I haven’t seen much for installs of CC’s on these trucks. Admittedly my research had been pretty half hearted. Did you route it back to the intake or vent it to atmosphere?
@@SDSGarage89 from pvc hose to can inlet outlet on can back to intake needs to be a ventless system to operate properly if you see a can with a vent run away the whole catchcan idea is to suck oil vapor through a screen mesh thus the oil separates from the air mixture and drips into can this cant work unless its sealed
@@SDSGarage89 my jtl brand can was 200$ but well designed in the lid it has 2 screens that do the separating holds 3 ounces but they make an extended can that holds 6 ounces im ok with the 3 ounce my engine has little blowby one more thing to consider is i run mobile 1 synthetic blend 5/30 i decided to try full synthetic mobile 1 extended performance 5/30 and let it run for 7k not 20k like they claim it protects but running the extended performance caused 1/2 less blowby and its dexos approved im now trying the high mileage extended performance to see how this oil holds up it not dexos approved but has more cleaning agents will see how much blowby gets in can
Have you did you ever install the catch can?
Unfortunately not. I actually sold the truck recently and got into something different. Valves very likely needed another clean and I think a catch can would have helped keep them cleaner
Would an oil catch can slow or stop this from happening?
Yessir
Might as well change the spark plugs while you’re there 😂 the 2 rear on the passenger side are covered by the intake. Obnoxious design
i used brake cleaner after closing valves and used long needle nose w\blue shop towel wrapped around end did all 8 vales in an hour on a ford focus came really clean never used wire brushes was afraid a bristle would beak off and get stuck or miss it ant would end up in the motor but to each his own gas millage shot up from 32 to 38 miles per gal they were not pristine buttons better than they were
to answer your question, yes you can get all of that shit out of there. ALL OF IT. to the point everything is shiny reflective metal. sadly since you have 100k miles of nastiness in there, you will probably have to do walnut blasting for complete removal or use a lot and i mean a lot, of manual labor using dulled picks as scrapers and other implements and assortment of brushes (including drill power). seafoam is garbage. crc is garbage. BG44k ISC is the only stuff that will dissolve that shit (and your eyes and lungs and skin in the process...). make sure the valves are really closed and literally fill them up to the top of the whole cavity and wait for a few hours. pull the spark plugs out prior tho so you can rotate the engine and also anything that gets into the cyls (especially on your final wash down pass, which you can use crc for) it will easily evaporate out of there. that would be 750$ service, thank you now. :))
Hey John, thanks for the tip. I was thinking about repeating the process sometime this summer but going all the way and doing something similar to you laid out. If I am going to go to those lengths to REALLLY clean the valves I will likely delete the PCV system and put in a catch can that vents to atmosphere. Thanks for the tip on the BG44K ISC, never heard of it but anything that will peal off a few layers of skin has my attention. Fingers crossed you can get it in Canada.
gm recommends top tier fuel it has detergents in it top keep deposits in check /also recommends fuel addative in the fuel tank every 5000 miles. that build up is coming from the poor quality fuel!!!! you get what you pay for
Fun fact, about 90% of the fuel I burned was top tier. Doesn’t matter what fuel you put in a Direct Injected Motor, this is inevitable. Fuel does not touch the back side of the valves which leads to build up. My BMW with multi port fuel injection has cleaner intake valves at 328,000km, not because it was better cared for, But because of where and how fuel is injected.
thats not all top tier fuel then how many times you have used fuel addative gm reccomends? I have worked at dealer a long time and know who does whats reccommended and the results of neglect
@@SDSGarage89
that carbon dosent come from the oil its in poorly refinned fuel gm and most other manufacturers know this that why fuel detergents are required
So how does fuel clean something it never touches?
look on top piston that carbon is there too! it does not burn it sticks to everything both vales are open at same time at overlap even very momentary and vale timing is variable @@SDSGarage89