Carbon Cleaning

[Konrad]

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with getting their engine 'carbon cleaned' - ie: take it to a mechanic and they run some sota cleaner through the motor whist its running. Its not the same as squirting a can of carby cleaner thru the motor.. or is it??

Can anyone confrim this is worth doing?? I've heard large carbon buildups on the pistons can cause engines to ping etc...

[TokyoTaxi]

I can't imagine it being required for a modern engine and didn't even know people still did it !

Way back in the old days we used to use brake fluid to de-carbon Worked really well but I wouldn't suggest doing it nowdays

[mr moo]

when i did mechanics this guy just ran water through the vaccum lines that seemed wrong but it worked

[TokyoTaxi]

We used to do that one too. I knew a guy who worked for a dealership many years ago that tried the water de-carbon trick on a customer's supra and got it wrong ( bent 2 rods, lol ).

The brake fluid trick was for severe cases and just to clarify, we didn't run brake fluid through the engine while it was running We used to soak the pistons / cylinders for about 2 full days which lifted the carbon build-up. Won't go into the whole procedure because it's illegal and has damage potential if done incorrectly.

[AzzurrA]

with my old VK commodore we just ran a 50/50 mix of water/metho through the carby to de-coke the engine

[Bliksem]

They use ATF fluid in rotors to de-carbon the apex seals if it has been sitting for a while. Not done whilst running though.

Mafia was starting a gb with water/methanol injection kits not long ago, reduces pinging and also cleans the internals of the engine. Could consider something like that... would also prevent the problem in the future.....

[WazR32GTSt]

what about just use an ethanol-based fuel such as optimax extreme..

[MrAnderson]

you can also decoke your engine (thats what they used to call it back when it needed to be done every 30k) by simply running it on the highway for a bit - add some injector cleaner as well if you want.

[nicko32]

A carbon clean makes a bit of a difference ( not like putting nitrous on or nething like that)

i noticed the difference after i got it done on my falcon,

dunno wat it would be like on a later model Jap car, worth a try tho

[(B1) MR_fanny]

i just go to suby dealership and buy the can for 15-20bucks and do it myself. they charge you through the ass for something so simple.

[BOOSTA]

I used to work for the Shell mechanical garages, and we had proper carbon cleaning machines that use high pressure and a special wynns product called "CARBON BLASTER". The results of b4 and after were massive, wish i had pictures of all the carbon buildup that actually comes out when the machine sucks all the old crap out.

Not entirely sure how the machine actually works, but the results from actually getting ur engine properly cleaned with a specialist machine vs just a can of carby cleaner, throttle body cleaner etc is 2 different leagues. Im not sure on whether u should get it done but we have done it from hsv's to bmw's but only if we thought the car would really benefit from it.

From memory it cost $120 - 150 depending on quantity of product used and takes 30mins - 1hr to do. Ask around and see if your mechanic actually has a proper carbon cleaning machine. not a can of carby cleaner!

Cheers Pete (BOOSTA)