Using Engine Restorer on older Briggs engine.

yeah right. Had a CJ7 that loved to build up carbon. One night while the manifold was off I took some chunks of carbon and put them in every solvent I had.

MMO - no softening after 2 weeks
Acetone - no softening after 2 weeks
Water - no softening after 2 weeks
Carb cleaner well known brand - minor softening after 3 or 4 days
Alcohol Isopropyl - no softening after 2 weeks
Alcohol denatured - no softening after 2 weeks
Well known foam - no softening after 2 weeks
ATF - no softening after 2 weeks
Oven cleaner - softening over night but dissolves aluminum
Ammonia - softening over night but damages aluminum
GM upper cyl cleaner - over night dissolved into a toothpaste consistency

Maybe one of the new high mileage oils or Techron might knock some carbon on the rings loose. The GM stuff is retired I think although maybe available on Ebay for $$$. The easiest solution is pull the engine sump cover off, pull the head off, pull the connecting rod and piston out, extremely lightly hone the cylinder and put new rings on it. Put it back together.
 
sgkent said:
yeah right. Had a CJ7 that loved to build up carbon. One night while the manifold was off I took some chunks of carbon and put them in every solvent I had.

MMO - no softening after 2 weeks
Acetone - no softening after 2 weeks
Water - no softening after 2 weeks
Carb cleaner well known brand - minor softening after 3 or 4 days
Alcohol Isopropyl - no softening after 2 weeks
Alcohol denatured - no softening after 2 weeks
Well known foam - no softening after 2 weeks
ATF - no softening after 2 weeks
Oven cleaner - softening over night but dissolves aluminum
Ammonia - softening over night but damages aluminum
GM upper cyl cleaner - over night dissolved into a toothpaste consistency

Maybe one of the new high mileage oils or Techron might knock some carbon on the rings loose. The GM stuff is retired I think although maybe available on Ebay for $$$. The easiest solution is pull the engine sump cover off, pull the head off, pull the connecting rod and piston out, extremely lightly hone the cylinder and put new rings on it. Put it back together.
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Hello sgkent,

I've never tried a "cold" solvent experiment like that, but it sounds interesting.

Most solvents that used to actually work have been reformulated and hardly ever work. Chemtool cold carburetor/parts dip is one that I miss.
 
Best way to remove carbon is heat. Meaning temperature heat here. Not the gimmick in a bottle to remove water in the gas tank.

Just like cleaning your oven in the kitchen. If you bake something and turn the oven off, immediately start cleaning with soap and water. The food comes off much easier than a cold oven.

Like trickling water into the carb to steam clean the inside of the engine deal.
 
I slomo,

Back when I was a kid (60's70's) helping out on used cars and trucks, we would hold the idle up high on and engine and trickle a little water at a time in the carburetor throat to detonate the carbon on the cylinder heads, pistons and valves. It was amazing how well an engine would run especially after a good hard test drive was performed. 100K miles on a vehicle back then were considered nearing the end of life, but a good carbon cleaning would bring them back to life most of the time.

If anyone tried that today, they better have the money to replace the catalytic convertors because it will carbon choke them up suddenly.

As for the Marvel Mystery Oil, read up on the history of the product. It is quite interesting. The stuff started out as a carburetor cleaner and fuel treatment for the old brass carburetors of the times. The early gasoline was poorly refined back then

It was not until later and many dimly lit garage experiment that people realized many of the other good uses for it. It was "snake oil" that actually worked, the rest were just copycats trying to cash in.
 
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