rc_cola_j Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 Hey all. So I was bragging to my mechanically inclined buddy about how I just rolled over to 300,000k. He started going on about carbon buildup in high mileage engines......he is suggesting that the best way to clean the carbon buildup is to suck some water up through a vacuum line and 'steam cleaning' the internal workings. This was a new idea to me. So I googled. Apparently some say it works wonders, some say it's better to suck seafoam in over water, and some say it is a myth. I thought I'd put it to the forum and see what you all thought of this method? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathyAndTheJets Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 (edited) Ever see an engine with a bad head gasket? A couple pistons will be spotless. It works, probably better than seafoam. You run the risk of knocking a big chunk of carbon out and damaging things though. Edited September 1, 2016 by PathyAndTheJets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabond Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 when I was working at a ford dealership the pd cars were using a water injection system, kept them very clean. We used to p-ss off the service manager by running atf thru the carb to clean carbon, both ways work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc_cola_j Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 when I was working at a ford dealership the pd cars were using a water injection system, kept them very clean. We used to p-ss off the service manager by running atf thru the carb to clean carbon, both ways work So how much water would one suck into a vacuum line at a time? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabond Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 did not get into it, but I imagine there was some type metering in the the line to the intake, this was back in the late 60s early 70s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 So how much water would one suck into a vacuum line at a time? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Very little! I would probably just spray a mist down the intake tube while it was running. Start out gently and slowly. Water injection was a known, short term performance enhancer. The Germans used it on some fighter planes in WW2... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc_cola_j Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 That little eh? Wow. Okay. I'm going to give it a go Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Well, water doesn't compress so you don't want to risk hydrolocking the motor. I'd just start out cautiously and go from there. It is the steam that does the cleaning from what I understand. Here, read up on it first... https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/decarbonizing-an-engine-with-water-myth-or-fact.793344/ B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCWD21 Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 In my mind and from personal experience, the only one true way to clean carbon is to physically remove it. Water injection/ chemicals will remove some of it but they take a very long time to clean everything and even then there's still bits and pieces they'll never get as clean as a hands on approach. Sent from inside my potato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathyAndTheJets Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Water does a decent job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCWD21 Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 I'm not saying it does, I'm just saying that with my luck a little too much water would get pulled in to a cylinder and then I'd hydrolock then engine. Not to mention when I do a job like that it's usually so bad that it requires disassembly anyways. Sent from inside my potato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF600 Posted September 14, 2016 Share Posted September 14, 2016 If you are not having any running issues, I wouldn`t mess with it. Every once in a while run some good gas through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc_cola_j Posted September 14, 2016 Author Share Posted September 14, 2016 If you are not having any running issues, I wouldn`t mess with it. Every once in a while run some good gas through it. Only issue I'm having is the EGR valve is sticking open from time to time......was under the impression that this could be due to carbon buildup Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 With how much carbon I scraped out of the intake port for the EGR on mine, I would believe that. I would also be surprised if the small amount of steam that made it up the EGR pipe was enough to do anything. Worth a shot I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 did not get into it, but I imagine there was some type metering in the the line to the intake, this was back in the late 60s early 70s I still have one of those production units somewhere! It was basically a jar with two aluminum lines going through the lid. One line went to the bottom of the jar and had holes in it to make bubbles. It came with some aluminum tubing you were supposed to wrap around the exhaust then connect to the line going to the bottom of the jar so you got hot air bulling through the water. The other line in the lid of the jar went to a T in your PCV vacuum line so a mist went in. The performance claim was that it prevented detonation so you could bump the timing up a little more. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RF600 Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 If the EGR is gummed up, gotta remove it to clean out the passage. I'm not sure how much of the passage passage you will be able to get to. Could be a bad EGR valve. Do you have a hand held vacuum checker? Sorry I can't think of the correct name. It will pull a vacuum on the valve, and it should hold and not bleed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc_cola_j Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 If the EGR is gummed up, gotta remove it to clean out the passage. I'm not sure how much of the passage passage you will be able to get to. Could be a bad EGR valve. Do you have a hand held vacuum checker? Sorry I can't think of the correct name. It will pull a vacuum on the valve, and it should hold and not bleed off. Yes, I have a vacuum pump. EGR holds vacuum. Just sticks open from time to time and the engine begins to idle....lumpy/lopey.....not sure what the best term is. Slightly tough. If I disconnect and plug the vacuum line it goes away. It looks like a big job to take it off Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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