Anybody know if this is normal or not? I have a vaccum leak and it's been taking me forever to find and still haven't found it. But anyways I took off my DISA valve for the first time since i bought the car and there was a lot of build up. Don't know if this is normal and if it's not does it have any correlation with the vaccum leak?

Also the the valve works perfectly fine. The only thing though is that I was told if you turn the key to the 'on' position that you would see the valve move and when I did the valve didn't do anything.

 

I know that the DISA valve gasket, intake gaskets, injector O'rings can create vacuum leaks.
Best is to use a smoke machine on the intake to find the leak.

 

plus one on the smoke machine, easier way to find a vacuum leak

 

It's just oil residue, oil residue does buildup in the intake manifold because the factory CCV system pretty much sucks. Clean it off and you'll be fine. You might need a new CCV system.

DISA valve is controlled by engine vacuum. So no, just turning the key isn't going to do anything to it since there is no engine vacuum without the engine running.

since you have it off, replace the o-ring. it's dirt cheap and does create vacuum leaks.

 

The Disa needs the engine vacuum for the valve/flap to move.
Also, the O-ring at the base of the Disa to the manifold connection can crystalize causing a vacuum leak that can affect the engine and O2 sensors. See the videos attached. The easiest way to find a leak on the intake components of the engine is to smoke it using a smoke machine.