[TESTED] Liqui-Moly vs Revive Diesel Intake Cleaners - SHOOT-OUT!

[@Handleyman]

Thanks

[@TheMusingGreg]

You're very welcome! Thank you so much for your support!

[@djatottimixsprossd8878]

Thanks, man, for ur tutorials. I am watching you live from Western Australia.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad you're enjoying them, thanks for watching mate! This video was shot in WA actually as we lived there all of 2022!

[@gregroles69]

Exceptional video on an often overlooked and misunderstood subject. Any spray cleaner can only do so much, and is fine if you adopt the practice from new or a otherwise clean inlet, but if you have high kms or a dirty inlet the only safe and thorough method is take it all apart, get insanely dirty and scrub it all out. Be super careful if you do the inlet ports and valves, make sure the valve you are cleaning out is properly closed and you suck it dry with vacuum after cleaning ( I tape a small pipe on the end of a vacuum cleaner, ideally when wifey is out! ). I'd only use oven cleaner on manifolds if other methods failed, but not leave it very long, the Sodium Hydroxide base will etch alloy quite dramatically, and produce very explosive Hydrogen in the process, so be aware of this!! Obviously it's pretty fine on most engine nylon/plastics. Running any water through a diesel can be dangerous, sure people run water meth ( including me! ) but these crude hand sprays can potentially add a lot more water than a super fine atomised water meth system, and it doesnlt take much to damage the super high compression diesels. To be fair it will stall long before this usually as you will simply put the flame out! If your diesel has a DPF, the ash from the cleaning combustion will end up in the DPF, so consider that factor as well, as it is non combustible ash that eventually terminally fills DPF systems. I'd always suggest fitting a REAL genuine Provent 200 from new / clean, watch the Provent filter which only really lasts about 30-40 thou, and minimise the EGR. Second I'd suggest a complete pull apart every year or so (depending on kms ) Finally, run whatever spray in cleaner you want if that's your choice, but again it can only do so much, and does push the crap into your exhaust system! Also consider the fact a lot of this stuff will settle in the bottom of your intercooler and form a nice sludge of it's own, depending on the orientation of your intercooler of course. I use LiquiMoly on our new Tucson diesel ( no catch can, keeping stock for warranty ) every oil change as the intercooler orientation won't collect the spray, and do a physical clean yearly on my high km VW 2.0 diesel ( dual Provent 200s, blocked off EGR ), as that VW intercooler setup is prone to collecting sprays / liquids / oil. It all comes down to what you have, the kms / dirt level, and the fact a bit of a think through is a good idea before deciding on a cleaning method. As a further tip, you can get exceptional Provent 200 hoses from hkbperformance2015 on eBay out of Sth Aus that bend exceptionally well and adapt the sizes needed beautifully.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Good points Greg. I'm not sure about the catch can 'filter' at this stage, as it's more of a coalescence medium than an actual filter. But I'm still working on how much the filter degrades over time. Thanks for the input!

[@gregroles69]

@@TheMusingGreg absolutely, when I say "filter" I do get that it's just a fine sieve for condensation, but they do seem to become totally "wet" and soaked at about 40thou, and they start bypassing the can "filter" and venting out the lid bypass valve, on the latest updated version anyway. I've tried cleaning them many times, but they seem to become totally "wet" again pretty quick, so I just factor in the expensive filter every 40-50kms ( on my car anyway ). The great state of my intake ports and valve stems at 300 thou gives me all the evidence of function that I need!

[@TheMusingGreg]

@@gregroles69 That's helpful info, thanks mate! I've tried cleaning one once but I stopped using it shortly after to do more manifold cleaning tests so haven't gone back to it yet.

[@arturforever2060]

I used a similar product a 6 yers ago x2 I have lots problem off losses power and check engine light on. After use that product all problems gon ,DPF filter what's happening?? Before us the clear a many times a week DPF was cleaning self engine run of 1800rpm. After use a cleaner, DPF was cleaning self 1 or 2 times a week not like before every day does different if I did 10miles a day or 100mile a day still kipping cleaning self and was so smel. Then for my self it's working very well. I know is not help to everyone for many cars is to late to do that. But that car I sold 2 years ago and that person had not any problems of carbon or DPF.. Then again always better to clean manualy because is clear properly and remove everything. But if someone have not idea and stuff to do that. Then better to use cleaner then cleaning manually and killing the engine.

[@stephensutton2752]

Great, detailed and comprehensive video. After seeing your findings, a two stage use of both products seems like it would be effective. Thanks for your time on this. I'm new to diesels so extremely beneficial.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yep I think so. Glad you're enjoying it, thanks for the comment!

[@Doctorevil666]

Ive been using a product from Wynns called egr 3 for about 20 years comes with a special long hose that sprays sideways as you feed the pipe down the inlet works pretty well

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks for the tip. Wynn's products are very hard to find in Australia, I'm guessing you're from UK or EU? I'll see if I can track some down.

[@Handleyman]

Great review Greg. Very thorough and detailed. I’ll give it go now.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for following!

[@kmom777]

I want to ask my 2008 Pajero is at 280,000 km 3.2 common rail diesel should i install pil catch can in order to save the engine life with aim going above 500 thousand km

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks very much for your kind donation! From my experience I would say no, as the catch can didn't stop the build-up. It did reduce it a little, however it was also very dry and harder to remove; and the dry soot without the lubricating blowby oil could potentially be more abrasive on the engine (no evidence, just my thinking). I would suggest get the manifold removed and cleaned every 100,000kms or so, possibly with using something like liqui moly at each service to slow the build-up, but as shown in my various reviews it doesn't clean it completely. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

[@andrewford80]

This is very comprehensive. Thank you for taking the time to make such a well thought out and filmed video. I see people using oven cleaner on their crusty manifolds. Any thoughts on that? Safe for the alloy?

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks mate glad to know it was helpful. Yep I used oven cleaner in my first video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZSzZo1ogMhqjpI however I had the manifold off the vehicle at the time and used it to help clean all the old gunk off. The one I used didn't affect the alloy at all, but I wouldn't want to run oven cleaner through the engine just in case.

[@keesstaps4606]

Ovencleaner on aluminium tea light only changes the colour of the aluminium

[@joepearson6644]

I found this incredibly helpful thx

[@TheMusingGreg]

My pleasure mate, I'm glad to read it was so helpful! Thanks for sharing!

[@fourbypete]

I've found that removing hoses from the vehicle and cleaning them in an ultrsonic cleaner works best. I also add some degreaser to the ultrsonic cleaner. Also good for mechanical injectors.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Good point, that would work too!

[@jeffmyers7062]

Nice little test! I wonder if it cleans the valves at all?

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure it will to a point, it's just a question of how hard the build-up is common and I suspect around the valves it's going to be somewhat harder than in the manifold. So it should do something but probably not a heap

[@sueneilson896]

hope you have a good trip. luck seems to be attracted to good preparation,so you wont’t need as much as most others .

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks Sue I hope so!! 🤞

[@mitchraven3635]

awesome video and thank you for the great work

[@TheMusingGreg]

My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!

[@droge192]

Diesels are absolutely filthy engines when you look at it like this. I have one now - an Alfa Romeo 159 2.0JDTM - and it's my last ever diesel. I'm done with clogged up EGRs and DPFs. This was a great video.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad you enjoyed it mate! Please share on your socials so I can create more content like this!

[@CrazyFullBass]

EGR is useless sh*t, if it is removed then your engine warms quicker.

[@CrazyFullBass]

By removing egr engine is more sensitive and power is increased because air flow increased. "One of the main benefits of an EGR delete is improved performance. The Exhaust Gas Recirculation system is known to cause carbon buildup in the intake manifold and reduce airflow to the engine. Deleting the EGR system reduces carbon buildup and improves airflow to the engine."

[@doraexplora9046]

I WISH I had your car. So many Alfa diesels went to the tip early, because people didn't realise that they needed this type of work done on them. I didn't realise it also had a DPF as well. Doubly painful.Bti I would say worth the hassle.

[@doraexplora9046]

Who would of thunk it? Acetone is really effective at breaking down other hydro-carbon based products! Got it!!

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yep no real surprises there; but it's interesting to see how alternative solutions work (or don't)

[@doraexplora9046]

@@TheMusingGreg Good BTW

[@TheMusingGreg]

@@doraexplora9046 Cheers!

[@anels9]

Are there any home made products that work better or a common house cleaner that works without destroying the metals, plastics and other components? Great video!

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Oven cleaner works fairly well for dissolving the grease, but I wouldn't want it through my combustion chamber so it's only really useful if you remove the whole manifold. Unfortunately it's a fairly specific set of criteria the product has to be able to satisfy which makes it expensive to manufacture, so dedicated products probably really are the best.

[@michaelmay5453]

Or just use washing up liquid and water at the box and then just water to soak the dry carbon deposits. Washing up liquid works because it will dissolve the oil, just water works because when soaks into the carbon deposits and then gets hot it cracks the dry carbon from the surface through the surface tension and boiling when heated. If that's not enough, kerosene will work but you have to be careful not to rev the engine in the red on that.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Good suggestions, thanks mate!

[@roxieloot]

Hi, Have you done the second video of this yet? As was about to buy Revive but wanted to see results on the second video first.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Hi mate, I actually did the tests and recorded it, but the vehicle surprisingly hardly had any build-up so I couldn't really do a fair test. I hope to do it again at some point once we get some more build-up in there!

[@slickstrings]

im wondering if a dpf cleaning solution wouldnt be a better way to clean the dry carbon. Granted, you would have to remove them from the engine, definitely not spraying it in while running, but its designed to remove dry carbon rather than oily.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yes it might be, but if you have to remove the whole manifold anyway then oven cleaner and a pressure washer would probably be cheaper.

[@chrro466]

Very good education thank you. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@TheMusingGreg]

Glad it was helpful! Please share on your social media with others!

[@Cowardlyduck]

Thanks! Would love to see more details on your towing setup and if you've done anything to the suspension for towing.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Sure, yep we've done a few modifications - do you mean about the vehicle or the van, or both? I'll put something together for you.

[@Cowardlyduck]

@@TheMusingGreg Both would be fantastic, but more interested in the Pajero.

[@TheMusingGreg]

No problems!

[@elridome]

So does this undo all environment protection by releasing everything that was filtered out, into the atmosphere anyway?

[@TheMusingGreg]

Great question! No it doesn't, because all the gunk collected in the manifold would usually have gone back through the engine and been burned up if it hadn't gotten stuck in there along the way. So all this is doing is dissolving that soot and oil and burning it like it would have been anyway. This is different to an EGR block, which would result in more atmospheric pollution.

[@martinholden8480]

Might be worth a try at removing the top of the air box above the air filter and squirt the product in there, that way the air flow meter will still work with the engine not knowing that there is a bad reading from the air flow sensor???????

[@TheMusingGreg]

What you've described could work and I've thought periodic cleaning might be a solution; but remember it will be sending the product through the turbo doing it as you've described. As such you could do it with Revive because it's water-based, but definitely not with the Liqui Moly as it's a flammable solvent and could catch fire when the turbo's hot. Either way you'd still need a way of periodically spraying a bit of product in there while you're driving, so you'd need a pump or something to operate it. But it could be done.

[@flippy9133]

I would also disconnect the maf so the car goes to defaults and not try to adjust fuel to the wrong readings

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yep that's probably a good point. Cheers mate

[@neillodge9130]

I have a prado 150 series 1kd-ftv 3L turbo diesel 2014 175k , maybe you could do what I did remove all egr components and intake manifold clean in a cyonic bath reverse scrape intake ports clean with shellite and final install a reducer plate with a 7mm hole which dose not stop the egr flow no codes ( legal Gray a erea) and happy days no more carbon biuld up in egr or intake . 😊

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks for the tip! Yeah I did a full removal and clean of the manifold but didn't do the EGR reducer plate. I guess you must still get a little bit of soot if there is some EGR? Do you have a catch can?

[@MrDIAMONDCOR]

What do you suggest i use on a F85 bmw X5M V8?

[@TheMusingGreg]

I believe that's a direct injected petrol engine in which case you'll probably get some build-up, though not as far as with a diesel. Don't use this product though, it's designed to deal with diesel soot which you won't have. Try liqui Moly petrol intake cleaner, same idea but a petrol formulation. Good luck and be sure to share your results back here! Greetings from Oz!

[@dorin6950]

In my 2003 2.5tdi v6 passat none of the above did any work, I took off the intake manifolds, poured gas and set them on fire, and keeping them hot with a gas torch, they are like brand new.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Haha well that would do it! Removing them will always give a much better clean, the challenge is doing that job and many folks are keen to know if it can be done properly without removing them. So far I'm pretty well saying no! :)

[@dorin6950]

@@TheMusingGreg mine was pretty clogged since it had half a million miles when I bought it, this was my only option sadly, my finger could not stick inside of the intake, but some got it way easier

[@TheMusingGreg]

@@dorin6950 That sounds a very sensible option with a motor that old! I've seen heavily clogged manifolds with only 50,000 miles (80,000km).

[@dieselcarb1]

if you ever doit again like that try unplugging maf might run happier ;)

[@TheMusingGreg]

Ah ok good idea! I didn't have this problem in a subsequent test I'm yet to publish, but I can see why the MAF could have been the issue last time. Cheers!

[@Retro_Rich]

The beaker test is interesting but flawed. The Revive relies on a steam cleaning effect as the liquid content flashes off taking soot deposits with it.

[@TheMusingGreg]

Are you sure? It may work that way inside the combustion chamber like Seafoam does, but Revive is supposed to clean the whole intake path and much of that which will be below the boiling point of water. E.g. after the intercooler, the air should be below 50 degrees; the inlet manifold I * expect* would also be below 100 degrees though I've not measured it. In these situations you're relying on the detergent properties of Revive to break down the oils. The beaker test of course was just one test out of several shown in the video, and its findings correlated with what the other real-world tests showed.

[@vaskodimoski5690]

Water base product into a diesel engines intake is that safe

[@TheMusingGreg]

That's a good question. In large doses you're right, but water is fine in an internal combustion engine so long as it's misted and in small doses. In fact it's often used on its own as a carbon remover because the water softens the carbon and then allows it to be burned off. This product is sprayed in a fine mist and the instructions say to only spray for a couple of seconds at a time and then wait before respraying. If it's used as directed it's fine.

[@conradsinsua7415]

Water meth injection for controlling egt in high performance diesels

[@SanjinSecerbeg]

I have been using Liqui-Moly on my 2013 VW Phaeton 3.0 Tdi with 197K on the clock and it works great, i just let it soak for a few hours once the can is empty. You can smell the burned chemicals for a while there after. I would suggest for you the best thing that you can do to your Diesel engine is to turn off your EGR! Get it programmed out and your engine will thank you, trust me!

[@TheMusingGreg]

Good point mate, yeah I think that's worthwhile doing and I can't see any reason not to let the product soak in. I specifically asked Liqui Moly why they don't recommend a soak and didn't get a very satisfactory answer. This is what they said: "If the product is used as described in the application description, the cleaning performance is sufficient to remove the usual deposits that occur during a service interval of 15 - 20,000 km. We recommend using the product preventively with every service, so a longer soaking phase (which could lead to material incompatibilities depending on the materials used) is not necessary." When I pressed them for a specific answer that replied: "We will not start the tedious "what if" discussion, but always point out that our products should be used as specified in the respective product information. Everything else is speculative and has not been checked or approved by us."

[@doraexplora9046]

What about completely removing the entire system? and then fitting a catch can as well? For off road use of course. That seems to be the way to properly eliminate the negative affects of the EGR system. But how do you clean the entire system? Especially the intake runners in the head? How do you clean those? wire wheel?

[@simonmears1726]

Emission s are getting more strict rightly so Euro 5 really blocking up diesal s the egr is a villian but it also can keep combustion temperature s down which is a good thing 😮

[@doraexplora9046]

@@simonmears1726 I'm sure the engineers could have come up with a better solution than to connect the arse of the donkey to it's mouth!!

[@spankeyfish]

​​@@TheMusingGregIf the cleaner is alkaline it could corrode aluminium.

[@WillemLuntungan]

Thank you

[@TheMusingGreg]

You're welcome!

[@keesstaps4606]

Does it effect the fuel economy ?

[@TheMusingGreg]

Nope didn't seem to make any difference either way. Check out the first video where I explain why kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZSzZo1ogMhqjpI

[@mauriceupton1474]

Disconnect the Crank case vent and vent under the vehicle. If going for a WOF, reconnect it. They old cars and military vehicles dont have them. Same with EGR Blank off and reprogram the chip. Emissions paraphernalia is problematic.

[@TheMusingGreg]

That would certainly deal with the build-up. But 10 million cars doing the same thing probably isn't great for the environment, even though I agree the emissions stuff is frustrating

[@chrisdonnelly7401]

revive is really good

[@TheMusingGreg]

Thanks Chris. What do you like about it? I like the idea of it too, but it didn't perform that well in these tests.

[@mick00000000002]

So there nothing to do the job?

[@TheMusingGreg]

I've not so far found something that works effectively on the vehicle that can safely go through the engine. Someone suggested methanol injection which costs $700 as a possibility. The most effective option by far is removing the manifold

[@English_Speaking_Fox]

KUN26R Hilux with 1KD motor 150,000km Provent 200 catch can since new I removed the throttle body, EGR and elbow for inspection. The catch can had done its job and all the soot deposits were soft and loose, and very easily removed with a gentle scrub with an old toothbrush and brake cleaner. No abrasives or solvents required. I left the inlet manifold on the vehicle and just cleaned the soot deposits around the inlet opening. I took a video of the condition of the EGR valve and my observation is that due to the lack of oil vapour the soot is unlikely to clog the intake much more than you can see. It is so soft, loose and friable and comes off so easily that a good old-fashioned Italian tune up the hill at 4000 revs will likely dislodge the most recent soot deposits and burn them. Video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pV7Le4mJasRmpLc In my view the catch can has done its job perfectly. The turbo and intercooler are clean and the EGR valve and downstream intake components are easily cleaned at the same kind of mileage interval as you need to change your timing belt. So hardly a regular undertaking and not a difficult job. To date the vehicle has shown no change in fuel consumption or power output. It’s worth pointing out that this Hilux was bought new in 2014 and used on a 70,000 km trip through outback Australia in its first 18 months, towing a camper trailer all the way. Then it was exported to New Zealand when we returned home to the farm and since then it has been used as a rural workhorse. It’s always either towing or pretty much fully loaded so the condition of the intake in the video is reflective of a very hard-working engine, definitely not a highway cruiser or town vehicle.

[@TheMusingGreg]

That's very interesting. I found the exhaust soot was very hard and baked onto the inside of the manifold with the catch can on,, not soft and loose like you found.

[@melnickharris1177]

This is why your better off with out a catch can as the soot won't go hard

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yep that's my current thinking mate, easier to clean the soft stuff even if it needs doing a bit more often

[@melnickharris1177]

@TheMusingGreg egr plate and the 7 mm hole it seems to keep its self clean🤷

[@TheMusingGreg]

Interesting I might try that thanks!

[@WeAreTheUnhappyMajority]

Prevention is better than cure, best start using revive once a year on a fairly new car Don't forget the product is designed on a hot engine, similar to a steam clean oven, it'll break up the carbon.

[@TheMusingGreg]

True in principle; the question is whether either product dissolves enough carbon to be considered a preventative. So far I've not seen much evidence Revive does that even though I wanted to like it. The instructions actually say to use it on a COLD engine, but before I did the review I took exactly your point to them and they said that it will work better on a warm engine, just not hot. My guess is that they're trying to avoid any chance of liability for turbo damage from cold water and glycol getting sprayed onto a piping hot turbo and shattering the compressor wheel! This is why I used a warm engine and also let it sit for 10 minutes to try to get that steam cleaning effect; but even then it did very little.

[@neilasd3043]

Its all snake oil. Manifold needs to come off to clean properly & to get to inlet valves.. I have used oven cleaner for 35 years it works..

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yep a full removal and clean is definitely the best. Check out the first video in this series kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZSzZo1ogMhqjpI where I first tested liqui moly before a full removal and clean with oven cleaner and a pressure washer

[@barrybritcher]

From what I can figure out revive is most likely water and glycerin

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yeah it's hard to pin down! I got hold of the SDS as I showed at 4:07 in the video, but apart from basically stating it's detergent and water it was pretty vague as to what else it contained!

[@mick00000000002]

Steam cleaner for the house. In the inlet. Water and some soap

[@TheMusingGreg]

You'd have to make sure you don't get too much water through and hydrolock the engine but it might work

[@PeterKnagge]

I have a hpd catch can and use liqui-moly with every service, as well as the fuel additive. After watching your video the only thing that feels cleaner is my wallet. Do you have any opinions on TerraClean?

[@TheMusingGreg]

Eek I feel your pain, though at least you know what it is and isn't doing. I wouldn't say Liqui Moly is useless, it's the best one I've tried, but it's still not doing a heap. I've not tried Terraclean but the machine is extremely expensive. It could be worth paying someone else to do it but that's something I'd have to test.

[@PeterKnagge]

@@TheMusingGreg I was more talking about products similar to the GDi Kit that the user connects to their own air compressor. I would assume because it has added pressure and a longer application process it could be more effective. There seems to be an endless list of brands that have their own decarb products.

[@TheMusingGreg]

@@PeterKnagge Ah OK, no I'm not familiar with those. Liqui Moly does work, it just works very slowly. So I guess if the bottle was larger and there was a decent soaking stage it might work. I would be interested to try one one day.

[@veneratedmortal4369]

your engine was 99.9% clean and definitely didn't need a clean. can you try again with a sooted engine?

[@TheMusingGreg]

It was certainly cleaner that most due to the catch can. I haven't run the catch can for a while so I might see if I can repeat it on a dirty engine like you suggest

[@04rodeorider75]

Not sure why but I can't see my comments on you vids when I'm not logged in. YT shadowing banning again or something else ???

[@TheMusingGreg]

Weird, they're showing up here for me OK. But with YT who knows!

[@scotty6346]

Squirt some oven cleaner down there!

[@TheMusingGreg]

I did that as part of my very first Liqui Moly video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZSzZo1ogMhqjpI but that was with the manifold off. I wouldn't want to have a caustic product go through the combustion chamber.

[@ashk5331]

Buy carb cleaner it’s cheaper

[@TheMusingGreg]

Yeah it is, but carby cleaner is designed to dissolve different types of deposits and may not be suitable for diesel engines. Have you used one successfully on a diesel manifold before? If so which one? I'd be interested to take a look.

[@ashk5331]

@@TheMusingGreg yes mini and jaguar

[@TheMusingGreg]

@@ashk5331 Sorry I meant which type of carby cleaner? I assume the Mini was petrol though, what about the Jag?

[@ashk5331]

Stp carb cleaner both mini & jag are diesels

[@TheMusingGreg]

Cool thanks for the update!

[@scaredyet]

I found this review incredibly unhelpful

[@TheMusingGreg]

Sorry to hear that, why is that?

[@TheChiefCoin]

🐍🛢

[@TheMusingGreg]

For cleaning a clogged manifold, yep neither worked very well! Liqui Moly is ok for a bit of maintenance but still doesn't do a heap