Not your normal carbon cleaning question.....

[Rouphis]

I have a 1996 F-150 with a 5.0 in it. The ports in the heads that the secondary air injection system use, are plugged with hard carbon. This is causing a P0411 almost every time the AIR monitor runs. What can I use to melt away these deposits? I tried seafoam poured into the crossover pipe(which supplies the air into the head), which didn't seem to get me anywhere.

So people of BITOG, what is the best, measured by effectiveness or length of warning label, carbon melting cleaner, that will not harm my cat, or O2 sensors?

Thanks
-Rouphis

 

[GMBoy]

If you can get access to spray carb or intake cleaner - that will disolve it on contact.

 

[Greggy_D]

Amsoil Power Foam.

I just did a 4 hour piston soak and the Power Foam completely obliterated the carbon on the pistons.

 

[Rouphis]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
If you can get access to spray carb or intake cleaner - that will disolve it on contact.


I should have mentioned, a can of spray carb cleaner was plan a.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Amsoil Power Foam.

I just did a 4 hour piston soak and the Power Foam completely obliterated the carbon on the pistons.


How do you know the carbon on the pistons is now gone?

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Try Lube Control (LC 20) if you have it. I used an overnight soak with a couple ounces and a piece of coat hanger to clean the plugged EGR passage on a Saturn 1.9 intake.

The port was plugged solid. The first time, I soaked it with throttle body spray and thought I got the wire through, but still had the EGR code after reassembly. (I could open the EGR valve at idle and nothing would happen.) I used LC 20 the second time, and it worked.

 

[OVERKILL]

AC Delco combustion chamber cleaner. It makes Seafoam look like Windex.

 

[morris]

mmo

 

[JoeWGauss]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
AC Delco combustion chamber cleaner..


This is EXACTLY what you need , it is pretty harsh solvent but it does the job and will not cause any damage if used as directed.

MMO will not do anything to touch these hardened desposits. I honestly don't understand why BITOG doesn't stop some of the spamming from MMO spamers. Unless of course they are advertisers which they might be.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: JoeWGauss
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
AC Delco combustion chamber cleaner..


This is EXACTLY what you need , it is pretty harsh solvent but it does the job and will not cause any damage if used as directed.

MMO will not do anything to touch these hardened desposits. I honestly don't understand why BITOG doesn't stop some of the spamming from MMO spamers. Unless of course they are advertisers which they might be.



Easy on the mmo bro. Its very good stuff, just not for an app.such as this.

 

[tommygunn]

I can't see a "spammer" with 807 posts....surely if they were a spammer, they would be gone by now.

Everyone has their favorite tool of the trade, but yea, I think you need a good close contact cleaner, soaking agent of sorts.

Sure, once you get it cleaned up nice, MMO, Seafoam, or TCW-3 mixed in the gas will "keep it clean" but for these hardened deposits, you really need an over night soak with some high potency stuff.

Perhaps something like Berryman's B-12 CHEMTOOL...it's basically Xylene, Acetone, and Lacquer Thinner, with some light IPA, and methanol.....it may do the trick....



BTW, when you tried the Seafoam through the cross over pipe, was the engine "hot" and/or warmed up good? If not, that could be why it didn't work as expected....

 

[morris]

how is 3 letters spamming?

 

[punisher]

You want to know how to clean those EGR ports on the rear of the head? You pull off the EGR tube bolted to the rear of the heads and manually punch/clean out the carbon. After you clean it, run the engine a sec to blow out any loose stuff, and clean again. You have to clean the tube as well as the head ports.

Good luck on finding any solvent to get that stuff loose. If you do, let me know about it as I know a bunch of Ford techs who would appreciate the info.

 

[R2d2]

Originally Posted By: morris
how is 3 letters spamming?


Because that would obviously be of no help, he wasn't looking for a snake oil.

 

[Greggy_D]

Originally Posted By: Artem
Originally Posted By: Greggy_D
Amsoil Power Foam.

I just did a 4 hour piston soak and the Power Foam completely obliterated the carbon on the pistons.


How do you know the carbon on the pistons is now gone?


Easy. I removed the plugs and peered in. Before I soaked them, the piston tops were black and looked like the surface of the moon. I soaked them with Power Foam for 4 hours. I shot the foam directly into the plug holes. I did not use the intake method. I probably used 30% of the can total.

Put some rags over the holes and cranked the motor. The rags shot out and it looked like the Bellagio fountains coming out of my engine. Dark brown liquid with hundreds of small black carbon particles. Mopped up the mess and reinstalled the plugs.

Took it for a drive, removed the plugs again. No carbon. Dark grey piston tops.

 

[punisher]

EDIT my post above: EGR=AIR system.

 

[mechtech2]

Manually remove what you can to get at parts that you can clean and soak.
I have not used the GM cleaner, but it is reported to be real spiffy.