Mike __ if you got time for something like this
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
HI Guys,
regarding my response to John's (jpdadeo,a valued contributing F-150 Online member) questions, and specifically where i was talking about the carbon removal treatment, I have to confess that I am partial to having the local Ford dealership do this.
I say this simply because they KNOW which treatments really work well, and generally know best how to administer them, etc. The typical result is a combustion chamber that basically looks brand new - kinda hard to beat.
I also said something else in my response to John, that was about the amount of rust he is getting on his plugs - now this is something that John & I have talked about at length via phone, and there really isn't' anything he can do about that, it's just the fact that in his driving conditions & needs, he ends up making a lot of what we would tend to refer to as very short trips. SO the combustion chamber & various fluids (engine coolant, cylinder head temps, engine oil, etc.) just don't get hot enough, for long enough, to burn of the liquid contaminants that are the normal by-product of combustion - such as all of the water - you know, like you see some out of your exhaust pipes sometimes when you do a cold start. That is what is causing John's rather extreme amount of rust, and so short of not doing such short trips, there really isn't anything to be done about that.
No I cannot speak intelligently as to whether or not the carbon removal treatment would also remove that rust or not - never tried it!
I just advise everyone to have on hand the aerokoil that Ford recommends, the same stuff that JMC and openclasspro#11 (Phil) kindly referred to in their posts handy for anyone with a modular motor - especially those with newer 3-valve engines when they want to change plugs.
I also think it's a god idea to have the carbon removal treatment done once a year, or at least every 30K miles, along with replacing the plugs in these 3-valve motors every 30K miles or so - I'm just not a fan of leaving spark plugs in for 50K, 80K, 100K miles like the automakers want us to - remember, they only do that to be able to claim a lower total cost of ownership over the first 100K miles, and to avoid having to pay to replace certain components if they recommend changing them before 80K miles.
I hope that info helps, & thanks to Phil for a source for that penetrant/lubricant!
regarding my response to John's (jpdadeo,a valued contributing F-150 Online member) questions, and specifically where i was talking about the carbon removal treatment, I have to confess that I am partial to having the local Ford dealership do this.
I say this simply because they KNOW which treatments really work well, and generally know best how to administer them, etc. The typical result is a combustion chamber that basically looks brand new - kinda hard to beat.
I also said something else in my response to John, that was about the amount of rust he is getting on his plugs - now this is something that John & I have talked about at length via phone, and there really isn't' anything he can do about that, it's just the fact that in his driving conditions & needs, he ends up making a lot of what we would tend to refer to as very short trips. SO the combustion chamber & various fluids (engine coolant, cylinder head temps, engine oil, etc.) just don't get hot enough, for long enough, to burn of the liquid contaminants that are the normal by-product of combustion - such as all of the water - you know, like you see some out of your exhaust pipes sometimes when you do a cold start. That is what is causing John's rather extreme amount of rust, and so short of not doing such short trips, there really isn't anything to be done about that.
No I cannot speak intelligently as to whether or not the carbon removal treatment would also remove that rust or not - never tried it!
I just advise everyone to have on hand the aerokoil that Ford recommends, the same stuff that JMC and openclasspro#11 (Phil) kindly referred to in their posts handy for anyone with a modular motor - especially those with newer 3-valve engines when they want to change plugs.
I also think it's a god idea to have the carbon removal treatment done once a year, or at least every 30K miles, along with replacing the plugs in these 3-valve motors every 30K miles or so - I'm just not a fan of leaving spark plugs in for 50K, 80K, 100K miles like the automakers want us to - remember, they only do that to be able to claim a lower total cost of ownership over the first 100K miles, and to avoid having to pay to replace certain components if they recommend changing them before 80K miles.
I hope that info helps, & thanks to Phil for a source for that penetrant/lubricant!
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 368
Likes: 0
From: Angleton, Tx
When using the carbon removal treatment, do you need to unhook the cats? I've used a carbon removal treatment on an outboard engine. All kinds of crap comes out. I realize thats 2 cycle vs 4 cycle. But, the stuff that comes out of the combustion chamber has to go somewhere.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Newt,
No,the cats do not get removed - and yes, if the motor has some miles on it you will see some funk come out of the exhaust, but it's not going to kill the catalytic converters. The worst I've seen on a 150K+ mile engine was for it to pour out smoke from the exhaust for about 20 minutes and then it was all over.
So no, the procedure we see Ford dealerships doing does not involve removing the cats - they don't disconnect the connection at the exhaust manifold, that would be unbearably loud in a shop for that amount of time, and it doesn't kill the cats, is the bottom line. Now if the motor were to be spewing out that mess all the time, then sure, the cats wouldn't last as long, but this is strictly a short-term thing that is over in anywhere from 5-20 minutes or so, depending on the amount of accumulation inside the engine from what I've seen, so it's not something to worry about doing every 30K miles on a 5.4 3V, for example.
No,the cats do not get removed - and yes, if the motor has some miles on it you will see some funk come out of the exhaust, but it's not going to kill the catalytic converters. The worst I've seen on a 150K+ mile engine was for it to pour out smoke from the exhaust for about 20 minutes and then it was all over.
So no, the procedure we see Ford dealerships doing does not involve removing the cats - they don't disconnect the connection at the exhaust manifold, that would be unbearably loud in a shop for that amount of time, and it doesn't kill the cats, is the bottom line. Now if the motor were to be spewing out that mess all the time, then sure, the cats wouldn't last as long, but this is strictly a short-term thing that is over in anywhere from 5-20 minutes or so, depending on the amount of accumulation inside the engine from what I've seen, so it's not something to worry about doing every 30K miles on a 5.4 3V, for example.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 509
Likes: 0
From: Great Barrington, MA
Mike, is this the Sea Foam treatment you are talking about???
Which method would you recommend using this Sea Foam from this page:
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm
Should I just pour it through one of the vacuum lines as suggested by them? Or run it through the gas tank? Or both?
Thanks!
Which method would you recommend using this Sea Foam from this page:
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm
Should I just pour it through one of the vacuum lines as suggested by them? Or run it through the gas tank? Or both?
Thanks!