water decarbonization

Hopefully i spelled that last word right!! So here goes. I started this thread http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/365671-rough-idle.html.....
To figure out my rough idle. I have done a thorough tune up on my truck. (2004 toyota tacoma v6 auto prerunner dc trd). I tried seafoam to no avail, and was curious if anyone has done the steam method. Some suggestions in the last thread were clean the iac, which i DONT have, check for vacuum leaks, which i can find none. I used carb cleaner to find them.. Motor mounts, which will be my last resort. Im aware of the possibilities of hydrolock, and fully intend to be as safe as one can be when it comes to putting water into a running engine. Its free, and is done the same way seafoam is done, so whats the worst outcome? Maybe a new better running motor!!!. I do intend to change the oil immediately. Again any and all help/opinions are welcome. Thanks

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/63790-seafoam-17.html#post10049043

 

Yeah, i saw that. thats kinda why i made this thread. There's a whole bunch of nonsense, and a whole bunch of good stuff in that thread. Atleast here maybe we could keep it simple. Im sure it will "carb up" though. Im hoping maybe to get a few more opinions, and god willing, some before and after shots. Someone on this website has gotta have a scope, right?

 

here is a video showing you how to do it and you don't need an oil change after because the water is instantly vaporized and goes straight out your exhaust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFtp_jmLF3k


now the only difference in the video is its a carbed engine so for EFI engines like we have you pour the water into the brake booster vacuum line instead.

decarbonizing engines with water has been the way to do it for 40 years but somewhere along the line people started using cleaners and things to try and make it better, which it doesn't, but people still think in their minds its better because it says its a cleaner and if they spent money on it its got to work better then water.

the one I laugh at the most is marvel mystery oil where guys pour oil in the intake lol. I have also seen transmission fluid used and they do work because any liquid will decarbonize the engine but the oil film it leaves behind will quickly carbon the engine up worse then before.

hydrolocking engines happens when idiots dump a whole cup of liquid into the intake or there is a chance it could happen if you stick the vacuum hose in a cup full of water and leave it there if it sucks up enough of a solid stream of liquid into the intakes but that's very unlikely it could ever suck up enough water that way. the type of liquid you use has nothing to do with hydrolocking, its when you dump a cup full of enough water into an open carburetor to "fill" the cylinder with water..

as mentioned in the video have a fully warmed up engine and disconnect the brake booster line from the break booster an I just cup it in my hand and slowly pour water into it at a steady trickle or you can momentarily dip it in the cup up and down for a second as you fast idle the engine

 

I plan on doing this soon, I am gonna put a brick on my gas pedal and hold it around 3k RPMs. Seems to be what lots of folks on BITOG did.

This also seems to save the cat and plugs from getting fouled up with all of the smoke nonsense that seafoam produces. Most people on BITOG seem to firmly believe that the white smoke is not actually your engine blowing off carbon, it's simply the chemicals in seafoam itself that are part of the "show".

It will eventually carb up again, that's just the nature of the beast. But an occasional cleaning won't do it any harm. I've done seafoam before but from what I've read, it does not blast the carbon off like water does. Instead (even according to its own directions), it relies on the product to "soak into" the carbon in order to burn it off, hence the feeding of the Seafoam in, then shutting off motor for 15 minutes and cranking again. With water there is no need to shut the motor off. Just feed it in and once you are done, drive the hell out of it for a few minutes, then park.

 

Hey, thanks for the tips. I did do a ton of research on this before i even thought of doing it, or posting this thread. I was/and still am a believer in seafoam, cuz i swear on my mother's life the first time i used it i got better gas mileage. And im sure it helps clean the engine when you dump it in the crankcase (no personal proof, but ive seen pics on the web. And the Internet doesnt lie, right?). However, i just got done doing two regular sized water cups through the engine. It DEFINITELY idles smoother in drive than before. However seafoam did take away the same rough idle but only for the first few miles. So ill wait a day or two to really judge that. I checked the oil after the first try and it was ok. I did not use the brake booster line, as that only feeds the one or two cylinders. I instead introduced it through one of the vsv vacuum lines, which sends it to the opposing side of where the pcv valve is located. Unfortunately I did this alone. One hand on the throttle, the other feeding it into the cup of water. However at this point im a reserved believer. Besides, those of us who have seen how antifreeze cleans a piston head after a blown gasket should lead others to be believers too. Right? Question is, should you use cold water (like me) or hot water. And on a side note, there was no evidence of carbon, or moisture, coming out of the tail pipe. No cel either!!!! Again thanks!

 

I thought feeding through a 3.4L brake booster line fed all cylinders?

How much water did you use?

 

No, it only feeds one or two cylinders. Look at your manifold next time you are under the hood. I used the vsv line, which shoots it in right after the throttle body. Il take pictures in a little while. Im being lazy at the moment. And to answer your question i used two red solo cup sized cup fulls.

 

im in no way saying seafoam or other cleaners are not good at what they do, all im saying is for the purpose of decarbonizing your engine, anything used is flashed off instantly and therefore any cleaning properties the liquid has are rendered moot at that point so its wasted money for decarbonization use. everything else I still use seafoam and or B-12

 

Look online for "BG product", it will have a search in your area for "BG find a shop",,, go let them do the upper engine decarb with the BG product,,, it'll clean the crap out of there, very good products.

 

No worries, i didn't take it that way. as for the

$25 bg44k BG 44K fuel system cleaner power enhancer 11oz.

bg44k, maybe it does work, maybe it doesn't. Idk. what i do know is if you take a head of a motor because of a blown hg you will most likely find a nice shiny piston. Which is from the coolant, which is 50/50 antifreeze/water. At 20+ bucks a bottle ill stick to water. Thanks though.

 

I know folks on BITOG who were feeding their cars GALLONS at a time. I bet their pistons were so clean you could eat off of em.

 

What is bitog?

 

Bob is the oil guy. It's a forum for a bunch of engine longevity nerds. Heated discussion on oils, water de carbonization and the like

 

Yeah, i read it. Has some useful info i thought. They know a hell of a lot more than me. Should have paid more attention in auto shop! I intend to do more. I just wanted to start off smal, seeing as how this is the first time I've done this. Its a little scary at first.....

 

It is but once you get into the flow of things you'll be good to go

 

Hahahahahahahaha! I sea what you did there!!!

 

Hehehe

 

So, quick sitrep. The truck still seems to idle a bit rough still. I intend to run more than just two cups step tomorrow after a hundred mile round trip. This time i plan to have help. If this doesn't work, next step is to change out all my vacuum lines. Yesterday's attempt was more of a proof of concept for my brain.. Any suggestionson whether I should heat the water up first. I noticed my intake got super cold when i was doing this. Thanks!

 

I think most folks I've read that do it are using hot water. Not boiling or scalding, but hot.