Michael, The beer is on me but you've got to come to the Summer Party. I'd
enjoy your company and meeting you after all these years. I just knew that
one of our extra techi guys would win the beer.
I don't have an oscilloscope handy, I have however seen the results of water
leaking into a cylinder. That plug will be clean as will the piston top.
I'll gladly buy the beer but my question was also how much is too much as I
expect every engine has some build up especially if they run a bit rich.
See you in August.
JVV
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Porter" <portermd@zianet.com>
To: "Gerald M Van Vlack" <jerryvv@alltel.net>
Cc: <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:10 PM
Subject: Re: [TR] Decarbonization
> Gerald M Van Vlack wrote:
>
> >At any rate if anyone among us can define how to determine if I have too
> >much carbon build up in my engine without a tear down I'll buy them a
beer
> >at the next TRF Summer Party after the Saturday night downtown show.
> >
> >
> >
> Actually, Jerry, there's a fairly simple way to determine precisely
> that. Most cars will exhibit some driveability problems, including
> those you mentioned. But, to determine if accumulated deposits (of all
> types) are the cause, the oscilloscope will tell a great deal.
> Accumulated deposits interfere with the spark plug's ability to
> fire--effectively, the electrodes become electrically insulated and the
> resistance increases--that simply adds to the voltage required to
> produce an arc. With an oscilloscope connected, spraying small amounts
> of water a little at a time into the intake will steam-clean the
> chamber, including the plug electrodes. If they're heavy with deposits,
> the difference in the amount of voltage required to fire the plug before
> and after water treatment will be noticeable--I've done this many times,
> and the differences can be substantial--often 12-15kV and occasionally
more.
>
> A second way is to track valve lash over time. Typically, valves lose
> clearance with wear, partly because of valve seat pounding (which
> eventually deforms both valve and seat) and partly due to valve face and
> valve seat ablation. If clearances begin to increase, particularly on
> the intakes, that's a strong sign of carbon accumulation. Over time,
> that accumulation becomes severe enough to cause irregular compression
> readings.
>
> Cleaning the chambers doesn't hurt anything, if done a little at a time
> (the process can be sped up somewhat by also spraying small amounts of
> carburetor cleaner into the intake, but these days, for most cars, one
> has to be sure that the cleaner is compatible with catalytic converters).
>
> Cheers.
>
> --
> Michael D. Porter
> Roswell, NM
>
> Never let anyone drive you crazy when you know it's within walking
distance....
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