I saw this post on another bbs and wonder if it would do anything for a Max? Any takers?

http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/005971.html

 

Very interesting. When I had my head off, there was alot of gunk on the piston tops but the valve stems and the like looked fairly clean(just a light coating of carbon inside) The upper and lower manifolds were dirty though(I cleaned them up manually though)

Here is the Miata tsb link

http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/s004_93.html

 

how bout just dump a bottle of fuel system cleaner in the gas tank.

 

i just got my fuel system treated recently and noticed a mild pick up, but this sounds very interesting, but i would not be a good candidate to try it. Someone please do this so we know if it works!! Just wondering, which hose would we use?

 

I have tried it on my other cars such as my HONDA CRX and Miata too, using the vacuum line method. Another way that I tried was getting a Big Squirt bottle and fill it up with 50% water and 50% rubbbng alcohol, I would then spray the mixture into the throttle body while the car ran and trying to keep the car running by reving the car with the throttle cable. Just spraying a few squirts at a time. Did this with a whole bottle while a friend of mine looked at the exhaust and at first it would have alot of black gunk come out of the exhuast and after awhile it would be nice and clean steam would actually be coming out. The car did run better, did this everytime I changed the oil, it was like giving the cylinder heads a steam clean removing any carbon deposits that had built up. I have not done this to the my Maxima yet, but may try it soon since I have done it on some of my other cars.

[Edited by JULIAN on 11-03-2000 at 01:43 AM]

 

I would try it if I knew EXACTLY what to do. With my luck, I would spray too much water into the motor and bend a rod or something! Which vaccuum hose would we use to try it the Miata way with the cleaner? Does anyone have an idea?

 

does using ATF yield the same results?
Dan

 

nm

 

they have this powerful stuff called "top end cleaner" It looks like shaving cream (costs about $5 per can, though) YOu spray it into the throttle body, while the engine is running. YOu keep the throttle open enough so the motor doesn't stall (make sure the engine is at full operating temp) and just enough so that the last spray will stall the engine.
This foamy stuff will cook inside your engine, like oven cleaner. The heat in the combustion chamber will make this stuff clean even deeper. You let the motor sit for something like 10-15 minutes. YOu restart the engine (make sure the tailpipe isn't pointing towards any clean surface) and all this SH-- will come out of your tailpipe. Crack open the throttle a few times to ensure a stable idle, then drive normally. It's not uncommon for your car to smoke for up to 1 hour. I personally had my 5.0 smoke under heavy acceleration for up to 2 hours.
Car will run much cleaner afterwards, and it improved my emissions substantially.
Any Ford dealer should have this stuff.

 

I don't think that ATF would do it correctly. I'd be scared to try that,personally..
ATF being an oil, you'd be putting more deposits in the combustion chambers. I'd rather use something more flammable, that will burn away completely and with no residues.

 

That sounds fairly nasty. Do you have to change the oil and oil filter after too??

 

ok i think your slipping Jim...ATF have a lot of detergents in it. ya know..keeps the tranny clean and all. so you think your safer with putting WATER in the engine??
Dan

 

Hi guys,
1) I'm sure some water isn't harmful for an engine. About 10 years ago I've tried to inject water through the 0.2 millimeter orifice into the intake manifold of my old car with a carburettor engine. The car definitely runs better!
My experiment was couple of months long. Then I took the water "injector" away because of the fear that the engine might get rusted. Happinessly nothing bad had happened.
2) During it's life every engine "consumpts" a lot of water with the humid air. So I think the short-term massive dose of water can't damage it.
3) Water is a wonderful stuff producing sometimes wonderful effects. I'll try this method soon.
4) Also I think that use of strong cleaners is ten times more dangerous for the following reasons:
- cleaners begin they work in the intake manifold; they can solve tar deposits on it's walls and on the intake valves; this tar gets into the cylinder and partly will stay there for a long time; part of it will pass through the cylinder and may kill the O2 sensor ($$$).
- in opposite, water can't solve the tar in the intake because it's action begins in the cylinder in the high-temp zone.
5) I think water "blows" under high temp and ruins the deposits in the cylinders and in the exhaust valves zone as well as in the exhaust piping.
6) I've read a lot of advices to clean the intake manifold and especially the throttle body with the carb cleaners and brush while the engine is stopped. They say the result is outstanding. But prevent the solved tar get into the intake.

Have a good results,

DDD

 

I actually read this in an Import Magazine, forget which one though. It said to use some ATF type III and slowly aspriate the fluid with a vacuum line while running the engine between 1000-2500 rpm for awhile. Reason being according to the article is that the ATF does contain some detergents and solvents to clean the internals of the engine, specifically carbon buildup. It also warned the reader that tons of black smoke will come out of the tailpipe for awhile, so do it in an open area. I did this with my 1993 Maxima SE (5spd). What I noticed was a more quiet and smooth idle, less valve noise (VTC) (VE30DE engine), improved engine response and small gain of 0.5-1 mpg. So to me it was worth it, and I used about 1/2 quart of ATF. Hope this helps guys.

[Edited by Omegasrk on 11-03-2000 at 07:09 PM]

 

Nah, we have NISSAN engines.

As crappy as the rest of the car may be, the engines are excellent.

 

If used in a fine spray, it will control the combustion and allow for more spark advance without much greater propensity for detonation. But, I also am not comfortable with water because of the opportunity of hydrolocking your engine. The top end cleaner I mentioned is still flammable, and will begin to evaporate as soon as it enters the combustion chamber eliminating the chance of hydrolocking.
Have I used the water method before, yes. It does work, as steam under pressure inside the chambers does a good job of softening up the carbon deposits. Then the next dose of WOT you give the car, you should see more than the usual amount of black smoke from the pipe. Some is the rich mixture you get under WOT, the other is the built up carbon being "blown out"

 

I tried the water/alcohol in the throttle body method today, and my car seems to run a little smoother now. Couple of observations:
1. I had to spray into the MAF, because if I took the hose directly off of the throttle body, the car died instantly.

2. I didn't get black stuff for very long. I had a professional fuel system cleaning done a little while ago, so maybe that's why.

3. I was VERY conservative with my spraying, just because I was really afraid of hydrolock.

Maybe I'll try using that Ford stuff one of these first days.

 

This is very interesting, I'm still concerned with trying it. Next Sunday I'll be putting a rear O2 senor/starter into my sisters Max. While I'm putting the starter in I'm going to clean the throttle body, using throttle body cleaner and a rag. I think I'll try either the ford method (bake) or Mazda (water) method.

Any thoughts on which method would be best/safest? I'd imagine if I do either one correctly I'd be ok. After all an engine is an engine. Right? Fire, air, gas, kaboom? And Mazda and Ford use these methods. So? Whatcha think?

 

So what exactly is involved in doing this? I'd like to try it myself.