Decarbonizing Combustion Chambers

[Davidtasa@aol.com]

Dear Experts! What suggestions might you all have for decarbonizing combustion chambers? The method I'm most familiar with is to take the car out for a good long high speed, high-rev drive in order to "blow it out" - the problem having been caused by too much low speed around town trips-to-the-store-and-back driving and too much idling. The symptoms are prolonged "dieseling" after the ignition is turned off when the car is hot (but not when it's still cold). I've checked the ignition timing which appears correctly and sufficiently advanced. Advancing the spark even more doesn't seem to improve or change the symptoms much, so I feel that can be ruled out as a solution. My feeling is that hot carbon deposits are the culprits. It seems to me I once heard the boys on Car Talk say that pouring water down the carburetor (or carburettor) while revvng the engine was their method for effectively decarbonizing combustion chambers and that it "worked like a charm", as crazy as that sounds. But before experimenting with such methods, I thought I'd first ask for the list's expert opinions. Thanks! David TC 3896

[David and Joyce Edgar]

>It seems to me I once heard the boys on Car Talk say that pouring >water down the carburetor (or carburettor) while revvng the engine >was their method for effectively decarbonizing combustion chambers >and that it "worked like a charm", as crazy as that sounds. But >before experimenting with such methods, I thought I'd first ask for >the list's expert opinions. Thanks!

I have done this but not sure how much carbon got cleaned out with the water. Just don't pour too fast. The engine will run rough and will stumble. About 20 years ago I to worked at a Ford dealership and use to decarbonize trade-in vehicles all the time. Used a Ford product that I think was called "Decarbonizer" if memory serves. Don't know if they still carry it. Was a quart size can and a V-8 would take three-quarters of the can. It created masive amounts of smoke out the tailpipe so make sure you are well ventilated and neighors know not to call the fire department. Would pour it in slowly while running about 1500 RPM for a while and then increase the flow until it died. Waited a few minutes for it to soak and then restarted. Worked well when carbon built up on valves and gave low compression readings. Compression usually jumped up after treatment. David Edgar, TC 5108 El Cajon, California

[joecurto@aol.com]

Dave we call that an Italian tune up, but I have used the water trick and it works well but it is not for the faint of heart, I have had a customer with a similar problem recently and it was 1/2 reach plugs in a 3/4 reach head, you could try a gas additive called Tec-Tron made by chevron and can be bought at Pep boys and the like, it actually works, also a water injector is pretty good, or maybe just a good drive in a lower gear will help. Joe

[Chip Old]

On Wed, 14 Nov 2001, David and Joyce Edgar wrote:

> About 20 years ago I to worked at a Ford dealership and use to > decarbonize trade-in vehicles all the time. Used a Ford product that > I think was called "Decarbonizer" if memory serves. Don't know if > they still carry it. Was a quart size can and a V-8 would take > three-quarters of the can. It created masive amounts of smoke out > the tailpipe so make sure you are well ventilated and neighors know > not to call the fire department. Would pour it in slowly while > running about 1500 RPM for a while and then increase the flow until > it died. Waited a few minutes for it to soak and then restarted. > Worked well when carbon built up on valves and gave low compression > readings. Compression usually jumped up after treatment.

There used to be a lot of decarbonizing products that were used that way. They're probably banned by the EPA now. Diesel fuel also used to be popular for decarbonizing, used in the same way. Made a tremendous amount of smoke. These days there are many combination carb cleaner/injector cleaner/combustion chamber cleaner products that you add to the fuel tank. Don't know how well they work (probably at least as well as the old methods), but they aren't expensive. -- Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271 Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E fold@bcpl.net

[murray arundell]

Gosh I remember pouring something like that into the six cylinder engine of my mother's Holden Premier Sedan. She only just tolerated me taking the wheels off and putting them on inside out, this increasing the track by about two inches (goodness knowes what it did to the kingpins!!), she even stood aside when I bolted my surfboard racks to the rain gutters......... But it was the plumes of white smoke billowing from the exhuast as the car sat in the garage. It not only removed carbon from the engine, but most of the bugs, cockroaches, spiders and mice also evacuated the garage, and the rest of the house as well. I'm unable to report if any improvement to engine performace resulted from this as I was destined never to drive the Holden again. After the smoke eventually dissipated the fire brigade letf (actually is was the local volunteer Bushfire Brigade who turned out), I was made to put the wheels back the way they should have been, remove my surfboard racks and board from the roof, and to tighten the rear silencer so that it "stoped making that dreadful racket"! Some weeks later I arrived home with a delapidated Kombi which badly needed de-carboning however it had been made clear to me that my status as a resident of the Arundell Family household depended on my use of "wonder products". So my question is? Did that stuff actually work? Murray Arundell........

----- Original Message ----- From: "Chip Old" fold@bcpl.net> To: "MG-TABC" mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 10:52 AM Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] Decarbonizing Combustion Chambers > On Wed, 14 Nov 2001, David and Joyce Edgar wrote: > > > About 20 years ago I to worked at a Ford dealership and use to > > decarbonize trade-in vehicles all the time. Used a Ford product that > > I think was called "Decarbonizer" if memory serves. Don't know if > > they still carry it. Was a quart size can and a V-8 would take > > three-quarters of the can. It created masive amounts of smoke out > > the tailpipe so make sure you are well ventilated and neighors know > > not to call the fire department. Would pour it in slowly while > > running about 1500 RPM for a while and then increase the flow until > > it died. Waited a few minutes for it to soak and then restarted. > > Worked well when carbon built up on valves and gave low compression > > readings. Compression usually jumped up after treatment. > > There used to be a lot of decarbonizing products that were used that way. > They're probably banned by the EPA now. Diesel fuel also used to be > popular for decarbonizing, used in the same way. Made a tremendous amount > of smoke. These days there are many combination carb cleaner/injector > cleaner/combustion chamber cleaner products that you add to the fuel tank. > Don't know how well they work (probably at least as well as the old > methods), but they aren't expensive. > > -- > Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 XPAG7430 NEMGTR #2271 > Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO CT3479E > fold@bcpl.net > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > >

[Badger]

What we have here is an example of the dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. As un-fun as it may sound, to decarbonize one's combustion chambers properly involves removing the head and cleaning out the carbon manually with a rotary wire brush chucked up in one's Black and Decker. A been there, done that Badger

[Mark McCombs]

Or as my circa 1939 Rudge manual suggests: "use an old shilling to scrape the piston top clean" I wonder if thats how the Merlins were serviced... Mark TC8126

----- Original Message ----- From: "Badger" mrbadger@home.com> To: "MG-TABC" mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 8:56 PM Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] Decarbonizing Combustion Chambers > What we have here is an example of the dopeler effect: > > The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter > when they come at you rapidly. > > As un-fun as it may sound, to decarbonize one's combustion chambers properly > involves removing the head and cleaning out the carbon manually with a > rotary wire brush chucked up in one's Black and Decker. > A been there, done that Badger > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > >

[AJChalmers@aol.com]

With unleaded it's a non-issue.

[C Sherriff]

Message text written by "Mark McCombs"

>Or as my circa 1939 Rudge manual suggests: "use an old shilling to scrape

the piston top clean" I wonder if thats how the Merlins were serviced...

[Leigh Egbert]

----- Original Message ----- From: "C Sherriff" 100070.740@compuserve.com> To: "Mark McCombs" loadcel4@infinet.com> Cc: "MG-TABC" mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 3:22 AM Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] Decarbonizing Combustion Chambers > Message text written by "Mark McCombs" > >Or as my circa 1939 Rudge manual suggests: "use an old shilling to scrape > the piston top clean" > I wonder if thats how the Merlins were serviced... ================================================= > > > of Britain days. > > (Instructions for the fitting of the R or Merlin engine in place of > an XPAG available on request) > Regards > > Clive > Oxford UK Way cool Clive, send asap, just the pick me up Abigail needs. Leigh Egbert 46 TC 0485 (Abigail)