Decarbonization using water..

BUTCH1 · Nov 22, 2016

I've heard this works but this dude went a little heavy IMO..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv4a3k-6Z4w&t=5s

Pacfanweb · Nov 24, 2016

It does work. I didn't watch the video, but you use a small vacuum line and suck the water into the engine gradually. Cleans very well.

Sabrewings · Nov 24, 2016

Yep, works well. I've done it. It's not as potent as something like Seafoam, but it's cheap/free depending on where you get it.

BUTCH1 · Nov 24, 2016

Pacfanweb said:
It does work. I didn't watch the video, but you use a small vacuum line and suck the water into the engine gradually. Cleans very well.

Watch the vid, he uses a garden hose and BLASTS the intake!, it's LOLX10

leper84 · Nov 25, 2016

So is this like when 4chan convinced people to microwave their Iphones? Because thats the vibe I'm getting from that video.

Ronstang · Nov 26, 2016

On carbureted cars I used to pour transmission fluid down the carb from a cup while holding the idle high , around 2000-2500 and when the smoke was gone do the same with water. I always did this right before a spark plug change. Sometimes I would just do the water in between spark plug changes. It really did clean the engines up inside of carbon buildup.

Pacfanweb · Nov 27, 2016

BUTCH1 said:
Watch the vid, he uses a garden hose and BLASTS the intake!, it's LOLX10

Just watched it. He's an idiot.

BUTCH1 · Nov 27, 2016

Pacfanweb said:
Just watched it. He's an idiot.

How that engine stayed running is beyond me!, didn't exactly sound too great afterwards but I think it's just a tired '90's engine

ronbo613 · Nov 28, 2016

Yes, you can do that, it's like steam cleaning the inside of your engine. I prefer to spend $6 for a can of Seafoam or even a $4 knockoff Walmart version of it instead.

Pacfanweb · Nov 30, 2016

ronbo613 said:
Yes, you can do that, it's like steam cleaning the inside of your engine. I prefer to spend $6 for a can of Seafoam or even a $4 knockoff Walmart version of it instead.

Thing is, water is free and works just as well.

BUTCH1 · Nov 30, 2016

Pacfanweb said:
Thing is, water is free and works just as well.

Yup, can you spot the cylinder (blown head gasket) that had coolant inside it?,

Pacfanweb · Dec 3, 2016

^Yep, it's the one that is nice and clean.

I've seen that many, many times....cars come in with a head gasket seeping into the cylinder, and whichever cylinders are getting the coolant are sparkly clean.

Steam is amazing.

ronbo613 · Dec 4, 2016

BUTCH1 said:
Yup, can you spot the cylinder (blown head gasket) that had coolant inside it?

Coolant is not water. Coolant/antifreeze can damage bearing material. You can use water to clean the inside of your engine, but if any water remains in the cylinders or other internal parts of the engine, it can cause serious damage. If you use a petroleum based cleaner like Seafoam, it's not an issue. The Seafoam-type cleaners do a better job dissolving the thicker deposits as well. If you can't afford $6 to clean the inside of your engine, maybe you should consider not doing it, or running a few tankfuls of premium gas.

Pacfanweb · Dec 5, 2016

ronbo613 said:
Coolant is not water. Coolant/antifreeze can damage bearing material. You can use water to clean the inside of your engine, but if any water remains in the cylinders or other internal parts of the engine, it can cause serious damage. If you use a petroleum based cleaner like Seafoam, it's not an issue. The Seafoam-type cleaners do a better job dissolving the thicker deposits as well. If you can't afford $6 to clean the inside of your engine, maybe you should consider not doing it, or running a few tankfuls of premium gas.

What is a few tanks of premium going to do? All gas has detergents in it, and running premium with a little extra will make no difference.

Water isn't going to stay in the engine. You're going to suck it in with a SMALL vacuum hose, it's going to get compressed and turn to steam in the combustion process, and go out the exhaust pipe.

The coolant isn't what cleaned that cylinder in the picture. Straight water would have done the exact same thing. Seafoam isn't going to get it any cleaner than that pic.

ronbo613 · Dec 6, 2016

Pacfanweb said:
What is a few tanks of premium going to do? All gas has detergents in it, and running premium with a little extra will make no difference.

Water isn't going to stay in the engine. You're going to suck it in with a SMALL vacuum hose, it's going to get compressed and turn to steam in the combustion process, and go out the exhaust pipe.

The coolant isn't what cleaned that cylinder in the picture. Straight water would have done the exact same thing. Seafoam isn't going to get it any cleaner than that pic.

Not going to argue with you, feel free to put all the water you want into your engine, a little extra will make no difference.

Pacfanweb · Dec 6, 2016

ronbo613 said:
Not going to argue with you, feel free to put all the water you want into your engine, a little extra will make no difference.

Running it through a vacuum hose isn't "a little extra". Sorry, but I've been in the car business for over 30 years, and I've done this, and seen it done dozens dozens of times. It works. Damn good.

I remember one old Ford 250 truck where at the tail pipe exit it had sort of a screen....I did this and it had hunks of carbon jingling behind the screen afterwards.

Re: the pic above: I had a hot rod that I ran straight water in the cooling system. Had a leaking head gasket. Pulled the head and 2 cylinders where the gasket was leaking looked like brand new. That was straight water, not coolant.

It works. That's a fact.

ronbo613 · Dec 6, 2016

Pacfanweb said:
Running it through a vacuum hose isn't "a little extra". Sorry, but I've been in the car business for over 30 years, and I've done this, and seen it done dozens dozens of times. It works. Damn good.

I remember one old Ford 250 truck where at the tail pipe exit it had sort of a screen....I did this and it had hunks of carbon jingling behind the screen afterwards.

Re: the pic above: I had a hot rod that I ran straight water in the cooling system. Had a leaking head gasket. Pulled the head and 2 cylinders where the gasket was leaking looked like brand new. That was straight water, not coolant.

It works. That's a fact.

When I see the "been in the ____ business for thirty years" statement, I exit the conversation. Other people have been in the "car" business for a long time as well, maybe even me. Since it is you that determines what the "facts" are and everyone else is wrong, there is no point to discussion.

Since you are an automotive expert, I will leave this conversation with one final question; If running water through the engine keeps it so clean, why don't vehicle manufacturers install a water injection system as standard equipment to keep the engines running at peak performance?

Pacfanweb · Dec 6, 2016

ronbo613 said:
When I see the "been in the ____ business for thirty years" statement, I exit the conversation. Other people have been in the "car" business for a long time as well, maybe even me. Since it is you that determines what the "facts" are and everyone else is wrong, there is no point to discussion.

Since you are an automotive expert, I will leave this conversation with one final question; If running water through the engine keeps it so clean, why don't vehicle manufacturers install a water injection system as standard equipment to keep the engines running at peak performance?

Maybe because it affects power and the carbon buildup these days really doesn't hurt anything in the first place?

thedarkwolf · Dec 7, 2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_injection_(engine)

They don't mention cleaning but yeah it does that too

BUTCH1 · Dec 9, 2016

thedarkwolf said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_injection_(engine)

They don't mention cleaning but yeah it does that too

Hmm, after reading that Wiki I'm thinking I might use a 75% water 25% methanol mix, interesting..

BUTCH1 · Dec 15, 2016

Well I went ahead and did it, I used a spray-bottle on mist and wound up running about 20oz of distilled water through the intake. During the process I found my throttle-body opening near the butterfly to be EXTREMELY dirty so I sprayed some carb-cleaner on a clean rag and wiped the gunk all out. Following the treatment my hesitation during WOT is now gone as is the slight pinging I was experiencing. I had temporarily switched to 91 octane to avoid the pinging but now I can run regular again, it works!.

HarryLui · Dec 16, 2016

It works, but in much less way than you think. The throttle body cleaning probably help much more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6UeJXkzDW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4vtYzezV7s

BUTCH1 · Dec 17, 2016

HarryLui said:
It works, but in much less way than you think. The throttle body cleaning probably help much more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6UeJXkzDW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4vtYzezV7s

Yea, it's difficult to say which did more because that throttle-bore was WAY more nasty than I expected. I don't have a borescope but I see cheap one's on Amazon for $16-25 so I might grab one at that price. The back plugs are to much of a PITA but the front 3 cylinders are not bad to get at. Why I suspect the water worked was that a dirty throttle-body would not (I don't think) come into play at WOT and this is where my engine was having problems with intermittent missing, IMO carbon build up from my many short trips was the culprit. I used to drive 14 miles to work each way, now for the last3 years it's been 2.3 miles each way so the car is just barely getting out of open-loop when I pull into where I work. If I do it again I will get a cheap bore-scope so a before/after can be done on the front 3 cylinders. I'd also want to probe deeper into my intake manifold and see how that looks like.

Pacfanweb · Dec 20, 2016

A chemical like BG makes would probably work better in the intake or throttle body. When I was talking about the water cleaning, I'm talking about in the cylinder itself. There, the water is a good as anything. Steam. Not going to get steam in the air intake, so likely less effective.

Rob The Nailer · Jan 10, 2017

Ronstang said:
On carbureted cars I used to pour transmission fluid down the carb from a cup while holding the idle high , around 2000-2500 and when the smoke was gone do the same with water. I always did this right before a spark plug change. Sometimes I would just do the water in between spark plug changes. It really did clean the engines up inside of carbon buildup.

Ronstang, can you please reach out to me to discuss work on a "66 Mustang in Houston? Thank you.

Decarbonization using water..

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