Decarbonizing Your Engine With Water

[EricTheCarGuy]

I get the feeling this video might be a little controversial. I also get the feeling that I’m going to hear quite a bit about, “you’ll blow your engine up!”. However, if you use this technique in moderation you should be just fine doing this. Alright, fire away.

Topic

[Nicholas]

Hi Eric one and all from the UK!

[Zack Conner]

Hey Eric, just watched the video on cleaning carbon out with water. How do I go about doing this with my fuel injected 2000 Dodge Neon? Could you give me step by step instructions so I don’t break something in the process?

[Bill]

I have done the water thing before but not much since leaded fuel. The guy who showed me how to do it used to rev the snot outta the engine while dumping the water into the engine quickly. I think I was 18 at the time so what did I know.

My feeling is that water can remove hard carbon that can possibly score cylinder walls where as a petroleum based cleaner will soften the carbon that will not do damage.

The only thing I have ever used that I have proven to work is combustion chamber cleaner such as G.M. Cleens. ( I think they call it upper engine cleaner now) It was explained to me years ago that carbon builds in layers and that combustion chamber cleaner softens the substance that binds the layers together.

Might be a load of crap too.

I have had several G. M. 2.4 quad engines that have failed Nox emissions. I remove the plugs and spray combustion chamber cleaner into the plug holes and let it set over night. In the morning I crank the engine to pump out the excess cleaner, install the plugs, start the engine end empty the rest of the can into the throttle body with the engine at a fast idle. After a smokey road test they pass Nox emissions 99% of the time.

I figure there must be something to it.

It’s also great for removing rust on the cylinder walls of an engine that has seized from sitting idle for a extended period of time. Good penetrating oil for softening rust on fasteners as well.

[EricTheCarGuy]

[quote=”z25443″ post=107529]Hey Eric, just watched the video on cleaning carbon out with water. How do I go about doing this with my fuel injected 2000 Dodge Neon? Could you give me step by step instructions so I don’t break something in the process?[/quote]

You should be able to use a spray bottle. Just don’t use too much and make sure the engine is hot when you do it. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same procedure as in the video.

[Nicholas]

Hi Eric!

How often do recommend this be done to my car timescale wise? I’ve done it recently albeit a bit apprehensive and it’s worked a treat!
Thank you 😉

[dan]

i actually had a interesting idea for a combustion chamber cleaner that works similar too water alcohol injection, using a tube with one of those winshield washer spray nozziles.. plug it into the intake and while driving down the road inject a very suddle stream into the intake.

[EricTheCarGuy]

[quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=107676]i actually had a interesting idea for a combustion chamber cleaner that works similar too water alcohol injection, using a tube with one of those winshield washer spray nozziles.. plug it into the intake and while driving down the road inject a very suddle stream into the intake.[/quote]

I believe Oldsmobile used that set up years ago.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/oldsmobile-cars6.htm

Also, there are many kits available that do this very thing.

http://www.coolingmist.com

[Bryan Carter]

I personally think that running water through your engine is pretty much a waste of time. But I’m not looking for a debate, so we’ll let that one lie. What I will say is that spraying water into a fuel-injected engine equipped with a hot wire MAF sensor, can leave you crying if the MAF gets wet in the process. Something to keep in mind.

[Joeseph Mama]

this technique is for older cars with older engines (particularly engines with a less efficient wedge style combustion chamber.) it is a viable technique that yields immediate visible evidence that it works (pay attention to what comes out of the tail pipe.) I first learned about this technique in automotive fundamentals 101 from a PhD with a lifetime of GM experience. this should not be used on newer, post 1995, fuel injected vehicles or vehicles with catalytic converters for reasons that you have mentioned.

since we are on this topic, i am interested in adding more carbon to my engine… what should I do..?

[Sergio]

Hi!

I don’t know much about cars, but I have a 1997 Kia Pride Pop (I don’t know if you have this car in the USA) and I was having problemas with gases, so I tried the decarbonizing with water.
The thing is water never came out from pipe, so I decided to stop. I think I might put about 40 ml. Anyway the car continue working fine, but I’m not sure the dicarbonizing worked.

[Gary]

[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=107679][quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=107676]i actually had a interesting idea for a combustion chamber cleaner that works similar too water alcohol injection, using a tube with one of those winshield washer spray nozziles.. plug it into the intake and while driving down the road inject a very suddle stream into the intake.[/quote]

I believe Oldsmobile used that set up years ago.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/oldsmobile-cars6.htm

Also, there are many kits available that do this very thing.

http://www.coolingmist.com[/quote%5D They sure did. Oldsmobile was kinda a guninea pig for new technologies(Hydramatic transmission anyone?). It was called “water injection” although that may not be the official name for it. It works on the very principle of turning water into steam to clean the induction system and valves. I sure do miss olds…they had some nice cars pre-1980.

[Gary]

“All ’62 Cutlasses offered a 185-bhp “Power-Pack” V-8, but greater interest surrounded another new derivation. This was the turbocharged Jetfire hardtop coupe, which shared honors with Chevy’s 1962 Corvair Monza Spyder as America’s first high-volume turbocar. With blower, the Jetfire V-8 churned out a healthy 215 bhp — the long-hallowed “1 hp per cu. in.” ideal — but carbon buildup with certain grades of fuel necessitated an unusual water-injection system (actually, a water/alcohol mix).”

Found this ^

[Bryan Carter]

[quote=”Chevyman21″ post=114398]“- but carbon buildup with certain grades of fuel necessitated an unusual water-injection system (actually, a water/alcohol mix).”
[/quote]

Yeah… I don’t buy it. I think what the article meant to say was “… but severe detonation on most grades of pump fuel necessitated…“

[Gary]

[quote=”McWicked” post=114434][quote=”Chevyman21″ post=114398]“- but carbon buildup with certain grades of fuel necessitated an unusual water-injection system (actually, a water/alcohol mix).”
[/quote]

Yeah… I don’t buy it. I think what the article meant to say was “… but severe detonation on most grades of pump fuel necessitated…“[/quote] True, but carbon buildup will cause detonation by raising compression/creating hotspots..adding a turbocharger onto it just exacerbates the problem. I think I get what you are trying to say though. The alcohol in the water/alcohol mix raises the octane rating of the fuel to prevent detonation. Let me know if I’m not following you correctly.

[David Nichols]

I had a VERY happy day today. I finally got around to getting a plastic bottle that I could mist water with.

I wanted to try what Eric did on the Ford Fairlane, by very slowly, pouring small amounts of water in his carburetor.

I did the “equivalent” on my fuel injected engine after it was warmed up.

Thinking about how my MAF failed after I cleaned it with MAF cleaner and let it dry for a 1/2 hour versus longer drying time the previous time . . . I decided fogging my intake before the MAF was not an option. EVAP flow also, nearly, pointed right after the MAF, so I chose the hose form my valve cover to just the throttle, removed it, and carefully, slowly misted water in.

I got a little more aggressive as it seemed to be going well, especially with a little throttle added (1/7 of my idle speed was down from the engine not getting as much blow by gasses.).

In the end I spent some minutes or maybe 15 minutes doing this, and I hadn’t moved an ounce of water down the bottle.

Prior to this, I had a leaking no. 1 fuel injector. I replaced the fuel injectors, but not all the symptoms were gone. My metal intake on cylinder no. 1 was 8 degrees Celsius hotter than the other intakes (60 degrees versus 52 degrees, honestly no. 4 tended to look a little hot on my L4 LSI engine from a 2000 Chevy Prizm). Before and after the new fuel injectors the problem remained unchanged. I believed this was caused by carbon deposits in that chamber from an injector that could have been leaking a long time.

Even if the PCM wasn’t retarding the timing to compensate for predetonation on that cylinder, the higher compression ratio would have that cylinder hotter.

After misting water in, all cylinders appeared, as close as I could measure with my infrared thermometer ran nearly identical temperatures.

I took the car for a spin and the engine was incredibly smoother! Granted, I’ve never been to a Dyno, but I feed my *Torque App all the information on my car, and in the past have verified my speedometer with GPS speedometers, so I leave GPS off now, and I went from 110 HP to 115 wheel horse power! (As far as I can tell, just getting up to legal speed on a 75 mph freeway.)

When I got back, long after any water was introduced, I checked with my laser pointed thermometer and got the same results. 🙂

* (Bluetooth android app that connects via an OBD II port)

[Author]

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