I was looking at a march issue of petersons off-road magazine on page 43 it said you could remove the carbon easy on your valves, pistons,etc.etc. without taking the engine apart! it says to use 4 ounces of automatic transmission fluid in a suction bottle setup if you have one? if you dont? you can pour 4 ounces in a cup and disconnect the PCV hose while the engine is running making sure the engine is up to operating temperature! but BE CAREFUL OF MOVING PARTS UNDER THE HOOD! and remove the PCV valve and take the end of the hose and place it in the cup and use it like a shop vac to suck up small portions of the ATF! it said the cool tranny fluid would hit the hot carbon and cause it to shatter and it would exit out through the exaust? so what i want to know has anyone ever tried this? if so what was the results? or am i going to have to be the first guiena pig in here to try it? my engine has 51.000 miles on it. it runs good but the darn pinging is driving me nuts and i was thinking it was carbon build up? maybe this will help?

 

I have never heard of that one. On my old 68 Cutlass (350 Rocket) I used to slowly pour water in the carb... That was supposed to do the same thing.

I thought the PCV valve (Positive Crankcase ventilation?) allows the "Blow-By" pressure and gases to escape and be RE-BURNED???

I fail to see how the trans fluid gets into the intake and get to the pistons or valves??

I know you can use certain vacuum hoses! They usually lead to the intake manifold... That might work better.

I would recommend using the "BG" engine decarb method! Its a little expensive but has been proven to work better than ANYTHING I have heard of. You have to find a BG dealer in your area. Someone who will perform this service. You could try a can of BG44K in your tank first. But since you have 51K I would go ahead and get the full service... They use 44K in the tank with the service!

I do this on ALL my vehicles, every 30K.... You should see the crap come outa the tail pipe while their doing the service! Afterwards, the engine feels like NEW! Worked VERY well on my Expedition!

Do a search for BG Products on this site... You will find a URL!



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Rand

 

You didn't mention what year, and what engine you have. Only 51k miles is pretty early for a big carbon build-up, don't you think? Could you have some other problem?
About the trans fluid, I think the idea there was to use the suction-side hose of the PCV system. That way it would lead to the intake. But it would only get the cylinders closest to the vac port on manifold. Maybe its because I'm an old ____, but I wouldn't do it. Could coat O2 sensor, could break off a piece of carbon and jam it against ring if it works, etc. Oh yeah, the water trick, that only works if you use a real vintage 50's - 60's Coke bottle to pour the water out of, while playing an 8-track of Jan&Dean or Beachboys!

 

I saw that ATF trick used about 20 years ago on a chevy 350 that pinged like crazy. Reved the engine to about 4K, poured about half a cup right down the throat of the carburetor, HUUUGE cloud of smoke. After it cleared the car ran MUCH better, no pinging at all.
Although I do agree that 51k us a little early for carbon buildup.

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1999 Lariat Super Cab, S.B. 5.4L, 3.55 LS
and everything but the leaky slider window.
Bright red w/ gold 2-tone, Leather Captain's Chairs
Mods: Duraliner bedliner, Bugflector II, Hide-a-hooks.
& a leeetle chrome tip on the exhaust.

 

The use of atf works because atf is a detergant it will cleans the carbon off valve ans piston domes it will also foul out the pulgs and to replace plugs on a 5.4 is a tough job the ford warranty book pays somthing like 2.3 hrs wich means it take at least 3.0 hrs that alot of time to replace plugs. Are you sure it is carbon up their are fuel additives that could help you a company called wynes makes some good products i know there are others out there also. good luck my .02 cent as a mechanic.

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*2000 blk xlt f150
*5.4 4x4 3.55 ls
*sc orp pkg
*tow pkg, 17 inch wheels
*herculiner,remote start
*flowmaster, air box mod
*bfg ko's A.R.E. cap
*sony 10 disc cd player
*************************
****mods to come*********
LS for front diff
wms air tube
super chip

 

I hate to sound like a broken record on this board, but give Chevron Techron a try. It's cheap and works great. Comes in a black plastic bottle and costs around $7.

 

You are fooling yourself if you dont think a car/truck can have carbon buildup at 30K!!!

Quite a few engines have this problem and FORD is known for it!

This is something that occurs CONSTANTLY! You must remove it all the time or it will build up to the point that it CAN NOT be removed... Then you have problems that will not go away without getting into the engine!

Techron, from what I've read, is THE best bang for the buck! It supposedly works pretty well... I would do it every 5K.

When the engine is burning fuel, its making carbon!

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Rand

 

You can use tap water instead of ATF. You can also mist it (with a spray bottle) into the throttle body.

 

If it's the pinging bothering you give the next higher grade of octane a try. If a tankful of that stops it you might wanna either stick with that or try another brand of gas.

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Red 99.5 Lightning,
#0975,
Born 5/6/99...Adopted 5/27/99
Chipped w/SuperChip Flipchip chip,
PSP Filter(track untested),
Water Wetter,
Mobil 1,
Foglamp Covers,
13.573@101.08




[This message has been edited by 4D THNDR (edited 02-18-2000).]

 

Rand is right. If an engine starts pinging, get it fixed. I don't know why some engines have a problem with carbon buildup, but it happens and you need to fix it. If you let the carbon build up, it will only get worse.

Going up the octane ladder is only a temporary solution that eventually ends up costing you more money over the long run.

It sounds like BG's treatment might be a good product to get rid of the initial problem. Then, you should be able to use Chevron's economical Techron to keep deposits to a minimum.

Remember to do the treatment just before you change the oil.

 

I'm with ya Dennis!

Another thing, these engines are DESIGNED to run on 87 octane. If you have a problem with detonation using 87.... You have something wrong with the timing/air/fuel...Probably the computer will have a code that will tell the dealer whats wrong!

You have a STOCK thermostat right?

I colder or hotter thermostat could RUIN your engine and cause problems!



------------------
Rand

 

I had a friend do that ATF thing with his 1970 Boss Mustang. It smoked so bad that a police officer pulled him over and gave him a ticket. I think the tap water idea would work better and cleaner. You might also consider just giving the truck a good hard run at highway speeds once in awhile. Slow stop and go city driving is harder on an engine that we think.

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97 F-150, 2WD, Reg Cab,Flareside,Dk Toreador Red, Windsor 4.6, Magnecor 8.5mm wires, Bosch Plat +4s, 3.55 LS, EGR Bug Deflector, ******* Bed Cover, Bed Liner, XL Full Length Running Boards, Air Aid Kit, Gibson Single Out Cat Back, Superchips, TransGo Shift Kit, Hellwig Rear Sway Bar, Hellwig 2500# Overload Springs

 

SORRY i didnt post sooner but for one guys question my truck is a 97 F-150 4.6 triton as far as engine cleaners i have tried every thing that they stock on the auto store shelf i will put it in there! and it will help until i have to refuel up again! and the pinging comes right back and i noticed that some additives made it ping worser! and the way gas prices are i cant afford to dump a $5 or $6 dollar bottle of cleaner in it ever time i refuel? ford has had it back three times over this and they never did no good? except when my warranty was about up i took it to them when it had about 35.000 on it? they replaced the mass air flow sensor and was suppose to decarbonize the engine and put some kind of additive in the gas. WELL GUESS WHAT? it worked until the warranty was out then it was rigt back pinging again! i have had it put on a diagnostic machine it says everything is functioning correctly? but it couldnt be cause i know a engine is not suppose to ping like that! i will have to try the one additive BG44K that RAND mentioned if i can find it? I was thinking of buying a new computor from a salvage yard if i can find one that the codes match up? also one guy i know said the EGR valve would carbon up and cause the engine to ping also the catyletic convertors could be clogged? i am going to remove the EGR valve and clean it. By the way has anyone tried the CHAMPION splitfire plugs in these engines it says on the package it increases MPG and stops detonation? I thank everyone for there help and suggestions. is this a great website or what? everybody KEEP ON TRUCKIN or in my case KEEP ON PINGING

 

F-truck, That's been my solution as well! The EGR valve can become so built up with carbon that it's useless. I pulled one off my 85 Bronco and had to clean some of the orfices with an electric drill! (I did that carefully).
I've also tried the h2o thing and can't really remember that helping much - but it's a cheap try.
You said you had Ford check it out - did they check the anti-knock sensor? Probably, but it's worth a double-check.
Good luck and let us know your solution.

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1999 F250SD, XLT, 4x2, SC, V10, 4.30, LT235x85x16R, Longbed, Diamond plate mud flaps,Trailer tow Pkg, Class IV hitch, Camper special, sliding rear window, rear privacy glass, Ford rain gutters, Line-X, Lund wind deflector, Banks Trans Command, Banks tranny temp guage with Auto Meter single guage pod. Reese 15K fifth wheel hitch

 

F-trucks -- Don't use Splitfire plugs. I know of boat owners who have tried them and have experienced major mechanical problems. Some have had the electrode burn off and score the cylinder wall. Some have even had holes blown into their pistons because of the way the plugs fire.

Granted, boat engines usually operate at near full throttle for long periods of time, but it still makes you wonder about these plugs.

If you want a really good plug for our engines, do a search on this board on Bosch Platinum. I think it's the plus 4? Several of the list members swear by these plugs. I think Mike Troyer the Superchip guy uses them.

btw, if it's the cat converters, the warranty on pollution control devices is a lot longer than the basic warranty is. Everybody should get their system checked before that particular warranty expires at 50K (?) miles.