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Will carbon buildup in the motor cause knock?

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d0n_3d

Boost is good.
Joined
Jul 14, 2001
Messages
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Just wondering because my motor has never had any treatment for carbon buildup and it's at 82k miles. I have an alky kit on the way and heard it "steam cleans" the motor from carbon...so basically once i start running the alky my motor will be free from carbon? or do i have to do a GM top engine clean anyways...i think my motor needs some cleaning
 
If you go with an injector cleaner, I have one word... Techron. Get the larger bottle of Chevron "Techron" injection cleaner. *NOT* cleaners "with Techron", just the Techron itself.

Truth is, it's actually better to use it more concentrate then the bottle actually specifies. For example, I would use the larger bottle with half-tank of fuel or so. (Smaller bottle to a third of a tank). Just dont use it one bottle after the other. I would only run it through ever 4 - 5k miles. But again, my injectors are pretty new green stripes, so I dont need to worry about any serious clogging yet anyways.
 
Excessive carbon in the combustion chamber can get red hot, causing pre-ignition and the dreaded knock. From what Iv'e heard alky should do the trick.
 
Just run some Xylene through the system and your injectors will get cleaned automatically. Don't know if alcohol will do that as well. I have run the GM Top Engine Cleaner on my GN and I don't recommend it. Does look cool to totally FOG the neighborhood though! Everybody thinks you have a POS smoking so bad! :D
 
hahaha, i used the top engine cleaner and i didint notice a difference that much but i wasnt really doing a test i just wanted the old engine cleaned out. there was a TON of smoke and i fogged up my friends neighborhood so bad, HAHAHAHAHA!!!:D
 
Originally posted by turbo buicks
there was a TON of smoke and i fogged up my friends neighborhood so bad, HAHAHAHAHA!!!:D

I did the same thing, go to a Friends house and piss off His neighbors with the Fog.

Ron
 
so doing a GM top engine clean is not recommended in a highly populated sub-division like i live in?:D
 
Just make sure if you do it that you get close to where my parents live. :D The smoky cloud will really piss my mother off! ;) Better, yet. Pull off the side of Route 30 somewhere and dump that stuff in. I'll bet you get 10 people pulling over and maybe even a few cops!!!!
 
hey tom...you said you have done this before...does it really work? i mean my motor is probably SMOTHERED in carbon buildup from over the years...i would be betting alot of my knock is being caused by that...does napa carry gm top engine cleaner?
 
Like said above, alcohol injection will clean the combustion chamber and clean carbon deposits. It will not clean injectors. You have brand new injectors so I would just wait for the alky system and as they say, FORGET ABOUT IT:D
 
cool i think i will just let the alky clean the motor out...my injectors are like brand spanking new so they are not clogged...cool guys thanks for the help:cool:
 
Effectiveness of Top Engine Cleaner -

I used to have a chevy celebrity sedan as a daily driver (snicker, snicker) , and by the time it had reached 80-90K miles had begun to ping under load. Eventually even running 91 octane wouldn't prevent pinging.

I was skeptical, but tried a can of Top Engine Cleaner -- it was amazing! Car was able to go back to 87 octane without any pinging at all.

Since then I run a can of Top Engine Cleaner thru my cars about every 10-12K miles -- probably way overkill, but I do believe the stuff does a great job of removing engine gunk & deposits.
 
I'm probably just paranoid, but I think you need to be careful when running the top engine cleaner through a turbo'd motor. Everything that's coming out of that block is going right through the exhaust side of the turbo. Just something to think about.
 
so what happens when you spray alcohol??? doesn't it do the same thing as gm top engine cleaner???
 
I'm by far not educated enough to know the properties of alcohol when it comes to how it will clean the tops of the pistons. I do, however, know how smooth it goes down the trap at beer thirty! :D

I would think you'd be O.K. either way or somebody out there would have piped up a long time ago about how the alcohol kit ruined his/her turbo. You're not gonna hear that.

Like I said, it's just me being all paranoid.
 
GM Top Engine Cleaner

Which is the better stuff of the GM Top Engine Cleaner in the can or the aerosol spray bottle :confused: is one more powerful then the other, or is it just for convenience?

chirs
 
Re: GM Top Engine Cleaner

Originally posted by CCG789
Which is the better stuff of the GM Top Engine Cleaner in the can or the aerosol spray bottle

Get the bottle and call around to your gm dealers for pricing first. My Buick dealer sells it for $13 my local Caddy dealer sells it for $6. Same stuff just different bump pricing.

I did notice a slight difference after doing the cleaning. My ds header crack got worst, probably from the hot steam. Some leaked out of the turbo to header connection, so I know some ultra copper might be needed there.

Use old plugs and a old o2 if you have one.

Good luck Smokey!:D

Ron
 
gnttype.org says get the liquid NOT the aerosol. i used the liquid and its easy to use just pour it in the up upipe and keep your hand on the throttle and pour very slowly to keep the engne from dying.i
 
the aerosol Top Engine clnr has a relatively thick, gooey consistency ... it is NOT at all like a traditional carb cleaner.

I tried some aerosol on my chevy truck (throttle body injector) the other day, found it a bit messy ... the spray tended to spit and bounce off the TBI's bowl area. Tried using a spray tip and long tube nozzle from some other product, wouldn't seal right on the TE clnr's can. Finally just went back to pouring liquid TE clnr into the throat of the truck's TBI.
 
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