Idea 4 Cleaning Combustion Chambers

[DuaneD]

My 94 XLT has about 108K miles on it. I thought I had taken care of the engine pinging by over the counter liquids to remove carbon build-up. It was only a short term fix. I do not want to pull the heads. Hence, the idea I have kicking around in my head that came from a fellow JPer TR which is....

Get your self a windshield washer tank, one of the kind that goes Squirt, Squirt, Squirt....A squirter tank that pumps intermently, instead of continuously so you don't deliver too much water at once. It doesn't take a whole lot.

Mount a nozzle on the air cleaner stem, any fuel injection with an accessible throttle body, would work. WHERE WOULD WE MOUNT THIS ON OUR FORD 4.0's???????

On some of the TPI setups the water injector is behind the throttle body, in the top plenum of the intake tract, it just seems to get better distribution there.

While you are at HIGHWAY SPEED (not idle, like most people say) push the button and add water to the combustion process!

The live steam will scour the inside of your combustion chambers, although it may plug up your catalytic converter and muffler with pieces of hard carbon.

This way is cheap, easy to do, and VERY effective...
Don't stand on the button, just squirt a few times, go down the road a little way, and squirt again.

Do this over three or four days time, or until black water quits running out of the exhaust.

(Black water, not the normal condensation moisture that leaks from cat equipped vehicles)

Moving down the road, at part throttle, the engine and combustion chambers are hot enough to make good use of the water, turning it to steam.

The windshield washer sprayer will keep you from adding too much water and 'hydraulic locking' things up (lots of bent parts when you do that!).

The higher RPM will keep good flow through the engine, and whisk away most of the dislodged carbon and residue from gasoline.

The people behind you won't appreciate the crap that comes out your tailpipe!!

Good remedy for tailgaters!!

Some of the crap will find it's way into your oil (carbon, deposits, acids and moisture), so be sure and change your oil at the end of the week you clean things out.

What do you think?

 

[Cameron]

I have heard of people adding water based “intercooling” to their motors to cool the combustion chamber in a forced induction system but I never heard of someone adding water too their combustion chamber to clean carbon deposits. Adding water to your air/fuel will affect your combustion but I don’t know if it would be for better or worse.

My first thought is that there is no substitute for doing the job right the first time. What type of gas do you use? There are premium types of gas that supposedly have cleaning agents in them like Mobil and Amoco (spelling?). Have you tried them?

I don’t see how adding a couple of drops of water into an already violent explosion will help clean carbon from your pistons. But then, what do I know!

Let us know how it works out. I’m very curious.

 

[mrboyle]

In reality unless your are experiencing a serious miss fire, excessive blow-by or have a worn engine, the carbon buildup is not in the cumbustion chamber, it builds up in the EGR (Eexhaust Gas Recirculation) port/valve. This can easily be proven by pulling the plugs. If they are clean, there is no serious carbon buildup in the cylinders (not enough to matter). The best way to prevent carbon buildup it to allow the engine to fully warm up every time you drive it. I know that reality that isn't always possible, but you should try to take it out at least once a week and run it till it gets good and hot. As for the idea of injecting water into the air/ fuel mixture, it has been tried before and every design has flopped. My Explorer pings under load if I run standard unleaded, therefore I always run mid-grade (89 octane). I also only run brand name fuel, no quickie mart mystery water.

 

[Commtech]

removing carbon

Hey Gimp Reminds me of those days too. We used to use trans fluid poured down the cab while reving the engine. That was supposed to remove the carbon in the cyl also... No more of that these days.... too many sensors you can screw up!

Mark

 

[MikeTEC]

Mike: On my 93 EB with 112K which I bought new, it has always pinged some when towing my light trailer (3000lbs.) in the summer. I use high quality mid-grade (plus) gas. Recently I had a new HD radiator, thermostat, sending unit and radiator hoses intalled by my Ford dealer, and I notice it is pinging now more on mid-grade (plus). The dealer suggested removing carbon from the engine using sometype of chemicals and cleaning the injectors. What do you think? Thanks in advance, Mike, for your help! MikeTEC

 

[janikphoto]

I saw that as a tip on an 80's tv car show. They took off the air cleaner after the engine was hot and revved it while spraying a little water into the carb with a spray bottle. It supposedly helped some. In theory it could help clean out a little carbon, but you don't want to use too much water or they said it could crack/break something...

 

[nosaj122081]

Its an old hot-rod trick, been around forever... Take of the aircleaner, fire up the engine, bring the RPM's up, and use a spray bottle to spray a very fine mist into the carb... I think a washer sprayer would put too much water in the engine, every time I've done it or watched it done, its a very small amount of water (like I said, you use a plant sprayer bottle). I can't imagine how this would work with a catalytic converter, seems like a REALLY good way to plug it up.

Just get a couple of bottles of Chevron's Techron fuel system cleaner... I mix 2 bottles to 1 tank of gas (slightly richer than the bottle says)... Does the trick, seen it with my own 2 eyes on the tops of the pistons in my Talons...

OR

Go to the Dodge dealership and get some Mopar Combustion Chamber cleaner... This stuff is amazing. I would spray it in the PCV valve for a few seconds, the spray some down into the cylinders overnight, suck it out with a shop vac in the morning. You'll be able to see yourself in the combustion chambers after this.

Either way, change your oil, it will leak past the rings and contaminate the oil.

Good luck.

 

[Alec]

If you're still interested in water injection, take a look at the Spearco kit I posted about a while back. There are plenty of online places that sell the kit, and it's usually around $200.

http://www.spearcointercoolers.com/h20inject.htm

 

[Big E]

Another thing that I am tried with lawn mowers. It should work on cars too. In lawn mowers people would use old gas. Well the gas would not burn all the way or would varnish on the itake valves. And hold them open. And in turn the fuel that did burn would cause carbon on the piston. Inturn we would use Marvel Mystery Oil (spelling?). This stuff worked really good. It has alot of detergents in it that would clean the inside of the engine. I have used this before I tore a engine down. And the inside of the combustion chamber was really clean. One more thing. The Mopar Combustion Chamber Cleaner. It works great! I work for Chrysler and have used it many times. Just read the can and do as it says.

Just my two cents.

Eric

 

[MikeTEC]

When you use the Chrysler Combustion Chamber cleaner, does it clean out the ERG valve/port also? How hard is it to use and what is the process? Secondly, the option of using two bottles of Chevron Techron in the gas tank; will this process also clean the ERG valve/port? Thanks - Mike

 

[AgExplorer]

Try a can of AMSOIL Power Foam. Easy to use with amazing results. Just spray it directly into the throttle body while the engine is idling. Cleans entire combustion intake system for improved engine performance. Removes gum, varnish and carbon deposits for better fuel economy and improved overall engine performance. Cleans intake valves, intake manifolds and throttle plates to keep the combustion intake system running at peak efficiency.

Several forum members who have used it have reported restoration of lost performance and elimination of pinging. It's worked wonders for me.

 

[Skohler]

I used the mopar combustion chamber cleaner on my eclipse recently and don't see why it wouldn't work on an explorer. I did exactly as mentioned above: 1 full can into TB at just above idle, let set 2 hours, run hard. Then pull the plugs, spray 1/2 can in each cylinder and wait overnight. In the morning, suction out all the fluid and replace plugs. After running the car again, replace the oil (the cleaner slips past the rings a little) and replace the plugs (they will be really fouled at this point). All clean. Been thinking about doing it on my explorer. The cleaner is about $5-6 a can.

Steve

 

[MikeTEC]

As I posted on another thread on pinging a few days ago, I was amazed at the difference cleaning the tops of pistons/combustion chambers and fuel injectors made on my 93. My Ford tech/mechanic took the plugs out,regaped them, sprayed a cleaning solution in each cylinder, removed solution, and installed the plugs as they were in good shape. Then he cleaned the injectors with Ford's injection cleaning solution/ procedure. Not only can I now burn regular for the first time without pinging or clattering, it seems to have more power. I am very pleased with my Ford tech's work and outcome. Cost about $160 dollars and took about three hours. Mike