Did a google search on seafoam and this article ( http://www.automotiveforums.com/t201267.html ) came up on using water to clean carbon deposits out of the engine. Anyone ever try this? Something just seems wrong with this idea...

 

I have done it many times. Doesn't hurt a thing. I have not done it with any vehicle with a cat or FI.

 

Same here! I have used water many times with good results.

 

This technique works best with a carbureted engine.

I remember an article on Car Talk saying that you should pour the water VERY slowly down the carb, about 8 ounces in 30 seconds.

The idea is that the rapid heating of the water causes it to vaporize instantly and become steam, which clears the carbon off the various parts of the combustion chamber. Same theory as using a pressure washer or a steam cleaner on parts on the outside of your motor.

 

There's been a thread about this going on in the FE engine forum, entitled "Water injection? What the?" Check it out, some links there as well. Water has been used to clean out carbon and stop detonation for years. -TD

 

ive done it and it worked great....breaks up alot of carbon and youll see it shoot out the exhaust pipes as grey smoke like the others said best results on a carb engine (thats what i used it on)

 

Thank guys, your reponses have left me wondering if it would be any good for my 2000 5.4 with the computer, fuel injection and all that or if I should just use seafoam...

 

I'd use the seafoam on an injected motor

 

Yeah, I agree with Andy. I don't think I'd want to try an old-school trick like that on a new EFI engine. With today's unleaded fuels and EFI, I doubt that you've got too much carbon build-up in a 4-year-old engine, probably just the usual TB build-up, and the water wouldn't clean that out since it's in a pre-combustion area. -TD

 

Well clean the TB pretty often, I am just wondering how much carbon and other junk has built up in the engine. It might be only 4 years old but it also has nearly 120k miles on it. Anyother hints or suggestions?

 

There's some posts I've been reading lately about cleaning the TB, how they have a special coating on them that can be eaten away with carb cleaner and to be sure you use throttle body cleaner. But you would probably be suprised to see how clean the inside of your engine really is, as long as you're not burning oil or running really rich due to a bad sensor or something. Just keep driving it and keep the things that you can see and get to clean, change your filters, etc, and don't worry about the inside carboning up. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Of course, there's nothing wrong with preventative maintenance. -TD

 

I did the water trick with my Challenger and had black smoke rolling out the pipes along with small black flakes. Don't do this with a smog legal car it could clog the cat. I had straight pipes so the flakes just flew out the back. If you do a search at Contour.org they had a detailed discussion on cleaning TB on and off the car. Most of the high performance guys use 4.6L TB over there.