Piston soak with MMO (PICS), but...

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I was going to do a piston soak with MMO before my oil change. But... to my surprise the piston crowns are ALREADY SPOTLESS !?!?
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I was planning to use a turkey baster to suck out the carb deposits... but there was nothing to clean out. All 4 are even cleaner than the first(last) time I soaked the pistons about 1.5 years ago. I was expecting a lot of build up since I do...
  • 80-90% city driving
  • 5 mile commute
  • regular Hess gas
  • no fuel additives other than 2 to 2.5 oz of MMO very tank

Here are the pics down the spark plug tubes. Hopefully, you can see the capital "B" on top of the piston crown. I only took pics of 1 and 2. The pictures had to be taken with my phone which has a flash next to the camera, that's able to shoot down the tube.

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Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Why did you think they needed to be cleaned? Most engines look like yours


I've always been under the impression that the piston tops are always covered by deposits. It didn't look like that before I did my first MMO soak. I had black deposits covering the piston tops, which looked like the texture of a seasoned cast iron skillet. As mentioned the top looks even cleaner than before.

I usually add MMO 1k before my OCI(~5k miles) is up. But I wanted to do a soak this time.
 
Realistically, carbon deposits and all this "evil" is just an old wives tale for the most part if your car is running fine.

I treat my lawnmower like [censored] and the piston is spotless.
 
Originally Posted By: sunfire

I've always been under the impression that the piston tops are always covered by deposits. It didn't look like that before I did my first MMO soak. I had black deposits covering the piston tops, which looked like the texture of a seasoned cast iron skillet.


This description is exactly how piston tops looked in my corolla mostly driven in city before MMO piston soak. The soak removed at least 50% of deposits (I could see some aluminum) and improved drivebility a lot.

I haven't checked recently though.

Do you credit MMO in gas for the difference? Was there a difference in driving (like longer trips?) Is gas E10 now vs pure gas before?

I wouldn't call them spotless though. Spotless is silver-like.
 
TO: tommygunn you are so right. but years ago it wasnt like that. i knew a guy that started working on cars in 1925. he said that most cars, and mostly fords, would build up carbon so much that they would remove the heads just to remove carbon. and would take a torch in the spark plug hole trying to burn the carbon out.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Do you credit MMO in gas for the difference? Was there a difference in driving (like longer trips?) Is gas E10 now vs pure gas before?

I wouldn't call them spotless though. Spotless is silver-like.


My driving habits haven't changed since I owned the car. This has to be a formula for disaster that's why I thought a soak was needed:
  • 80-90% city driving
  • 5 mile commute
  • frequent trips 5-10 miles
  • always always E10 regular Hess gas - non top tier gas

When I saw the piston tops it was like drinking a gallon of cola everyday then having the diabetes test come back negative. I can't really explain it other than having MMO in the fuel because I haven't been using any other additives.

I've gone ~7k miles since the last soak. Now that I think about it I might have done a water decarb in between. I'm wondering if anyone else had a similar experience... "MMO piston soak + regular doses of MMO in the fuel leaving clean piston tops."
 
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Originally Posted By: sunfire
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Why did you think they needed to be cleaned? Most engines look like yours


I've always been under the impression that the piston tops are always covered by deposits. It didn't look like that before I did my first MMO soak. I had black deposits covering the piston tops, which looked like the texture of a seasoned cast iron skillet. As mentioned the top looks even cleaner than before.

I usually add MMO 1k before my OCI(~5k miles) is up. But I wanted to do a soak this time.


Keep doing exactly what you've been doing, that engine is very clean. The short hops you make can really make a mess of an engine. Unfortunately you don't have pictures showing the condition the engine would be in w/o the MMO. Not everyone is going to believe you, that's life. I've seen MMO make piston tops cleaner by adding it to gas over a period of about 6-9 months, before the Bitog days and digital cameras. Regular use will maintain that clean look you have.
 
between the MMO crowd and the Kreen crowd, our engines should be the cleanest in the world. I know personally that the Egyptians and Ethiopians are happy too. Just messing around, dont get twisted out of shape, Im an MMO fan.
 
Originally Posted By: morris
TO: tommygunn you are so right. but years ago it wasnt like that. i knew a guy that started working on cars in 1925. he said that most cars, and mostly fords, would build up carbon so much that they would remove the heads just to remove carbon. and would take a torch in the spark plug hole trying to burn the carbon out.


Back in the days of leaded gas, carbon was a big problem, Not today, but the old wives tales die hard...
 
Many in here, including me are always looking for the tuneup in a can. I waiting for the tuneup bottle that rebuilds the crank, bearings, and installs new pistons . lol
 
Originally Posted By: morris
TO: tommygunn you are so right. but years ago it wasnt like that. i knew a guy that started working on cars in 1925. he said that most cars, and mostly fords, would build up carbon so much that they would remove the heads just to remove carbon. and would take a torch in the spark plug hole trying to burn the carbon out.


Yeah I definitely understand that. Ill never deny that some cars out there may still benefit from an "Italian tuneup" now and then, but almost nobody realistically needs to bother.
 
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I still say water de-carbonization is the most effective method of removing carbon from pistons. It just steams it right off.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
I still say water de-carbonization is the most effective method of removing carbon from pistons. It just steams it right off.


Off the tops yes. I don't think it will free up sticking rings though. You need to actually do a piston soak for that or add something to the oil. JMO
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
I still say water de-carbonization is the most effective method of removing carbon from pistons. It just steams it right off.

I've done that too, my car felt good after a water decarb treatment. But it's hard to tell whats going on in there.

In my experience after my first MMO soak, I was able to pull out a lot of little carbon bits (turkey baster + vinyl tube) from the top. I wanted to do it again to show people but there wasn't much in there. I went ahead with a 2 day soak anyways. Drove to work this morning... and yes you've guessed it... the engine is much smoother when I cruise, rev, and take off from stop. Even when the shifts felt smoother.
 
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Do you want piston at the BDC and entire cylinder filled with MMO? For example, 135cc single cylinder engine, would I put at least 100 cc in it after making sure that the piston is at the bottom dead center?
 
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