I hope the last post wasn't too boring for you with the lack of pictures. In this second part of "Preventive Maintenance", I will be elaborating on the air intake area and why is it to be kept clean. There are three main areas to be kept clean for a healthy efficient engine which is :
- Air intake system
- Lubricating system
- Fuel system
And this post, again, will be all about your intake system.
"It is a natural characteristic for all cars to produce carbon over time"
Yeah, you heard that right. All cars will produce carbon regardless. These are a few areas where you will notice sludge forming up with the naked eye :
- Sidewalls of throttle body
- Inside of intake manifold
And these are a few areas where you will not notice sludge forming up with the naked eye :
- Idle valve inside your throttle body(or separate valve)
- Intake valves(for direct injection engines)
- Combustion Chamber
Okay, these places do not form carbon, the engine does. However, these places collect and accumulate carbon. If you are skeptical, you can open up your air filter hose and you will notice a black ring of carbon formed around the butterfly area of your throttle body, as early as 20,000km from the showroom.
- Where is the residue formation coming from?
Leaky intake valves, PCV valve, breather hose that's connected straight into your intake manifold.
- Why is it so important to keep this particular area clean?
This is your air intake system. Imagine sucking on a straw, a clean straw; easy aye? Now, imagine if the inside of the straw is all dirty, it's sidewalls all gunked up, causing the INTERNAL DIAMETER to be smaller... you get less air. It's as simple as that. On top of that, the surface of your throttle body sidewalls become rough and you want it smooth for optimum airflow. As for carb engines, you get clogged air venturies. Same goes for your intake manifold, you want that as clean as possible too.
- My car cannot idle properly. Dirty perhaps?
Most or every cars have an idle valve. And majority of them is like a needle and a hole, opening and closing gradually to allow the correct amount of air to go through as the throttle body is fully closed during idle. When this is all gunked up, it doesn't work properly. Most workshops will conclude that your throttle body needs replacement or will just take the shortcut of installing an FICD. Please note that if your car does not come with an FICD, it is best not to install one on the system.
- What are the benefits of cleaning the intake system?
Majority of car owners will not actually feel that their car lose power or suffer from increase in fuel consumption over time. Cleaning the affected area will actually restore power and efficiency in the engine. A clean engine is a healthy engine, problem free.
- What should I use to clean the air intake system?
This is a very subjective question. There are so many "carb cleaners" or "throttle body cleaners" in the market. Take caution here. Read below :
Engine Conditioners - These are the shinzit. You spray em into the engine and gunk falls off. Nuff said. It's made to do so.
Throttle body / Carb cleaners -I'm not sure about this, and I'm not sure if you can spray this into the engine or is it supposed to be used to clean the throttle body when it is off the car? I tested a few on pieces of rubbers and the rubbers tend to expand. Not good for seals in the carb or throttle body if you ask me.
- What brand do you recommend?
The choice is pretty much up to you. So many brands in the market, It also boils down to how you use it and how effective the product is, and wether the product is harmful to the engine or not. Some "carbon cleaners" are non flammable and non compressible. Be careful as this may or may not cause your engine to hydrolock. Find a suitable one. Also remember that the method of using it is important too.
As for me, I personally use and sell Threebond Engine Conditioner. Proven to work on over two thousand cars over two years with positive results. It is safe to use, flammable, compressible(it is already compressed in a can, foam based), and also effective. Result driven. I also have the capability of using this effectively and correctly.
- How do I clean the intake manifold area?
Spray the conditioner, let it soak a little while for all the soft carbon to come off. From there and then you can later do it with the engine running as the heat anf flow will aid in cleaning the intake manifold.
- You mentioned combustion chamber. How clean is clean and is it really necessary?
Not really. The top of the piston need or need not be cleaned as the combustion chamber is only used to compress and combust air/fuel mixture that's being sucked in through the intake valves.
- How often to clean this area?
From experience, I would say approximately 15,000km. Your car will still be clean 5,000km after the last session of cleaning. At 10,000km, it starts to get dirty and by the time you reach 15,000km on the clock, it is already as dirty as it can be.
Here below are some pictures of throttle bodies and carbs before and after cleaning :
A dirty carb of a saga, you may not notice anything now. Customers usually notice only after cleaning and when giving it a test drive
After Cleaning. See how shiny is it now? Imagine the inside of the carb and the intake manifold
Dirty throttle body of a Kia Spectra. Try to look all the way down into the intake manifold and see how thick gunk is. The holes on the sides are probably breather holes or idle valves which I cannot remember.
After cleaning. No words needed to describe this picture.
You can purchase the engine conditioner here, along with further enquiries(faq provided).
Cheers
Elton
No comments:
Post a Comment