Carbon Engine Clean, Does It Work ?

MadMan-JaMeS · 21 Sep 2019 at 23:10

Hey,

I have 2004 1.8 Petrol Xsara Picasso.

When i brought it back on Oct 2017 it had under 50k on the clock. The old fella i got it from basically used it to shopping and back 10mile round trip if that.

Now its at 78k and feels a bit sluggish.
I’ve seen a ad for £30 for a carbon engine clean and wondered if that would help ? And really if they actually work.

I do the odd 300mile round trip every couple of months to see the in laws but other than that its round town driving and a 15 minute trip down the A34 daily.

Diagro · 21 Sep 2019 at 23:41

The only way to remove it is to blast it off.

Haze · 22 Sep 2019 at 07:50

Should be snake oil on a modern petrol engine, unless its done insane mileage

BUDFORCE · 22 Sep 2019 at 08:28

Does it have carbs? Take the airbox off and spray water into the air intake and rev the crap out of it.

Minstadave · 22 Sep 2019 at 08:31

BUDFORCE said:
Does it have carbs? Take the airbox off and spray water into the air intake and rev the crap out of it.

Did cars still have carbs in 2004?

BUDFORCE · 22 Sep 2019 at 08:35

Minstadave said:
Did cars still have carbs in 2004?

No idea, I know a lot of motorcycles still did

Drumroll · 22 Sep 2019 at 17:25

If it's carbon built up, a simply fluid won't clean it. If it's indirect injection, that would be the perfect scenario to use some premium petrol and hope that after some miles the cleaning agents works its magic.

Diagro · 22 Sep 2019 at 18:28

If its direct Injection you will need to get the Injectors cleaned then walnut blast the Inlets. Prob £300 worth of labour

Terminal_Boy · 22 Sep 2019 at 18:36

When was the air filter last changed?

theone8181 · 22 Sep 2019 at 19:18

It's a 1.8 people carrier, that's probably why it feels sluggish

. Or do you mean recently? Could be a slipping clutch?

tom_nieto · 22 Sep 2019 at 22:22

theone8181 said:
It's a 1.8 people carrier, that's probably why it feels sluggish.

Lol, thinking the same thing!

Minstadave · 22 Sep 2019 at 22:30

Bolt on on turbo and get it done properly.

Drumroll · 22 Sep 2019 at 22:49

Terminal_Boy said:
When was the air filter last changed?

Could be this. Not enough air at higher rpm.

MadMan-JaMeS · 22 Sep 2019 at 23:49

theone8181 said:
It's a 1.8 people carrier, that's probably why it feels sluggish. Or do you mean recently? Could be a slipping clutch?

Recently

don’t think its the clutch, never noticed any issues with that. Air filter is slightly clogged can’t remember last time i changed it. May aswell do the fuel filter too

Conscript · 23 Sep 2019 at 09:23

I'd take it for an Italian tune-up first before spending any money.

MadMan-JaMeS · 23 Sep 2019 at 10:56

Conscript said:
I'd take it for an Italian tune-up first before spending any money.

That just basically revving the nuts out of it isn't it ? lol

I do need to change the filters anyway, as i don't remember the last time the Fuel or the Air was done.

I did change the oil back in January so thats good for now.

I have heard of people blanking off the EGR valves which i may do lol

Conscript · 23 Sep 2019 at 11:12

MadMan-JaMeS said:
That just basically revving the nuts out of it isn't it ? lol

I do need to change the filters anyway, as i don't remember the last time the Fuel or the Air was done.

I did change the oil back in January so thats good for now.

I have heard of people blanking off the EGR valves which i may do lol

Essentially yes, but it can be surprisingly beneficial. No need to go absolutely mad - just take it on the motorway when it's quiet, ensure that it's up to operating temperature and then drop a gear or two and open the throttle wide a few times for 30 seconds or so.

I did this several years ago with an X-Trail. It kept showing the engine management light because the EGR valve was sticking, presumably full of carbon. I tried resetting the light and using intake cleaners, but the light always came back after a while. One night, it came back so I took it on the motorway and ragged it for a bit - opened the throttle wide and there was a big cloud of soot thrown out of the exhaust, did that a few times on the way home. Next morning, when I started up, the light had gone out, and it didn't reappear for the rest of the time we owned it. Admittedly that was a diesel rather than a petrol, but I've been a fan of the Italian tune up ever since

Doobedoo · 23 Sep 2019 at 18:38

I know an owner of a garage who has recently brought a cleaning machine, he absolutely swears buy it. He showed me a video of a car that had been treated, I have never seen so much crap come out the back of a car.

theone8181 · 23 Sep 2019 at 19:18

Doobedoo said:
I know an owner of a garage who has recently brought a cleaning machine, he absolutely swears buy it. He showed me a video of a car that had been treated, I have never seen so much crap come out the back of a car.

Was it a diesel?

Doobedoo · 23 Sep 2019 at 19:43

theone8181 said:
Was it a diesel?

I can’t actually remember but it wasn’t black soot it was a huge, continuous plume of white smoke for 20-30 secs then it setteled down.