The Number One Killer Of Gasoline Engine Efficiency And Power And How To Stop It

[@bobnuttall9203]

Back in the early 80s my father was driving his 77 Eldorado back from Florida via Kentucky to visit an aunt. Came out of his motel room and started the car for the trip back home to MA, and it backfired through the carb. He restarted it and it had what sounded like a rod rap. He left the Caddy and rented a car, then drove home. He drafted myself and a friend, and we drove 20+ hours straight back to Kentucky. He bought a crank kit and had loaded the car with tools, a chain fall. A chainfall. The heat and humidity were brutal. Before we started I got a large cup of water and started the car. I slowly poured the water down the carb and the knock just faded away. We took the car for a test drive to the next county, that wasn't dry, and bought a case of beer. Spent the rest of the day drinking by the pool. We were overjoyed that we didn't have to pull that engine out and replace the crankshaft and bearings in a dirt parking lot.

[@ssnerd583]

Yep......i used to run water, VERY SLOWLY into the carb like Tony says, after a good hard romp around the neighborhood.....and a cup or so is all it usually took and you could really tell the difference after you did it......that and the old Ford upper cylinder lubricant.....or better known as smoke screen creator....lol throw a half a bottle or 2 of B12 Chemtool in the tank and GO!!

[@ianspeckmaier9565]

Back when you didn't have to worry about your car getting stolen when you left and came back for it.

[@diondebrue3851]

Sounds good

[@alan6832]

So what sounds like rod tap but is actually caused by carbon? Also, can't slow burning caused by cold, carbon coated intake valves be corrected by advancing the timing? or if combined with carbon hot spots, wouldn't the hot spots increase atomization, speed combustion and correct the slow burning issue? How would a big, unatomized glob of gasoline detonate? Water does sound like a good way to clean ring lands though and improve compression. Might a trigger sprayer help to reduce the need for a steady hand to control flow rate and prevent hydro lock? The opposing nature of the two problems caused by carbon seem self correcting to me.

[@cruiser6260]

I thought people who afford new Cadillacs get tow trucks, not try and rebuild a near new engine by the side of the road?

[@pkuudsk9927]

Back in about 92 I did this on a old Lady's car mid 75 and she came back after her oil change and my free" tune up." . She was not really mad but kept on me for why her car was running so much quicker. I did it to every car that rolled into the shop prior to oil change. My Boss came to me and said whatever you're doing, keep doing it we are booked for the next 2 months.

[@Tipman2OOO]

Sorry for being a space cadet, but what did you do to her car? Italian tune up?

[@pkuudsk9927]

@@Tipman2OOO LOL as a mechanic for 40+ years I say there is no wrong question when you don't know I would always test drive around the block every car before, so I could feel the car and find things people just got used to. So I found things people didn't know, like dead shocks, sloppy steering etc. So while the car was hot I would bring them up to 2500 rpm them slowly pour in cold water and the carbon on pistons cat spark plugs valves would come out the tail pipe. I had a Mason jar to collect the crap and show people, and it was free. We had alot of older customers who had been with us for decades along with family and friends who they sent to us.They never drove their cars above idle so I knew they were carboned up. 5-10 minutes of trickling in water and the tail pipe would be clean like new inside. I even did Temp checks on cats before and after a few times and you could see how much better the cat was flowing. I always wanted to pull an injector to see if the tip was cleaner. We had all the chemical dealers come by the shop and try to sell us the newest snake oil/tune up in a bottle and laughed at them. The BG dealer did one of his demonstrations with his 1 bottle cleans injectors valves pistons. So after I did my water trick and more crap cam out the tail pipe , I laughed at him and told him to move along. My father, a Mechanic from the 50's taught me this simple trick who he learned from a 30's mechanic. Get your car up to operating temp, remove the intake hose to the Throttle body. Take a water bottle and make a 1/16th hole in the cap, bring the rev's up to 2500 ish and spray the water in slow enough to not stall the motor and watch the crap come out of your tail pipe. It's like steam cleaning the inside of a motor. Then change your oil as it is now contaminated with water, not enough to harm anything for the 5 min you do this but you will notice a difference.. Try it and see for yourself. Another trick I used was putting a liter of diesel in motors before pulling them apart with 200+K miles on them, let them idle for 20 min and inside they would have little to no varnish. 1 had been so long without an oil change when I pulled the drain plug it came out in chunks, I jammed the drain plug back in put a liter of diesel in parked it outside running for 1 hour. The lifters and cam chain tensioner no longer need to be changed as now oil could flow. Try the water trick and be amazed

[@dirkfrazier9779]

@@pkuudsk9927 Thank you, old timer knowledge is the best knowledge!

[@davidclaycomb5496]

@@Tipman2OOOHey Tipman. At this late stage in my life, I’m getting interested in mechanical things. I never cared at all. But buying a vintage car has me wanting to learn new/old things. So, like you, I’m learning something new every day.

[@gordocarbo]

@@Tipman2OOO Get engine 2-3k rpm warm water in a spray bottle fan pattern and slowly spray it in. Decarboning. OR get some GM top end cleaner even better

[@jeffcard3623]

As a science graduate, I just want to point out and compliment how reliably you convey information that is based on your thorough understanding of applied science. You do so in a way that is relevant and engaging, and often highlight aspects that are neglected or poorly understood by the typical enthusiast. Keep being exactly who you are, Uncle Tony!

[@DanEBoyd]

If you're obsessed with cars enough, it can turn you into almost an engineer, no matter what your education level is - it does help to be able to read though...

[@MrNota500]

That's exactly what I was thinking but you said it much better than I could.

[@localenterprisebroadcastin5971]

If you can’t make a point simple you simply have no point

[@Thirrtyeighterr]

I agree with everything you just typed.

[@ThomasMulhall]

Blowing the carbon out was called "An Italian Tuneup" in my day. You could really see the chunks of carbon being blown out of the tailpipe. Car ran so much better afterwards. The British refer to carbon as "coke." Thanks UT!

[@dimmacommunication]

But the problem is that now carbon is where you can't do an Italia tunep ( wich is basic Italian driving lol )

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I knew there must be a new Uncle Tony video. I sensed a disturbance in the force.

[@redchris97]

🤣 I'm still jealous of your bearded greatness ( hope you are doing well )

[@barrycuda3769]

Maybe you can tell me , did Tony have a Wednesday night tech talk this week? , and by the way ,didn't you used to do a Wednesday night live as well?

[@mexicanspec]

@@barrycuda3769 There was no tech talk last night. I am not sure why, but I checked every couple of minutes for over an hour.

[@barrycuda3769]

@@mexicanspec Oh, thanks. Does DDG have a Wednesday night live , or just Sunday ?, I cant quite remember for some reason.

[@mexicanspec]

@@barrycuda3769 No, Jamie only has a Sunday live.

[@frankc1430]

You give it the old Italian tune-up!

[@AndrewOverholser]

VGG 4 life

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

Fuel quality and oil maintenance are more important than anything else. Yes, Even more than upgraded stereos, neon lights and cool wheels.

[@blueblack9675]

Fuel quality is only referring to top tier gas not changing your grade of gas because that doesn't benefit your car.

[@gorkzop]

​@blueblack9675 well I changed to run on Propane. Oil doesn't contaminate as fast and no carbon buildup😂 But in gas engines? Get a Carb-cheater (or o2 sensor) the better the mixture is the less carbon buildup

[@colty7764]

carbon has significantly different characteristics than the metal (pistons, valves). Metal thermal conductivity is very high (metals conduct heat rapidly, carbon conducts heat much more slowly). This reduces efficiiency and slowly kills your engine. Oil changes, using top tier gasoline (which has higher detergent ingredients added) will help greatly with this.

[@alexeidenier4072]

​@@gorkzop I work on Propane engines for a living... There's still carbon buildup in them. The fuel can't get rid of it like what gas can.

[@jimkamradt7243]

I'm 78. In 1954, I went with my dad to have his car tuned at a guys house. He used the water down the carb method to remove carbon. I'll never forget that, and I've relayed that story over the years. You are a great teacher Tony, keep up the great work.

[@mohawkmike142]

How do you talk about intake valve deposits and not mention the effects of oil down past the guides? You missed a ton here Tony.

[@electric8668]

You were 8 years old when that happened you have a good memory.

[@screwsinabell]

My inner Hank Hill screamed in anguish on seeing what was being done with that screwdriver at the start. Call that a hardware store jump scare.

[@jakehanneman6956]

"Bwahaaaahhaaaa" ~ Hank Hill

[@ShovelMonkey]

Yes, I remember pouring water in the carb when running the engine. My dad called it a Tijuana tune-up. He told me how the steam blasts the carbon deposits off everything. We would rev the engine up around 4k rpm and slowly pour it from a coffee cup. I have my heat crossover deliberately blocked off on my Offy Dual Quad intake in my 68 Barracuda.

[@HipstersAndHippies]

I've seen uncle tony videos years ago where he did exactly that.

[@Bawkr]

I think seafoam is the same concept, slightly more expensive I guess but works by shooting it in the vacuum line on a lot of injected rigs as well. Not sure which vehicles exactly it supports but was planning on doing it so I have a can sitting.

[@wigletron2846]

​@@Bawkri find seafoam is a little harsh on rubber seals and stuff like that. Ive used it a few times and honestly never noticed a big difference.

[@peteloomis8456]

Marvel mystery oil used to sell these kits you could buy that had a glass jar and all the fittings needed to hook this system up to a intake port or vacuum port that had a adjustable jet to fine tune how much marvel mystery oil would be sucked into the intake manifold while the engine was running . This not only would provide a little more upper cylinder lubrication but it also helped knock the carbon off of the intake valves as well as kept the carbon that could get between the upper piston rings of the pistons cleaned out. The idea was to use this system plus add the marvel mystery oil to crank case at every oil change by their recommendation of how much to add to the oil . Not sure if they still sell these kits or not but many years ago I worked for a shop that was sponsored by the MSRA Minnesota street rod association and I worked on a old Plymouth from the early 50s with the straight 6 in it that was in beautiful shape and the owner had one of these kits installed on his car and swore by using this stuff . This was in the early 90s when he brought the car to our shop and he was in his 70s then & had bought the car brand new he had told me when talking to him back then .

[@williamstamper442]

People always caused me crazy when i used a coca cola bottle with water from the tap down the throat hole of the Holley double pumper on top of my then low 12 sec Olds in the late 80s. Whenever the engine came apart there were dark spots but never carbon built up on back of the valves or ring lands. As far as "blowing out the carbon" well that was done on a daily basis as part of the program of being a young mechanic with a musclecar.

[@AzureKnightmare32]

Man, this channel is pure gold. I learn something every time I watch UT.

[@richie_b-1234]

Uncle Tony, The water trick was used by a friend and I on his 1981 Buick Skylark 2.8 L V6. We used a spray bottle set to a rough mist while blipping the throttle. We did this right after running some Dexron/Mercon fluid into the carb help clean internals of the engine. The water mist was a steam clean. Seemed to work wonders. Thick smoke initially but cleared up, so it seems we cleared it out pretty good. Even the catalytic converter. :D

[@paullionnet5141]

I'd done this by removing one polution hose and adding a small tube to a 5 gallon water container inside the car. While driving , I'll open a tap. It helps increase compression. But the car was slowing, and it would backfire.

[@gordocarbo]

@@paullionnet5141 Youre lucky you didnt hydraulic the engine!

[@gordocarbo]

Was a kid reading car craft in the 70s when I read about the trans fluid/water Did it on my Dads 73 Impala.

[@PandiKristo]

​@@gordocarboyes you put pee in side transmission and engine and the car work like new. OK

[@martininfante5230]

My father had a small town Ford dealership until the mid 80's. We had a lot of older, slow driving customers, Falcons, Fairlanes, sometimes a Galaxy. These cars were short trip cars that probably never saw 3,000 rpm in their life. When one of those would get traaded-in I would get a buddy or two, sneak a dealer plate on it and take it out after dark. We had a perfect stretch of straight country road to use. Take that poor tired 6cyl. or 289 up 'till there was not one more RPM left, then lift off the throttle and drop a gear. The fireworks out the back were amazing as glowing red carbon chunks went flying out the tailpipe! As often as not it would carbon tip a spark plug or two and we would sputter back and park it on the lot. Ahhh, the good ol' days!

[@dirkfrazier9779]

That's funny!

[@phillipsprague3275]

Well Tony you went above and beyond again! I friend of mine from the very early eighties ram his 1971 Chevy C-10 race car pull truck on propane! I didn’t know anything about it so he enlisted me. He had an irrigation engine that was run on it and showed me how amazingly clean everything was inside the engine! The engine had something like ten thousand hours on it and it was so clean inside!! Because propane has no carbon! Then he pulled the dipstick on his tow rig and it looked brand new while he said it had nearly ten thousand miles on it? Again….carbon bad! And I remember my dad doing a tune up on a friend’s ‘66 Grand Prix then trickling transmission fluid down the hatch and tons of white smoke billowing out the exhaust!

[@hansjansen7047]

Of course propane has carbon in it, it's a hydro-carbon, but it goes in as a gas, so it burns completely, to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide ans water

[@leroyhaas9085]

UTG, thanks for the info, I’ve forgotten more than I remembered. Glad that you keep us OLD gear heads remembering how we built our engines faster back in the day. I always watch your videos to catch up on inexpensive and smart ways to make more horsepower. Love man and thanks

[@brentwasham8833]

Wow, so many comments. Just drove a '64 Barracuda/273 bought off ebay from GA to TX and it runs terrible and super rich, 14 mpg. With 136K miles think it is prime for de-carboning, and of course a carb rebuild. THANKS!

[@garydotson2277]

Back in the mid seventies, I was wrenching at a GMC truck dealer. Carbon was a big problem on those truck V-6 engines. Every tune up began with a cup of water into the carburetor, followed by a soak period. When the engine was re-started, the black garbage rolled from the tail pipe. Then we did the normal tune-up procedure. A few years later, working at a mopar dealer, I saw carbon totally blocking the manifold crossover on small block Mopar engines and we were doing the same exercise that you were doing in opening frames of this video. A real pain in the butt! Automatic chokes don’t work without heat!

[@Lowrider2905]

Did it with my 66 Cadillac 10 years ago and will never look back. I live in northern Germany, and the car is driven in summer only.

[@crazydrive18]

Was meinst Du damit? Ist das Vorgehen zu empfehlen?

[@Lowrider2905]

@@crazydrive18 ja absolut. Wenn man seinen Wagen vornehmlich im Sommer bewegt, möchte man die Wärme vom Vergaser weg haben. Und bauartbedingt kommt immer heißes Abgas, egal ob die Abgasklappe funktioniert oder nicht, durch die Ansaugspinne in Richtung Vergaser und heizt alles unnötig auf.

[@crazydrive18]

@@Lowrider2905 Das verstehe ich jetzt nicht ganz, im Video geht es doch um das entfernen von Verkokungen durch kontrolliertes einträufeln von Wasser in den Vergaser?

[@Lowrider2905]

@@crazydrive18 ich dreh grad durch 🤣😂, habe eine Reihe von Videos geschaut und eins davon hat von überhitzten Vergasern gehandelt. Hab's auf dem handy geguckt und auf kommentieren gedrückt und den Text geschrieben. Sollte definitiv unter ein anderes Video 😂🤣. Aber ja, das mit dem Wasser und der Verkokung funktioniert definitiv. Selbst nicht angewendet, da meine Motoren alle schickie sind, aber 2 Bekannte schwören drauf.

[@stevesadusky8634]

Your right Uncle Tony. Trickling water through the carburetor is an old school method us ole timers are familiar with. Just have to go easy with the water without drowning it out. Works great!!👍

[@alsguitars5127]

Great Video! All on the money. I was a service engineer for one of the big 3. We had Walnut shell blasting machines that induced fragments in the plenum air stream to media blast the carbon on intake valves it was so bad. Tip: Techron is the best additive for non DFI engines. We lab tested it. Removes carbon on valves, combustion chambers and corrosion on fuel sending cards….if your gauge is dead two bottles back to back in subsequent tanks might revive it.

[@tZydeco]

I removed the non-functioning fuel level sending units out of my '92 F250 7.3 IDI diesel. Made a mixture of alcohol free gas and Techron Professional additive. Soaked the sending units for a long weekend in a sealed tank. The sending units have been functioning properly for two years.

[@gordocarbo]

Ever test GM top engine cleaner?

[@AutomotiveAdventuresWithAustin]

Here for the learning from the ole man and wrencher! Teach us the way Uncle Tony!

[@douglashewitt5064]

I knew he was smart, but this is crazy. He understands so much more than I thought. Not just a wrencher, but he has studied all theories and understanding of internal combustion engines. New respect here and awe. Thank you.

[@MrNota500]

@@douglashewitt5064 He worked on a funny car team back in the day. He knows some stuff.

[@hg2.]

Fantastic! Uncle Tony is inspiring a new generation of mechanical engineers!

[@tomnekuda3818]

Great info on your channel, Tony. I watch all your videos and remember all the tricks I've used over nearly 70 years of tuning. For anyone younger......you can learn a lot from Tony and take it to the bank!! Many times, literally!

[@bobnuttall9203]

My father spoke with the owner of the motel and got his permission to park it next to the building. I kept asking him why didn't you just take the plates off and leave it. When we picked up the crank kit from our machinist, he told us of a similar experience with another customer. They did the bottom end only to still have the knock. That's when they discovered the chunk of carbon in the combustion chamber. I had been using the water trick to decarbon engines since I was 17. We got really lucky Oh, and by the way, I love your videos with your nuts and bolts approach. We're pretty much from the same era. I think I'm just a couple of years older than you

[@bobbyz1964]

The water down the carb thing we did on a chassis dyno, mid 80s when I did tune-ups. It's amazing how much water you can put in a carburetor and not kill the engine! On the dyno you could load it and run it like 60 mph, crap would be flying out the exhaust pipe. If you have an old nasty engine you could easily rig up a vacuum hose and suck water out of a bottle, just make sure the vacuum port goes into all the cylinders! Then rig a valve on the hose and have someone drive while you feed the water. It'll clean it a lot faster with a load on it.

[@richjordan9375]

My 318 manifold (1971, 170,000 miles, but none since 1995 and none with ethanol) had little buildup in the crossover. The engine valves were also not too badly carboned. I do think the adulterated gas with ethanol and other epa mandated crap makes the problem a lot worse. I still have a couple cans of the Mopar manifold heat control valve solvent; it worked great for that purpose and also removing carbon deposits from engine valves. It helped with the carbon in the crossover too but I hated to use it there much because its probably irreplaceable now and I'd rather save it for its intended purpose. If you are going to clean up a plugged crossover I expect a power drill with masonry bits would be a good start over chiseling. YOu could drill as far as was safe in a checkerboard pattern, then fill the holes with solvent, then break out all the softened carbon in chunks until you get to the flat part and can't get a drill in there. Still would get a lot done probably faster. And they are worth saving. YOu might not think so now but in another few decades even these wee 318 parts may be precious.

[@davidkeddy7717]

I have a 2005 GMC Savanna 3500 with the 4.8. I started putting the recommended 2 oz's of Marvel Mystery Oil in for every 1 gal of gasoline, and over about 4-6 weeks now about 8 weeks there has been a hugh difference in this engine performance, I only put on 6-7000 miles a year on and it is all local mileage. I also added 1/2 quart to the oil last oil change. ( They recommend up to 1 quart ) And the results have been amazing. A lifter tapping noise has gone away, the engine is hughly making power now ( no sluggish anymore ) Idling is purring like a kitten. ( no more slight missing could be felt ) I did change the oil filter after about 2000 miles because oil guage was starting to fluctuate a bit which wasn't normal for this vehicle, and I just figured the filter was clogging because maybe the Marvel was doing its job of cleaning the engine and the filter was collecting all the contaminates and was restricting proper flow. and sure enough that was it. after new filter put on, oil guage went back to constant reading ( no more fluctuating ) I cut open filter and could see the clogged areas in the filter paper. I use the best oil and best filters Mobil 1 in everything on this vehicle. THIS IS NO LIE ! I AM NOT LIEING ABOUT THESE RESULTS ! It is really true, this Marvel Mystery Oil has done wonders for this engine. It really feels like I have a new engine. I now cut back on the use of it in the fuel, just every so often seems to be suffeint now. But will continue to use it in the fuel and at oil changes. Maybe others could benefit by using it as well.

[@levinlevinallday]

I have a newer v6 camaro with direct-port injection. They're known to carbon up the intake valves. The popular thing to do is take off the intake and with each intake valve closed blast the valve with crushed walnut shell media and vacuum it out. I need to do it soon.

[@darksu6947]

I have a 2012 Impala that uses the same motor and trans from the Camaro. Best car I've ever had!

[@michaelmurphy6869]

Port fuel injection engines never had that problem. The injector would spray almost directly on the intake valve it kept it clean.

[@selenelacaze9883]

I love your videos. You're a boss. I like these precisions on a precise topic that you hardly find anywhere else on youtube.

[@robv.o.1777]

Poor man's Water injection is great! I made one for a majorly carboned up 318. Within a few weeks, the mileage and power improved. I'm above 3000 ft so I also dropped jets a few sizes too😊 A Mason jar, aquarium stone and an adjustable air bleed, and rubbing alcohol to keep it from freezing... Kinda like having water/meth mix.😊 I used to pour a cup of distilled water down the carb slowly to "steam off" carbon in the ports and chambers as part of a tune-up. Would keep the rpms over 2500 ❤ The oil consumption also dropped too.😊

[@MarkSpalding-qc7ym]

Yup it's how it's done

[@keithbarron3654]

A buddy of mine had 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix with 301. Started running rough and knocking. Pulled intake, that passageway was blocked solid. Between picking and steam geni and bear blaster got her cleaned out, ran great, other then egr gasket looked different.

[@maxbialystock254]

I used to know an old school guy who put water injection on all his customers cars to keep the cylinders clean and the carbon down. Inexpensive and made the engines last as long as you kept up with adding some water regularly. Old Kerosene engine tractors ex 1929 McCormick Deering 22-36 used it as well. Works great.

[@timothykeith1367]

Water injection also eliminates NOx

[@timothykeith1367]

Water injection also eliminates NOx

[@mystic24100]

My father told me about the water into the old kerosene tractors. Thank you for mentioning it.

[@peteloomis8456]

Edelbrock used to sell a kit that injected water through the intake manifold back when the first unleaded fuels were being made that had low octane before higher octane unleaded fuel was being made to combat detonation and carbon build up because of the crappy fuel being made back then . I have a book by Edelbrock called the great manifold debate if I remember that goes through the design aspects of different intake manifolds that they made besides other makes of intake manifolds and they showed this water injection system they developed way back then & explained how it worked & what exactly it did . Once premium unleaded fuel was made that had additives added to the fuel for cleaner burning fuel these kits all but disappeared from the markets . I'm sure Edelbrock lost a lot of money on developing & designing this system at that time but we're a head of the game until the unleaded fuels were getting better as far as octane ratings and the use of certain additives in the fuel that were supposed to combat detonation pinging & excess carbon build up but even with these additives carbon still gets on the tops of pistons and the valves especially the intake valves because they run cooler than the exhaust valves do & this is why we are seeing this video because of carboned up intake valves from the fuels used & how UTG mentions the water trick to knock the carbon loose .

[@Haffschlappe]

German did it during ww2 in aircraft engines with a Mixture of Alkohol and water

[@sirjhonson8218]

Circle track guys like those older engines that looser tolerances to rebuild. My stepfather built many dirt track engines. He like a good 350 with a little over 100,000 miles on it so he could cut the ridge, hone the cylinders, and just replace the bearings. He said they stayed together longer on the track than a freshly machined engine.

[@FrankF-vp4pt]

Good teaching tool Uncle Tony. Thanks!

[@nickbonvino]

I remember as a kid helping my dad doing a tune up in Spring and Fall, and then going for a ride to blow out the carbon. Always loved that ride!

[@MarzNet256]

Excellently explained. You can pickup an endoscope for under $25 to use with your phone for poking around inside the engine. It's actually very useful.

[@romulascott]

Use to poor F type transmission down the carburetor until the engine stalled. Let it set for 5 minutes. Start it up and gas it. Smoked like hell for a while. Used to do that twice a year. This was done back in the 70's thru the 90's.

[@FasterBastard1]

That is awful advice 😂

[@chrishensley6745]

Yep

[@mexicanspec]

I did that on a 1967 Grand Prix once. Once. A piece of carbon got stuck in one of the valves and then I had a 7 cylinder Pontiac.

[@malibusbc]

A modern fuel clean solvent cleamer like Berryman would probably worl better. Trans fluid has detergents that clean but probably not best used in the fuel system. It'll smoke off but again doubt it will remove carbon, like a good fuel system cleaner.

[@romulascott]

Learned this from a friend that worked with Smokey Yunick. Just like I learned that they used vegetable oil to put an engine together. I learned a lot of things from him, and he and Smokey new how to build engines.

[@donaldfrederick1557]

Bought a 1961 ford for $150 in 1978. It was parked in the back yard next to a barn. Smoked black smoke and ran really bad. Drove it onto the road and floored it. Ran half a mile smoking like crazy then it cleared out and ran great.

[@ManuelPerez-ip4bb]

Great tip for the carbon removal, a little 1/4 cup of marine two stroke oil in the petrol can clean it to and your manifold is just strip out all the parts and a wood fire drinking beer.

[@chrispompano]

The new Valvoine Restore & Protect is the hot stuff now on the market & it works successfully dissolving carbon ring packs. Its been introduced to the retail market & is also known to the diesel market developed by Cummins in a higher concentration of esters for their problem motors to fix instead of a $500k rebuild. Its known as Valvoline Premium Blue Restore, not regular Premium Blue at W. Mart. Premium Blue Restore can only be purchased at Cummins dealers at approx $80 a gal. It worked so good, Valvoline introduced the Restore & Protect to the retail market but in a lighter additive package.

[@barryewalt3250]

The water down the intake works, learned that 30 years ago.

[@blackgoat59]

Love these tech tips videos. I enjoy hearing about topics like Harley Davidson debacle and Chinesium parts, but this is the Uncle Tony bread and butter: helping people keep their classic cars on the road. Great stuff, I appreciate the transfer of kowledge on here. 👍

[@coolguy112286]

I love how smart mechanics are, there is so much to know and learn. Great explanation UTG, thank you!

[@billloomis3907]

The memories your videos bring, especially to us older mechanics, is amazing. I remember using 'mechanic in a can de-carbonizer ' straight from the parts counter at the my local Dodge dealership where I was employed. This was way before sea-foam, and in a Mopar labeled can. Year: 1972-1973. Bad part was using it in a enclosed shop of 35 bays caused quite a disturbance, not only with the other mechanics, but the sales staff up front were also annoyed. The exhaust lingered everywhere. I will say, I never found another product that worked as well to remove carbon as good as the 'Mopar ' stuff. We had the Highway Patrol contract - Many complements from the police officers themselves. I tried using water, Marvel Mystery, ATF, Etc. I swear the Mopar stuff could plug exhaust systems on a older, really dirty motor! Probably is also part of reasoning why my, and a lot of my friends, breathing is the way it is now, along with all the brake dust!. Thanks Tony, You're one of the best.

[@jamest.5001]

My dad used to water the engines in his 47&53 Chevy's, drive home and let it fast idle and pour a steady stream of water, usually after it started running a bit rough, detonating ehen going up hills especially. I thought he lost it the first time i saw it as a little kid. Even i knew cars didn't run on water. I ask, "you know thats water right?", pour water from a 20 oz mountain dew bottle. Id give anything to go back to that day !✌️

[@briantruck2284]

Good old days

[@apachebill]

I run CRC Valve and Turbo cleaner down the throat of my carb. Cleans the snot out of them! Originally used to keep direct injected Ecoboost 3.5 clean, I thought Id give it a shot on the hot rod. It works. Had that Pontiac rolling coal like a diesel. Bore scope showed everything back to shiny. That stuff works!

[@dadalebreton184]

I poor a full cup of water in once in a while and transmission oil for the varnish. I remember my dad doing it and then I saw you doing it in your videos couple of years ago. You can actualy see black flakes coming out of the exhaust. When i take the heads of, don't worry, there is no glow plug. Dad approved. Hahaha!

[@717273mopar]

My friend had a 1973 Plymouth Satellite, he had really bad carbon buildup because of the EGR valve not functioning properly and a lot of exhaust gas going into the carb to get reburned, I remember chipping away that carbon. Great video.

[@EffequalsMA]

I remember GM top cylinder cleaner. Used that a lot back in the day. The smoke show that stuff created when you poured it into the carb was very satisfying. Pour slow at first, then flood the motor, leave fifteen minutes and fire it up for smoky fun.

[@jasonbrindamour903]

14 minutes and the noise starts, but honestly, your mic system did perfect. I could actually hear what you were saying still quite clearly, and I know that is typically where I fail is the vocal range when noises come in to play. Oh, and I'm in my garage with the washing machine jumping around....Nice audio UTG

[@7t2z28]

I de-carboned a Camaro I had once.... made a big cloud of smoke, but what a difference. It had a lot of miles put on it before I got it.

[@triplemotor]

I use to hot tank the intakes on all 60,s / 70,s cars, and it did an excellent job..On all new cars with both imjection systems like Toyota Use MMO in your gasoline , about 2 ounces for every talk full and your valves will stay clean..

[@xlr8r3VA]

Great video Tony! There is an easier way to get the carbon out. I saw a guy that had a plugged VW TDI intake. He took a torch and compressed air and it cleaned it out pretty fast. No chipping and scraping.

[@DrivingSander1970]

I prefer to stick with the good old Italian tuneup. Worked wonders with my car. 😁

[@dirkfrazier9779]

It never hurts to get on the throttle once in a while!

[@mikeray1544]

Just did that recently ....keeps the daily driven 318 happy...great posts here also.....back in the early 90's I was taught that by former GM master tech...

[@terryheimerl8674]

Uncle Tony, nice video mate. Very well explained and easy to follow. Back in the early seventies the fuel used by the PMG (think AT&T) here in Australia was below the octane rating of the standard pump gas. They had to use that decarbonising trick approximately every 10,000 mile. The only difference was that the mixture was 50% water and 50% kerosene dribbled in out of a bucket! I have no idea how many engines perished from hydraulic locking but it sure did move that carbon. Terry from Australia.

[@zakburnett6690]

I work mostly with small engines and mostly old flathead stuff (it's just my preferred style) and I've taken engines that won't even cough soaked them with ATF or something like seafoam it takes awhile if it's cold but as long as it's not broken or really completely worn out it'll come back, weedeaters are common for carboning up too it's the same sorta thing if you can get it hot before you flood it with cleaner of your choice (ATF seafoam ect) it'll boil and break up all that stuff.

[@OdiseoQuintin]

Here in the desert climate of Baja California where the low temperature never, ever falls below 40 degrees, I personally don't find it a problem to run my vehicles with blocked crossover passages.

[@mexicanspec]

We share the same climate.

[@dirkfrazier9779]

Excellent video, good job, expanded my knowledge on 2 or 3 things, thank you!

[@BillyBob-tt7hy]

Additive to devolve/break up carbon and how often to use? The Ford guy that wouldn’t miss one of your videos.

[@0004612]

Seafoam

[@billogrady882]

I was actually thankful when I heard all the background noise - I thought 'hey! That's great! Tony's got help in the Shop!'

[@als7594]

Toyota engines have a carbon ring problem. Main culprit for this problem is extended 10,000 mile oil changes. These cars would get up to 110K-120K miles and all of sudden it becomes an oil burner. I blame Toyota for this problem. They use to have recommended 5K mile oil changes on the engines used in the hybrids. They wanted to cut service costs for the customers so they changed the 5K mile oil changes to 10K miles. People that own these cars that do 5K mile oil changes, almost never run into this problem.

[@JAMESWUERTELE]

My 2 4Runners have the 10k spec. They only see 5k max oil change interval ever! Same with my powerstroke.

[@petesmitt]

The oil rings are low tension for fuel economy but they allow more blow-by.

[@Bill-sp8kb]

I change my oil and filter, every 3,000 miles, or three months, whichever comes first.

[@dirkfrazier9779]

@@Bill-sp8kb I go by miles and not months.

[@aceroadholder2185]

348 Chevys used to be bad about developing carbon cylinder head knock from carbon build up on the squish area between the piston and the cylinder head. The cure was, as Tony says, was to dribble water through a hot engine to clear it out. The crossover passage on many cars back in the day were also blocked with carbon like the manifold on the workbench.

[@craigpennington1251]

Another great learning video. Easy to understand explanations on what happens. Some cool hot rods in that garage. Crappy ethanol gas doesn't help. Absolutely nasty stuff we're forced to buy for our expensive cars & trucks. No mileage with it & it evaporates super fast.

[@tonyb3864]

Finally. I asked to see that manifold. THANK YOU.

[@FredsRandomFinds]

Haven't watched the whole vid yet but Could you not throw that manifold into a bucket of some kind of caustic solution? Similar to what used to be done with two stroke exhausts to clean them out?

[@peteloomis8456]

On these Chrysler 2 barrel intakes that heat riser on both sides of the intake manifold are very deep so it would take a long time even with using some kind of cleaner degreasers to dissolve the carbon build up that gets rock hard through those heat riser ports . I had to do this on a 318 I had many years ago and the easiest way to do it was to use a drill to drill through the carbon to open up the ports then use a long screwdriver and some solvent to break it down enough to finally clean those heat riser passages out . One of the other things to do is get rid of the intake manifold that has the EGR valve on it & get rid of the EGR heat riser valves on the exhaust manifold because it's emissions related that basically forces the heat and carbon from the exhaust up into the heat risers in the intake manifolds on these 318 and any other smog motor small block Chrysler engines . I had a 68 Dodge W300 military crew cab 4x4 that had the 318 with the stock 2 barrel intake on it years ago and I decided to do a cam swap on it and put a new 340 cam lifters & tossed the stock 2 barrel intake manifold & put a Edelbrock 4 barrel performer intake with a Edelbrock 1406 carburetor jetted for performance & took the heat riser valve off of the exhaust and ran dual exhaust on it and added the electronic ignition to the engine & man what a difference it made as far as performance power. I also used the intake manifold gaskets that had the heat riser ports blocked off and I had no problems as far as cold weather starting this engine in the cold MN winters back then at all even with the Edelbrock open element air filter on it . I could go outside in the very early morning with the truck sitting outside all night to go start the truck to let it warm up when it was -20 below at times & it always started up with its high idle and I would go back in the house and let it run for a half hour to thaw out the windows then jump in & head to work with no problems at all . This was back in the very early 90s and I remember seeing the new Ford pickup trucks stranded on the side of the roads that had fuel injection that were having issues with the cold temperatures and seeing on the local news that Ford had recalls on these trucks because of them stalling out and not restarting in those cold temperatures back then as I drove by in my old military Dodge laughing me ass off on my way to work lol . That truck was 1 of the best trucks I've owned & I've had Fords Chevrolet GMCs but that military crew cab was the best as far as reliability and ease of maintenance plus being over built for strength. I ended up selling it many years ago for more than I paid for the truck even with the mods done to it and wish I still had it because these trucks are fetching big money now if you can find one in nice shape . I paid a 1,000 for mine back then & looked up the production numbers of them made & they made less than 2,000 of them back in 68 with most being used in the Vietnam war then brought back to the states and sold to fire stations and also used by logging camps and the DNR for work trucks . I had read years ago that the Egyptian military had bought a lot of them up and were using them for their military and this was back in the 90s when looking into these trucks more & because of this that makes them even more rare to find now . I at least still have pictures of this truck from back then to look at once in a while & wish I could find one but most of them are gone or rusted out so bad now finding rust free body parts for them is hard to find & if you do find one in good shape it's going to cost you a arm and a leg to buy one now .

[@williamstamper442]

7:30 is where Tony is really getting into his Nitro days. Yes combustion, the flame front propagation all need to be"relatively" slow and definitely controlled....but the slow part has more to do with injesting huge amounts of nitromethane in order to make boom.

[@dirkfrazier9779]

Before you build a bon fire, you start with building a little fire- old indian proverb!

[@alexandr347]

I love your videos! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@TranTek]

i found a solution years ago by a company named Green Fuel tab and been using it for years and love it get most fuel are burned up and kept them running clean for years no more lazy engines, run cooler. Jim Lynch is creator and owner out of California

[@andremarini7113]

Always learn something from Uncle Tony! 🇧🇷🇺🇲

[@magicone9327]

Used to be a GM product used a lot in the late 60’s and 70’s, it was nearly the same chemical makeup of the GM carburetor cleaner for soaking carbs. Got the engine up to temp then idled it and dumped a quart of this stuff into the Venturi. The engine would fart and wheeze for about three seconds then die. Then let the engine sit overnight if possible. Started the engine the next day which was a tedious process but once it fired the carbon would come out in a volume that would choke a horse a block away. That carbon coming out is probably why it’s not used anymore. The end result was a fairly decarboned intake and combustion chamber.

[@dirkfrazier9779]

The goverment stopped its use to put more people to work charging you for the problems it caused thereby increasing tax revenue to hand out to the rest of the world making them look wonderfull in every ones eyes- don't forget to vote!

[@michaelgarner4229]

Excellent explanation of carbon on the valve

[@kimdearrington258]

GM used to make what they call top engine cleaner, that will absolutely break down the carbon build up and it is designed specifically for this problem. I know first hand that it works, if it's still available.

[@frankc1430]

@@kimdearrington258 GM top engine clean works great! I've taken that stuff and put it directly on piston tops and just watched it break down the carbon. Good stuff!

[@michaelmurphy6869]

Yes that was good stuff. Once l did valve seals (smoked on start up, very common issue then)on a late 80's Chevy pickup with a 4.3 V6 high miler. After when l started the engine it knocked really bad, it sounded like there were 3 boy scouts having a hammering contest in the engine. Let the engine warm up then starting pouring in the GM top engine cleaner in until the engine stalled. Let it sit for about 20 minutes started it, it smoked for a short while and the knocking was gone and the engine idled and ran smoothly. Unfortunately in the early 2000's GM changed the formula (reason was that old formula caused cancer in lab rats and was outlawed in Commiefornia) it turned out that it wasn't nearly as good as the old stuff. As far l know it's still available.. OMC used to have a fogging oil (used for outboards and other marine engines) that pretty much did the samething it was good stuff. OMC is gone so is the fogging oil.

[@Greg-xv9qj]

​@@michaelmurphy6869Mercury Marine power tune.It's in an Spray can

[@Haffschlappe]

Seafoam

[@hunnybunnysheavymetalmusic6542]

Well explained Tony, excellent articulation of this condition. That said, some of what you said, varies by application, too.

[@suzieq2193]

Which cylinder had the crack/head gasket problem causing the steamy exhaust? The one with the clean piston.

[@Antique803]

Never heard of this before...thanks.

[@scottersandman6408]

i had a 1973 dodge. the dealer had applied a service tune to it. long story short, is killed the egr. I had the top end apart, cleaned that egr system and the car ran soooo much better. milage and power were definitely better. if i left the carbon, it wouldn't become diamond. lol

[@timothymoroney3561]

This is a great video lesson Tony ! I personally like CNG as a preferred fuel as it burns sooooo clean that there is very little carbon build up . (not to mention the fuel cost(s) compared to gasoline) This too (carbon deposits) is why oil changes must happen regularly to maintain proper lubrication !

[@StefanRügamer]

Great tricks and explanations! That's why I like your channel

[@stevenbean9706]

there used to be water injection kits you could buy , I actually used to shoot water in my carb to keep my motor clean cause i ran gas ported pistons on the street . still do

[@edwardpeterson5996]

Blowing out the carbon is how I fell in love with my 6 cylinder nova in 80s .Old lady had it since new it smoked so bad low power I was going to put 350 in it so I beat that motor driving like a nut "my first car " at 16 in a few days it stopped smoking and just came alive .72 Nova bare bones no options! After some 50 cars now that was best car I ever had I'd smoke V8 s on the backroads even the Amazon cop that slammed me on the ground after running out of gas chasing me said no way that's a 6 cylinder!!!That was last time I drove it with fake plates!!😂

[@juliochingaling5824]

Excellent video brother, great info. Blessings.

[@sriles1676]

Another Instant Classic Uncle Tony Video!

[@lukewaynehart491]

Awesome video, thank you so much. Love the channel, keep it up please!

[@lilmike2710]

Careful with pouring too much water down the yap. Hydro locking can damage pistons, valves and bend connecting rods. Water does not expand.

[@uncle_moose]

Steam has entered the chat.

[@indianaslim4971]

Bless your heart, you were trying to sound so smart and was doing a fair job until the very last word....compress is the correct word.

[@williamtownsend4978]

“We’re not was is grammatically the correct word”

[@carriersignal]

@@williamtownsend4978 Please use commas where appropriate to provide necessary pauses.

[@7thSANCTUARY]

​@@williamtownsend4978I think you mean "were" as opposed to "we're," which means "we are."

[@MustangGuru]

The old engines. The gas vaporized in the floor of the intake, The PCV system these days is the main contributor of carbon buildup on intake valves mainly In direct injection engines. So a catch can inline with the PCV system helps keeping oil and other contaminates out of the intake system.

[@user-tn1hk6zm2freedom]

A catch can in the PCV line is an excellent idea. Un-belivable the factory didn't install them.

[@samday6621]

My ‘78 Holden Hz 253 V8 will thank you!

[@mholdenmatth]

You've got a classic there, mate. Don't see many Holdens older than VL or VK around anymore, so I applaud your efforts. Much respect from NZ

[@nicknick2350]

Remember that whatever you’re getting out of the engine will be going through the exhaust so, you run the chance of deposits on any catalyst or turbo. Regular cleaning of a turbo is necessary anyway but catalytics are expensive so test pipes are a good idea. Some vehicles won’t run proper With a test pipe so be aware of what you’re working on

[@61rampy65]

I had two customers that came in with what sounded like a rod knock. I didn't think it was a rod, so I poured some ATF down the carb, while holding it at about 2000 RPM. Slowly the knock disappeared as the carbon dissolved. The downside is the Smoke out the exhaust! It should be noted that you should only try this decarbon trick if you have a good idea of what you're doing, as it is easy to hydrolock the engine, which WILL bend the rods!

[@Haffschlappe]

Seafoam is safer

[@davejohnston5925]

I remember hanging a 1-gal jug half full of water with about a tsp of dish soap near the windshield washer reservoir, then borrow some tubing from the fishtank we'd run the tubing thru the cap about a 1/2 inch then to the underside of the air filter housing... the venturi effect would syphon the water/soap solution to blow out the carbon, and the glycerin from the soap smoothed up the intake... Not as effective as porting and polishing an intake manifold... But effective enough for street stock at Englishtown, Pa in the late 60's.... and a few street races in Sommerville, NJ.

[@jasonbrindamour903]

I know I had been subscribed but I just happen to look and somehow I wasn't. That's odd because I have been watching for years now. To my other UTG friends, just make sure you remembered to do that!

[@effortless-one]

My son and I are about to rebuild a last model 202 Holden (Chev) engine (about 1987) using some modern twists - oil injection into the bores, modern pistons with reduced compression height thinner 1.2 - 1.5mm high tensile rings. It will be interesting to see the longevity of the build.

[@johnkehoe5950]

Uncle Tony's Mopars. Good Job

[@dogsense3773]

Hey Tony, if you used an air filter, you're rings will last longer!

[@daviderickson9445]

🤣

[@davidboyden9099]

I am sure Tony already knows that

[@dogsense3773]

@@davidboyden9099 in his last show, he said there's no big deal with a air filter,I don't used them all the time! Just wrong information for the dummies out there

[@andrewbrown6522]

I forgot about this. Hadnt heard of it in 30 years since i first started working in shops. Have used seafoam mostly.

[@deedeepenn9736]

Thank you for the video. Questions - In order to do an Italian tune-up, what rpm should one get up to and for how long do you maintain that rpm? And how much water do you use down the intake? Thank you

[@marcumexe]

Hey Elvis, use a long drill it will clean the carbon in short order, lot of old timers used rice down the carb while reving the motor, they said when the rice enters the chamber it explodes like popcorn does chipping away carbon in the chamber without damaging anything..

[@jefftschetter5881]

Much luv from Buffalo NY

[@poireauer6517]

Same from France , Europe

[@LoganPEade]

There's Uncle Tony, knocking another chip off the old block! 😂😂