btw - the detergents in the gas is what CAUSES soft carbon build up...

Techron will keep carbon from forming - but it will NOT remove it.

UWSACF_ You are the man! I gotta check that machine out. I have done everything for pinging on my 98, still has a little with 89 octane, and a little is too much for me.

Thanks.

Lucas is the best stuff out there next to Sea Foam. Sea Foam is sucked through the PCV Valve and then you need to turn the enigne off for 10 minutes, then you start it and run away and look at all the smoke from your car.

Water will work, but you need to get a spray bottle and spray a little through the throttle body. Too much and you'll Hydro Lock the beast.

Andy

Ive been using http://www.buyduralt.com/ Duralt for years and this stuff works. If you run it in two tanks back to back your carbon will be gone. I usually run one treated tank through just before every other oil change.

I found I get bad gas mileage and performance using 86, 87, and 89 octane fuel in the T-bird, E-250, and the Crown Vic.

Using 93+ octane - I get the best gas mileage. Explain the anti-knock rating all you want but 3 different engines seem to like higher octane fuel better than low octane stuff.

My Vic gets the best gas mileage using Sunoco Ultra 94 - no doubt about it. Based on what a lot of "experts" say, I would be getting the worst gas mileage with 94 octane fuel because it's highly resistive to knocking and wouldn't burn up properly, etc... but truth is, I can score 22+ mpg on the highway in my Vic w/ the 94 octane (3.55s, 2000 HPPs - werent known for the best gas mileage at all). With 93 octane and anything below that, 20-21 is the best I could do - IF THAT. 18-19 mpg was more common.

In the city, 10-11 mpg was commonplace for EASY going driving w/ 87-93 octane. 11-12 mpg is what I get with aggressive city driving (practicing launching to 40 mph at each stoplight every chance I can get, etc...) and 12-13 for easy going driving all with 94 octane fuel.

I notice the same thing with my T-bird using 87-89 octane fuel (BP, Amoco, Shell, you name it - same results) but 93 octane gives the best gas mileage.

As for carbon build-up... the T-bird DID have a problem with pinging but checking the ignition timing (and re-adjusting) as well as using Chevron Techron did the trick. The intake ports on the heads were all black but there wasn't carbon build-up (in the manner where you could grab out deposits). The tailpipes were all blackened with soot... and the cats were the originals (23+ years old) but I passed NJ emissions with flying colors. CO% was ultra ultra low and the NOx levels were obviously higher than a brand new EFI car, but they were well below the max spec for my car.

If I had to guess I would say its due to the purity of the gas or the additives, not the octane rating. But like I said, thats just a guess...

B-12 Chemtool <3

I just let my engine warm up really good and then sprayed the water in the TB while reving it. I then used a vaccuum tool and hooked it up to my egr and opened it while doing the same thing. Idle seemed smoother but it could be in my head.

My buddy had this done by the ford dealer on his wifes '98 Vic, he swears by it.

He says his mileage has gone up and car is a much "faster" off the line and overall.

I've been considering this since I drove his wife's car, it's real smooth.

Us old farts just get on the freeway and let 'er rip. You'd be amazed to see how much crud gets blown out the exhaust.

I've used a water setup that was permanently installed on a truck I had...but that engine kept blowing the heads off, and it may have been due to the water injection.

I'd agree with some of the suggestions above, using one of the additives to help clean up your carbon (if you really have any.) Remember, it's nearly impossible to see the 'inside' of a cylinder through the plug hole. About all you could see would be the top of a piston, and even then you couldn't tell how thick the carbon was.

You might ask around and see if anyone has a borescope you could borrow. That would let you inspect the inside of your cylinders/pistons/valves without tearing the engine down.

Good luck!

I've also heared that ATF fluid will remove carbon build-up. Anyone else hear of this working ?

Dan...

Yes, but you have to spray it VERY lightly into the throttle body. You don't want to just pour it in. A spray bottle would work.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

For right now I am going to use the Lucas treatment every other fill-up for about 3-4 tanks. At the same I am going to take this diagnoses as permission to go WOT a little more often

In the near future I am going to try and find a shop with a Motovac that knows what they are doing. After reading about it on the SS forums and elsewhere it looks legit enough to try. I may also give the water process a go.

hawkzone, listen to me very carefully. There is one product and one product only that you should ever put into your gas tank. That product is called Sea Foam.

If you want to nix the carbon deposits, first pour two cans into a half tank of gas. When you've run through that gas, suck another half can through your PCV valve at high idle until the engine stalls. Wait five minutes and turn her over, and you'll find it runs better than you had ever imagined.

Hawkszone...

I believe if you look at that thread - one of the Gassit members (the guys who put on SSH3) does the MotorVac in his shop...

Name is Scott = goes by atlSS96 and he is near Atlanta.