Additives to clean up carbon build up

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
4,913
Location
Kuwait
This is going to be a bit of a mouthful, but would greatly appreciate the input. The previous owner of my Mercury was using 95 RON/91 AKI gas, which for some reason resulted in a lot of carbon deposits in the engine. Both tailpipes were also caked in carbon when I bought the car. In an effort to do some slow cleaning up, I did some research into the different types of fuel available here, and found out 98 RON/94 AKI has the most detergents. So I switched to 98 RON gas, initially with a dose 150 ml dose of TC-W3.

Apparently this grade of gas is imported from state-owned Kuwait Oil Company's refineries in Europe, which I reckon is the reason why it costs 30-35% more than the other two offerings (91 RON/87 AKI and 95 RON/91 AKI). Whilst I cannot comment on fuel quality in Kuwait, the current offerings adhere to Euro II standards. Apparently efforts are being made to switch to Euro V standards by 2015, although Euro IV gas is available as a 95 RON offering, which is again imported from their refineries in Europe. Sulphur limits are 500 ppm across all grades except Euro IV 95 RON. If anybody is in the field, here are some charts on sulphur limits, and a comparison of RVP vs. benzene:

comparison.jpg


rvp-and-benzene.jpg


Also thought this might of of interest to some members:

max-sulphur-limits.jpg


Anyhow, I used TC-W3 in the fuel for 9,870 km (6,169 miles) before I switched to a 150 ml dose of Liqui-Moly Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner at every fill up (which I am still using). The reason for the switch was because my right hand tailpipe was caked in oil with soft oily carbon:

tailpipe-1.jpg


tailpipe-2.jpg


I later cleaned this up with brake cleaner, and the exhaust has been clean since. In between Valve Cleaner, I have used Liqui-Moly Fuel Injection Cleaner.

At one point, I decided I must have done enough cleaning, so I will switch to the recommended 91 RON/87 AKI whilst still using Liqui-Moly Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner at every fill up to keep things clean. But the moment I switched, the engine started pinging like crazy - especially under load. So I had to add two 150 ml cans of Liqui-Moly Octane Plus Enhancer to bring up the rating to 98-99 RON.

For the past four fill ups, I have used Gumout High Mileage Fuel Injector Cleaner twice in a row, followed by Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner twice in a row. I realise these are meant to be used between 3,000 mile intervals but they made a big difference in how the car accelerates and responds. There's also been about an 8% improvement in gas mileage, and the stainless steel is starting to show in the tailpipes.

I also noticed under 3/4 throttle or WOT, there would be a big cloud of white smoke behind me...much to the effect of using Seafoam through the brake booster line. This has lessened considerably now, but the BITOGer in me still thinks there's more to be cleaned up inside the engine.

I'm reluctant to use water as a cleaning agent, and would very much like to continue using fuel additives to finish off what I started. I was wondering if there would be any harm in using Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner a few more times, because I have noticed a great improvement using it. What about using MMO? If anybody has any other suggestions on fuel additives, I would really like to hear it. Although products like Seafoam and B-12 are unfortunately not available in my neck of the woods. Thanks!
thumbsup2.gif
 
I'd look at a good Italian tune-up...

I think you were dosing the tcw-3 too high...

Personally, I like to switch additives, as they each leave their own deposits I bet...
 
Thanks for the input - Italian tune-up sounds good!
thumbsup2.gif
Only thing that scares me with that is coolant pressure. I will just double check all radiator hoses, plastic manifold, etc. to make sure nothing is old/worn enough to burst. Comes with the territory with older vehicles. I ended up overheating my truck doing an Italian tune-up, due to coolant depletion after a heater hose burst.
crazy2.gif


I should have used 120 ml of TC-W3, but initially I used 150 ml to 'standardise' the dose. I also use TC-W3 in my truck (which requires 150 ml) and instead of having different dosages in different bottles and marking them, I just measured 150 ml in each.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I'd look at a good Italian tune-up...

I think you were dosing the tcw-3 too high...

Personally, I like to switch additives, as they each leave their own deposits I bet...


You took the words out of my mouth! Looks like a tail pipe from an engine that was burning oil. Get that car out on the open road and get on it! If you feel the need for a top oil, use MMO and skip the TCW3 for a while. JMO
 
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
I also noticed under 3/4 throttle or WOT, there would be a big cloud of white smoke behind me...much to the effect of using Seafoam through the brake booster line. This has lessened considerably now, but the BITOGer in me still thinks there's more to be cleaned up inside the engine.

I'm reluctant to use water as a cleaning agent, and would very much like to continue using fuel additives to finish off what I started.


The white smoke is just unburned oil in the seafoam being blown out of tail pipe. But I still think water will clean everything up a lot faster and cheaper than using all those additives. Do you have a beater car to test on? So you can see if done correctly there is no harm. I've found hot water fed through a bike needle through the PCV hose works well.
 
Your tailpipe looked almost as bad mine does right now, although in my case its the (only) visible evidence of its thirst for oil to burn (never any blue smoke). I'd be curious to know, after such prolonged TC-W3 usage what your observations of it were and what ratio you used.

My first experience with Regane 2x concentrated fuel system cleaner was similar to what you described. The second time I used it, the effect wasn't nearly as pronounced and I concluded that the first treatment had cleaned it out pretty thoroughly, with little build up in the interval for treatment 2 to chew through. I'll probably hold off until Spring before I do another Regane cycle, and limit it to twice a year. That, the MMO treated synthetic, TC-W3 treated fuel, and LM mos2 additive is my complete 'cocktail' and the car performs, feels, and sounds like night and day compared to when I bought it 12,000 km ago.

I'm still waging war on its oil thirst, but recent trends show the tide is starting to turn and I may yet be able to curb it to something more reasonable.

-Spyder
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top