Fuel system decarbonizer

[Davstylee]

I don't know if anybody saw an episode of Wheeler Dealers on Discovery but I was fascinated by the engine clean up done by Edd China on the Jag XK8.

For those that haven't seen it, they take a late 90's XK8 circa 80k on the clock and Edd puts it on a spectrum analyser clocking up about 1% carbon monoxide (not bad) and a whopping 540 ppm in hydrocarbons.

Then he wheels out this machine which looks like an air con topper upper, which forces highly refined fuel through the engine under pressure. It uses separate solutions for both the pre and post combustion chambers. The actual fuel tank is disconnected so it purely runs on the refined mixtures for about an hour. The object of the exercise is to dramatically drive out the carbon deposits that have built up over the years. This is the exact machine he uses http://www.terraclean.net/product.php?id=1

At its conclusion Edd bangs it back on the analyser and records a 50% reduction in CO and hydrocarbons of a mere 76 ppm. He mentions that it's a fairly new process that should cost about £70 at a garage.
Now my car is a 2005 reg and I have been running it on nothing but VPower since I took delivery of it back in November 2009, however I have no idea what it was run on before that. I am guessing your run of the mill petrol judging by the state of the tail pipes.

Couple of questions, the first being does anyone know where to get it done and secondly is it really as good as it sounds or is it a bit of that 'snake oil' that sometimes finds its way over the Atlantic from our American cousins?

Any info would be great.

[Poached]

I just watched the video on their website. It would be good to see a before and after of an FSI engines intake valves to get a better idea as to whether it has an impact?

A lot of US owners use a treatment called Seafoam which is injected through the oxygen sensor at the intake manifold while the engine is running to attempt to clean the engine and deposits on valve stems. They have lower grade fuels...

Again is this effective just like questions on engine flushing?

A good blast every now and again will probably burn some deposits off anyway and regular oil changing will also help.

Have a look at your last MOT Emissions Cert, my 55 plate GTI returned a result of 13 ppm for Hydrocarbons against a limit of 200 ppm.

You can email them or contact them on Facebook to find an approved garage.

I guess the impact of such treatments becomes more apparent on older engines/higher mileages...

[bobotheclown]

Just looked on my MOT certificate from last week and on a 2008 GTI with 48000 on the clock:

CO2: 0.002 (limit 0.200)
HC: 2 (limit 200)
Lambda: 1.001 (Limit 1.030)

Vpower for most of her life except for the last year when it became too expensive.

[MS1COYS]

My latest MOT shows the following readings.

Gti 2005. 49k. Runs predominantly on V-Power and Mobil One oil, along with regular Forte engine and oil flushes.

Fast idle test:

CO - Max 0.20% / 0.01%
HC - Max 200ppm / 1ppm
Lambda - 0.97-1.03 / 1.00

Natural idle test:

CO - Max 0.30% / 0.00%


Hope this helps you save some money.

[ROH ECHT]

I've checked Sea-foams msds as well as others. Sea-foam is 50% oil and thus less expensive. Mineral spirits is the best you can use as it is in most of the better, more expensive cleaners like 3M and BG 44K. I made my own injector from a 1 qt garden pressure sprayer and use mineral spirits every 10k miles(at 84k miles now). I needed to drill a hole through the nozzle the exact diameter of the tubing I am using as well as add a small O-ring just inside the outer nozzle for better sealing while under pressure, but it really works well. I have had no misfires or other loss of power. When my K04 was  installed at 58k miles and the injectors were going in, my mechanic said that my intake valves were surprisingly cleaner than he thought they should be.

PS - I will make a vid next time as others on forums want to see this thing, so in about 6k more miles...I will take a pic of it for now and post that real soon.

[Poached]

I've checked Sea-foams msds as well as others. Sea-foam is 50% oil and thus less expensive. Mineral spirits is the best you can use as it is in most of the better, more expensive cleaners like 3M and BG 44K. I made my own injector from a 1 qt garden pressure sprayer and use mineral spirits every 10k miles(at 84k miles now). I needed to drill a hole through the nozzle the exact diameter of the tubing I am using as well as add a small O-ring just inside the outer nozzle for better sealing while under pressure, but it really works well. I have had no misfires or other loss of power. When my K04 was  installed at 58k miles and the injectors were going in, my mechanic said that my intake valves were surprisingly cleaner than he thought they should be.

PS - I will make a vid next time as others on forums want to see this thing, so in about 6k more miles...I will take a pic of it for now and post that real soon.

Yes a video would be good.

Just had my MOT done today:

CO  0.00%

HC  1 PPM

[devilscaff]

Just done some research and there's a garage 20 miles from where I live that carries out the service mentioned above. Thoughts more with my 16v Mk2 I think I might get it done just before the mot in a couple of months and I'm sure it would benefit an older vehical with high millage.