davyjordi

hey all,

has anyone who has an is250 here done walnut blasting to clean out carbon deposits because of the direct injection system? i have a 2014 is250 and am thinking of doing it as preventative maintenance or do you think i should wait until/if the car exhibits symptoms of excess carbon deposits? i know that this problem is much less prevalent than even the latter half of the second generations life, although i thought it might be worthwhile to do anyhow.

what are your thoughts?

thanks!

Sasnuke

Just my opinion...if you get to a stage where walnut blasting is needed, then we have issues.
And you are correct...Lexus did correct the issue with the 2IS towards the end of it's lifecycle...so you shouldn't have an issue with yours.
Some carbon buildup is normal and expected...so there's no vehicle out there that won't have any...except maybe a Tesla, Leaf, Volt, Bolt, etc. lol

Having said that, if you do want to do preventative maintenance, then installing a quality Oil Catch Can (OCC) would be a definite place to start.
The OCC will capture those deposits from being recycled into the intake and potentially adding to the buildup.
There are a couple threads on the forum about OCC's.

When the weather gets better it's something i'll be looking into installing.
The key is to find a quality OCC that actually has some internal system to capture the deposits, and then a drain for easy emptying at oil change intervals.
Doesn't have to be big...expect maybe a couple hundred milliliters between oil changes...or like 0.25 of a quart (hope that conversion was right).

davyjordi

thanks for responding. if you do install an oil catch can, can you do a writeup? i'll have no idea where to start, although i suppose maybe someone in the 2IS forum has done a writeup, i'll have to do some research.

thanks, again!

Sasnuke

With the OCC, the hardest part will be mounting it somewhere.
Basically it T's into the hose between the PCV Valve and the intake.
The key is to get one that is big enough, but not too big. There isn't a lot of space near/around the PCV valve.

E46CT

Sounds like double the work as on a straight six (where it's commonly done) so its probably labor intensive for two heads/two seats of valves. whether or not it's worth it is up to you. maybe if you plan on keeping the car forever.

davyjordi

i plan on keeping the car for at least ten years and it's five-and-a-half years old presently with an august 2013 build date, so an oil catch can might be worthwhile. i might take it to an independent shop to have it installed.