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

[Ryan]

I was gonna ask is anyone were capable of doing a good demo of this? Say take an old high miles engine, pull a head off, run the water thru, then pull the head again and see what’s inside. A before/after video.

[garry]

[quote=”Rhynorock” post=131675]I was gonna ask is anyone were capable of doing a good demo of this? Say take an old high miles engine, pull a head off, run the water thru, then pull the head again and see what’s inside. A before/after video.[/quote]

what fo and chrisfix will be doing with the borescope will be maybe not quite as thorough as taking off the head, but will still give a very good look as to the difference before and after.

some other videos on various methods.

these are great, really get to see what it actually does if you follow the products instructions (sorry to say not much).

[John Schrauwen]

1. How does this process compare to other methods like hydrogen cleaning which basically follows the same basic procedure?
Does ETCG not respond to most posts when new queries are added?

2. I just watched this other video which I was thinking of applying to my 2008 Audi A5 3.2 FSI. Since the FSI engines on BMW’s, VW’s and Audi’s use direct port injection, the process of gas cleaning the intake valves and part of the manifold no longer applies and therefore is at greater risk of carbon build-up.
I’m curious if the process in this video I’m posting is a viable means for decarbonizing my engine?

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOoIuBu5xO4[/video]

[EricTheCarGuy]

[quote=”jschrauwen” post=144142]1. How does this process compare to other methods like hydrogen cleaning which basically follows the same basic procedure?
Does ETCG not respond to most posts when new queries are added?

2. I just watched this other video which I was thinking of applying to my 2008 Audi A5 3.2 FSI. Since the FSI engines on BMW’s, VW’s and Audi’s use direct port injection, the process of gas cleaning the intake valves and part of the manifold no longer applies and therefore is at greater risk of carbon build-up.
I’m curious if the process in this video I’m posting is a viable means for decarbonizing my engine?

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOoIuBu5xO4[/video][/quote]

I was on vacation last week. That’s the reason for the delayed reply. That said, carbon buildup is not often an issue in most engines in my experience. Many times if you have a buildup in the intake it’s a result of the engine getting worn out and the increased blow buy tends to gum up the intake.

What we seem to be seeing more of is issues with direct injection engines. Those tend to carbon up more than traditional fuel injection set ups. If you think about it, fuel is a solvent and in a sense is self cleaning. Direct injection engines don’t work the same way and therefore have more issues with carbon buildup.

I’m actually looking into new methods of decarbonizing and cleaning engines which I hope to cover in a future video. Now that I have a borescope I can verify the results as you pointed out.

[John Schrauwen]

[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=144334]I was on vacation last week. That’s the reason for the delayed reply. That said, carbon buildup is not often an issue in most engines in my experience. Many times if you have a buildup in the intake it’s a result of the engine getting worn out and the increased blow buy tends to gum up the intake.

What we seem to be seeing more of is issues with direct injection engines. Those tend to carbon up more than traditional fuel injection set ups. If you think about it, fuel is a solvent and in a sense is self cleaning. Direct injection engines don’t work the same way and therefore have more issues with carbon buildup.

I’m actually looking into new methods of decarbonizing and cleaning engines which I hope to cover in a future video. Now that I have a borescope I can verify the results as you pointed out.[/quote]
Thank you sir.
Looking forward to your future video/info on the subject.
This has never been a concern of time til recently. Prior to my 2008 Audi A5 3.2 FSI, I owned an Audi A4 2.8 which wasn’t a direct port injection so the carbon issue was never a concern.
To date, I’ve seen a few variations to combat intake carbonization.
1. Walnut shell blasting (Most evasive requiring slight teardown to get access to intake manifold. Also most expensive requiring at least 4+ hours to complete but also the most thorough)
2. Chemical cleaning through intake and/or vacuum line. (Much less expensive then #1 requiring less then an hour and cost of cleaning solutions)
3. Hydrogen cleaning through the intake. (Costing approximately the same as #2 requiring almost the same time but an easier process)
4. Water vapour/mist cleaning through the intake. (DIY type process somewhat similar to your water down the carburetor video)

[Bill]

Old threads never die! Just saw the link to this one off the Mini Series Direct Injection valve cleaning. What’s your opinion on cleaning a Mini’s engine with this process? Seeing that there’s a potential for a high amount of carbon build up, wondering if there’s risk of engine damage due to the possible amounts of carbon that could break free.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Not sure if that would work. I think it would be very difficult to get the water into the intake for cleaning. Likely the best method for the N14 engine is to remove the intake and do a manual cleaning.

[Author]

Replies