Removing carbon from the pistons

[T4Rscott]

Hi all,
Has anyone tried the water method to remove carbon from the cylinders?
I saw a YouTube video on this and wondered if anyone had tried this, and what the results were.
Scott

 

[mtbtim]

Don't know about water but Sea Foam works pretty good.

Chris Fix did a good video showing the before and after of the tops of the pistons after spraying Seafoam into the intake of the engine.

Here's his video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u6UeJXkzDW8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
[MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I did our own video of doing the Seafoam treatment on our 3.4 liter engines but we didn't use a small camera to video the before and after of the tops of the pistons. Chris Fix's video showed me the product works so I saw no need to replicate what he did. Here's our video:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5BvNwyIqmY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[etc.]

I have. I used 1 1/2 gallons of distilled water in a vacuum port centrally located behind the throttle body.

I will say it felt more responsive after the treatment.

 

[shootmymime]

ive talked about trying to hook up the washer fluid pump to the intake and disabling the wipers so when you trigger the pump by pulling back the handle it sprays fluid. Id like to do this while driving on the highway at around 70-80 mph for high rpm and a hot engine. I bet doing this for a week will work much much better then the stupid sea foam that doesn't really work.

 

[Ed_C]

I'd be concerned about introducing too much fluid into the engine if you plumb the washer pump to a vacuum port, hydro locking the engine. Even with some kind of nozzle plumbed to say the intake tube (alcohol injection) I doubt the washer pump produces enough pressure to atomize the fluid into a safely ingested mist.

I've done a "decarbon" like etc. has with maybe a third gallon of washer fluid,idle did seem to smooth out afterwards. The washer fluid didn't cost me anything (got it from work) so I didn't have anything to lose.

 

[shootmymime]

I'd be concerned about introducing too much fluid into the engine if you plumb the washer pump to a vacuum port, hydro locking the engine. Even with some kind of nozzle plumbed to say the intake tube (alcohol injection) I doubt the washer pump produces enough pressure to atomize the fluid into a safely ingested mist.



I've done a "decarbon" like etc. has with maybe a third gallon of washer fluid,idle did seem to smooth out afterwards. The washer fluid didn't cost me anything (got it from work) so I didn't have anything to lose.

When running at a 3000 rpm. Your moving so much air compared to the amount of water your adding. Not a chance that amount of water will cause a problem.

 

[01thunder]

water works. that is the way i used to do it years ago. what little water does get in will evaporate quickly with heat. no need to worry about it getting in the oil, unless you pour it in there.

 

[shootmymime]

water works. that is the way i used to do it years ago. what little water does get in will evaporate quickly with heat. no need to worry about it getting in the oil, unless you pour it in there.

^. Yup. Expounding on that. It would lock the motor before it got into the pan.


When ever I've bought a carb vehicle, I would just use ATF. Just recently I started using water.

 

[T4R2014]

A MotorVac machine would be the most effective, but I heard water works. I would use Seafoam. I figure it's a little stronger on the carbon than water.

 

[T4Rscott]

Can someone tell me the best way to do this? Do I use the vacuum hose on the side of the TB?

 

[ThorInc]

Quickest, most simple way. Use the Seafoam spray & spray through the TB intake. It works and costs about 10 bucks and 5-15 mins. Can be done by yourself and it works.
Google it or search right on this forum.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[T4Rscott]

Quickest, most simple way. Use the Seafoam spray & spray through the TB intake. It works and costs about 10 bucks and 5-15 mins. Can be done by yourself and it works.
Google it or search right on this forum.
Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

I was talking about how to use water. Not Seafoam

 

[white_n_slow]

Water works great. Anybody who has ever done a water or methanol injection system and then taken off their cylinder head--the pistons look brand new! Just exercise caution and deliver the water in small doses.

Or just leave the carbon there and enjoy the higher compression ratio

:edit: I've seen this done using the ventilation port on the intake tube.

 

[etc.]

Can someone tell me the best way to do this? Do I use the vacuum hose on the side of the TB?

IIRC, I used the vacuum port for the PCV, then attached a long piece of hose. One end of the hose was obviously attached to the intake and the other was attached to a very small vacuum adapter that came included with my Mityvac. (See below for pic). You can probably use a basketball needle with great success. I placed the vacuum connector/hose in a gallon jug of distilled water and raised the RPMs from the throttle body. If I had to guess it was ~2000-2500 RPMs. I left the hose in the water jug until it was gone.

Once you take the hose off, the truck will run rough due the vacuum leak, so be quick re-attaching the PCV hose.

Hope this makes sense. I'm dead tired.

 

[shootmymime]

IIRC, I used the vacuum port for the PCV, then attached a long piece of hose. One end of the hose was obviously attached to the intake and the other was attached to a very small vacuum adapter that came included with my Mityvac. (See below for pic). You can probably use a basketball needle with great success. I placed the vacuum connector/hose in a gallon jug of distilled water and raised the RPMs from the throttle body. If I had to guess it was ~2000-2500 RPMs. I left the hose in the water jug until it was gone.



Once you take the hose off, the truck will run rough due the vacuum leak, so be quick re-attaching the PCV hose.

Hope this makes sense. I'm dead tired.

Great idea using the ball pump needle. I'll do that tomorrow!

 

[potomacduck]

This is the sort of topic that makes me scratch my head.

First question: Is the carbon really hurting anything? What evidence do you have that the carbon is hurting anything?

Second question: If the water/Seafoam, or whatever fluid dislodges the carbon, what happens to the dislodged carbon?

Does anyone think the carbon magically dissolves and is evacuated through the exhaust valve? Engage your brain. (Given the firing time of an engine the carbon chunks would have to completely dissolve into a gaseous state and leave the engine in a few milliseconds during each firing cycle).

Do an experiment, take a chunk of engine carbon and place it in a cup of water, or Seafoam. Does it dissolve instantly. Nope.

Or (more likely) the carbon releases in small chunks and gets lodged in a piston ring...or between the piston and cylinder wall.

 

[shootmymime]

This is the sort of topic that makes me scratch my head.

First question: Is the carbon really hurting anything? What evidence do you have that the carbon is hurting anything?

Second question: If the water/Seafoam, or whatever fluid dislodges the carbon, what happens to the dislodged carbon?

Does anyone think the carbon magically dissolves and is evacuated through the exhaust valve? Engage your brain. (Given the firing time of an engine the carbon chunks would have to completely dissolve into a gaseous state and leave the engine in a few milliseconds during each firing cycle).

Do an experiment, take a chunk of engine carbon and place it in a cup of water, or Seafoam. Does it dissolve instantly. Nope.

Or (more likely) the carbon releases in small chunks and gets lodged in a piston ring...or between the piston and cylinder wall.

This process does not happen after just one cleaning. It takes miles of driving. That's why I am not convinced by seafoam. A motorvac seems to be the absolute quickest way to remove carbon.

Some cars have very little tolerance, so build up can cause problems fast. Our vehicles. Not so much. But it's nice to know that this will not be a problem.


The carbon does not come of in any large chunks. It's so small and hard. (Death grip on what ever its on) that it takes a while to clean.

My 90 dirt bike had about 1/4" built up around the exhaust valves. I had to stick it in a drill and with emery cloth, Sand it away. Very strong stuff.

So a normal carboned motor will not become head gasket failure clean in one sitting. It takes more time then that. If the cat is hot enough. I don't see a possibility of clogging it.

 

[potomacduck]

So....small, hard chunks of carbon are released inside the engine? And 100% of them leave the engine through the exhaust valve? All of them? Guaranteed? Wow.

Maybe one or two of these super hard micro pieces get between the piston and cylinder wall....and, well, scores the cylinder wall.

Let's be real mechanics here. Instead of squirting stuff into an engine, let's pull the pistons and clean or replace them. It's not that hard.

 

[mtbtim]

So....small, hard chunks of carbon are released inside the engine? And 100% of them leave the engine through the exhaust valve? All of them? Guaranteed? Wow.

Maybe one or two of these super hard micro pieces get between the piston and cylinder wall....and, well, scores the cylinder wall.

Let's be real mechanics here. Instead of squirting stuff into an engine, let's pull the pistons and clean or replace them. It's not that hard.

You sound like a pretty accomplished mechanic with lots of time. You're average person isn't going to delve that deep into an engine for this purpose. Either leaving it alone or doing a Seafoam treatment like I did on my rig is what I'd gather most would do.

 

[shootmymime]

So....small, hard chunks of carbon are released inside the engine? And 100% of them leave the engine through the exhaust valve? All of them? Guaranteed? Wow.



Maybe one or two of these super hard micro pieces get between the piston and cylinder wall....and, well, scores the cylinder wall.



Let's be real mechanics here. Instead of squirting stuff into an engine, let's pull the pistons and clean or replace them. It's not that hard.

Are Those micro pieces really going to cause a noticeable damage to the cyl wall? No

It's super time consuming to do a motor rebuild no matter what engine. I'll stick to water.