Hi everyone. I keep reading threads where people have a whole lot of carbon in their engine and that it often times causes pinging. Somebody enlighten me, how and why is the carbon building up so heavily in the first place? I thought todays engines run clean and all that crap, and the buildup shouldn't be occuring.

Just curious what causes it, and more importantly, how to prevent it. I always run name brand gas (Shell/Texaco/Diamond Shamrock), does that help?

I have the v6 with about 15,000 miles on her, no pinging or anything but I'll do my part to prevent it from happening!

Thanks

 

I have seen excess carbon build up on carbureted vehicles. But as far as fuel injection technically it should run clean but it is still internal combustion taking place . I always run 93 octane in my truck cause thanks to obd2 and its 8 moniters every 15 seconds it will advance the timing until it hears a knock. The higher the fuel rating the more advance it can go..This is to a limit I remind you. Dynoed out 100 octane does not give my 5.4 anymore RWH than the 93 .. The computer will clamp down on its advance and the compression ratio doesnt need all that unless I Was rippin some boost through there. A lot of folks will argue higher octane is not needed.. In all essence it is up to the individual .. You could run 85 octane in there and get away with it. 9.0:1 is nothin to brag about. Overall bottom line is the additives in which they add to your local stations.

 

Internal carbon build up can be cleaned out by water!!, Thats right water, you need to get it into the motor via the throttle body, or a vaccuum source. If you are having a knocking or pre-ignition because or carbon, water is the solution. I wouldn't do it as any part of maintance, however if it cures a problem, I say try it.

I've done it several times on carb'ed and TBI systems, but never on a Multi-port set up. No need.

 

Jstang?
How did you do the work on a Carb'd car?
Did you spray water through a water bottle
straight into the carb with light streams
of spray?
I have never heard of carbon being taken care
of with water??? I thought you should bring up on
the highway and give a good kick in the butt...
Please let me know

 

Wheel horse, what year/model truck do you have? The current models are tuned for 87 and will not benefit from 93. The ECU can only advance timing as far as the software limits allow it to. This is why performance chips are so popular. They change the program to allow for a benefit from higher octane fuel. If you are not chipped you are just wasting money on fuel the engine isn't tuned for. Mike Troyer would be able to explain this better than I can.

 

98silver'

I just pour it in the carb, from a 1 QT jug(slowly), feather the throttle to keep it running.

 

With the design of the "Exhaust Gas Recirculation System" it makes perfect sense to me that, over time, carbon build-up will occur.

The EGR system recirculates burned fuel. After combustion, exhaust gases are expelled through the exhaust manifold and also re-introduced to the compression chamber through the intake manifold. The EGR system is open during partial throttle, such as when we are at cruising speed on the highway or city streets and closed at WOT and Idle.

An EFI System is more efficiant than a Carborated engine but it still creates plenty of polution when the fuel is burned. The ERG sytem was developed both for lower emissions and lower engine temps. The Exhaust gas is re-introduced after the MAF so it is not metered by the sensor. It's not part of the air/fuel ratio that the computer reads and as a result the fuel is leaned slightly creating lower engine temps.

To me, any engine that burns gas is creating carbon and over time the carbon is going to coat everything it has come in contact with for the previous tens of thousands of miles. Eventually it will raise the compression ratio.

If you need proof of carbon in your engine, remove the air intake boot from the throttle body, open the throttle body and shine a flashlight into the intake maniold. The throttle plate as well as the intake manifold will be "black". The carbon you see is also going to delevope at a slower rate in the combustion chamber.

 

Cleaning carbon from a carburated engine is as simple as having one person rev the engine while another slowly pours a glass of water into the engine through the carburator. As long as too much isn't introduced at one time the engine will compress it and the explosion of the gas will turn it to steam. The brilliance of this is that steam removes carbon more efficiantly and completely than any detergent. It's amazing!!!

Using water to clean an EFI engine isn't much more complicated. You need to be more causious though because the water needs to go through the intake manifold vaccuum lines at a very,very small rate.

If anyone is up for it:

>Remove the PCV valve hose connection behind the throttle body.

>Run a tube from a bottle of water to the intake manifold in place of the PCV valve tube that you removed. The water will be pulled in via engine vaccuum but you need to keep the rate of flow very small.

>Put some kind of a cap on the end of the tube before you put it in the water bottle and use a pin to make a small hole on the cap at the end of the tube. You need to keep the hole small to regulate the amount of water the engine sucks in or you'll cause it to vapor lock and need to replace your engine. It's not as dangerous as it sounds. As long as you don't let your engine drink a full glass of water in 10 seconds you should be fine.

>When you're ready, have someone start the engine and keep it at 1800 RPM's.

>With the engine at a steady 1800 RPM's slide the tube into the glass of water and watch as it is pulled through the tube and into the intake manifold. You'll see steam coming out the exhaust and the engine may stumble slightly (Remember, you're steam cleaning the carbon here). If it starts to caugh too severely simply remove the tube from the water till it recovers.

This really does work. The added benefits are that it's free and the steam will not destroy your sparks plugs or your $1,000.00 Cats like the chemical cleaners do.

 

Hey Norm, I have a 00 5.4 truck.. mods are slight.. I opened up the air box, K&N of coarse still sucking in nice cold air now {:o). bellmouthed the t bod. old super stock class trick from back in the day., and threw a ultra flow straight threw muffler on there.. ITs my daily driver .. I have a mustang that is in the mid 11's @ 116 . But As far as you were talking bout clamping modes . I was just quoting from what I learned out at training about when Obd2 came out. Chips raise the base timing an alter curves for sure and that deff takes advantage of higher octane.. I was talking to my man Stan, who is a chemical engineer for BP, and he was tellin me that the 93 octane is the best engineered for keepin the combustion chambers clear of build up.. I usually run 89 octane but run a few tanks of 93 to clean it out .. Its a 4x4 not a lightning LOL But don't get me wrong she still gets the GM's

 

I also have cleaned carbon with water poured down a carb. Remember water will not compress and when the piston comes up on compression stroke and there is too mich water in the chamber---something is going to give and it will not be the water. The soulution is add the water very slowly and add it into the throttle air intake, if the engine starts to hammer stand back the "End is near"

 

Could someone tell if you used water to blow up the motor? Just wanted the info for a company project on a car thats to damn old to be safe to drive, but will not repalce it till the motor goes.

 

Bubba is correct in that water can NOT be compressed. And it's not the steam that cleans the carbon. It's the oxygen. Adding water is adding oxygen, and the resulting combustion cleans the carbon. Just like nitrous does. In fact, as many of you old timers will remember, before nitrous oxide became an affordable alternative to street racers, there was water injection (below is a picture of my old Edelbrock Vara-jection tester, used for testing Edelbrock's water injection systems, known as Vara-jection). A poor mans nitrous. Water injection was much more risky, though. Too much could hydro-lock the engine, resulting in broken cranks, pistons and even blocks. Nitrous and water are both excellent for removing carbon, because of the extra oxygen they add to the mixture. As far as a higher octane gas cleaning the deposits, actually the opposite is often the case. Using a fuel with a higher octane than is necessary will actually leave deposits. Remember that octane hinders the combustion, and slows down the burn rate. Some people think of higher octane fuel as being more combustable, when in fact it's less. It's associated with high performance because, since it's harder to ignite, it permits higher compression, and high compression equals power. The most power producing, cleanest running gasoline you can use is the lowest octane you are able to run without experiencing detonation or pre-ignition.

Ron-
Most engines that were destroyed via water were due to hydro-lock, which would be obvious upon disassembly.

Take care,
-Chris

 

As I understand it there is some tolerance in the PCM to allow for the use of higher Octane. You can use 93 and gain a "little" HP.
Ford seems to tune these trucks on the rich side. Keeps the cats from melting. Anything you can do to lean out the mix a little should help. NOTE: these little things will not make rocket out of your truck, so are they worth it? That is for each individual to decide.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier