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Avoiding Carbon Build-up

Featured Replies

Someone suggested this method to me the other day as a way of reducing/removing carbon deposits around the valve seats.

Remove the air filter.

Warm up your engine to normal temp.

Have someone rev the engine to about 1000rpm.

Put a short atomised squirt of WARM water direct into the intake.

This cleans out the sh*t - or so he assures me.

Now I've never heard of this, but this guy is a Chief Engineer on a cruise ship, so I reckon he knows a bit or two about engines.

Does anybody do this, or ever tried it ?

Ian. 

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

Well, there's been 36 views which is an opportunity for 36 people to say - I've never heard of it. That would have at least been some sort of feedback 🙁

Sorry no one has responded. Truthfully I've never bothered with anything like this. And after 335k miles (all done by my dad and I) I'm not too worried. The biggest issue on modern diesels are dpfs clogging. 

  • Author

Thanks Steve.

Hi this method of decarbonising was used years ago on commercial Diesel engines, Gardener etc just the same as pouring brake fluid into carburettors on petrol engines [NOT WHILE RUNNING] and leaving overnight, carbon build up on the backs of valves is a common problem with direct injection systems, back in the days of inlet manifold mounted injection the mixture of fuel would keep the backs of the valves reasonably clear.

Unless you want to scrap your engine observe the following, if you inadvertently spray in to much water you will cause whats known as compression lock as water is not a compressible medium this will have the effect of best case bending a con rod, worse case cause the con rod to snap, if you are super lucky the large chunks of carbon shaken loose will be inducted and go into super heat, then its the turn of the DPF to deal with these superheated fire balls which are so hot and hard that they just stick to the surface of the core eventually causing catastrophic failure of the core.

Using a proprietary fuel additive will have the same effect by dissolving the carbon down to a more manageable size for the DPF to pass.

Steve.

  • Author

Steve, as I'd never heard of this procedure I was looking for some guidance; and your comprehensive answer is the sort of of reply I was hoping for.

Many thanks.

Ian. 

8 hours ago, Flint123 said:

Steve, as I'd never heard of this procedure I was looking for some guidance; and your comprehensive answer is the sort of of reply I was hoping for.

Many thanks.

Ian. 

Hi its Ok I have come across this idea before and recently on youtube with some lunatic hosing down the inlet pipe, it made me cringe as I was present when one of my fellow cabbies had driven his Toyota through a puddle at his speed which had caused compression lock when the mechanic took the head off  the cylinder that had the snapped con rod had only about an egg cup of water in it, just enough to lock it up snap the rod in half and then the remainder of the con rod had bashed a hole through the block, game over.

The brake fluid idea was used on old engines and did work as brake fluid melts carbon and can be burnt off when the plugs are reinstalled and the engine is started, my mechanic had a customer who was head of the local church he owned an old seventies Dolomite Sprint he used to do a lot of the work himself but didn't fancy a decoke himself so he tried my mechanic who was not keen as removing the cylinder head was nigh on impossible due to bi metal corrosion, all alloy engine, he suggested the cheap fix with brake fluid but forgot to tell him the engine should not be running when he did this just turned over with the plugs removed, the guys nickname was born again Bob and after he tried it with the engine running, when it flamed back through the carb and set light to his hair he was then renamed Burn again Bob which even he found funny.

Steve.

  • Author

😂😂😂

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