Forgotten Trick: Removing Carbon Buildup from Engine

I'm an old motorhead. 83 yrs old to be exact and I was using this method when I worked at a Pontiac dealership back in the early '60s. Yep, it works! As a matter of fact there would be carbon blow out of the tailpipe that you could feel and see. The only thing a person has to be aware of is that some of the carbon can become lodged on the valve seats and cause a temporary misfire on some cylinders. This will work itself out with a short drive. I've had some engines that would not idle after this procedure until after a short drive to clear the valves again. Thanks for keeping this old "fix" going.

I'm 63 and been using water to clean the carbon out since I was 15 works great

I watched my daddy and his brothers do this when a car was running rough. It smoked a bit and leveled out and idled great. I miss the old carburetor engines. Simple and easy to work on.

Thank you for teaching us these old-school tricks that almost nobody talks about anymore.

WARNING: Tesla vehicle owners DO NOT use this method to improve the operation of your motor. You could get SHOCKING results!

here is a tip for you, replace the clean water with water from when you boil potatoes, it is full of starch and that reacts with the carbon and a chemical reaction occurs that removes all the carbon very quickly, some old bikers will remember cleaning two-stroke exhaust baffles in a bucket full of the potato water and potato peelings, leaving it soak overnight and in the morning the baffles were spotlessly clean,

My dad was a B36 mechanic in the Air Force. Those six big radials on that plane used water injection for keeping them clean inside.

I cherish the days when I unexpectantly get a dose of useful knowledge. So very grateful you took the time to share. God Bless you, sir!

I am almost 80 and what we did in "the olden days" we would run about 5 quarts of water mixed with a bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Get the engine hot and run this through a small vacuum tube into the intake at idle. The water would react with the hydrogen peroxide and burn the carbon off. I used it in my 40's cars to my 426 hemi drag car. I am about to use this on my Jeep and Furd F-150 eco boost. I relate these old time fixes with the old timers using natural trees and flowers to aid aches and pains compared with aspirin (same remedy you get from making tea from Aspen bark. Don't knock it until you try it.

He's telling the TRUTH. I was taught tricks like this by my late uncles and it works 💪.

Haven't seen this in years. Worked pumping gas at a service station as a kid and saw one of the owners do this back in 64. He told me exactly what you said it would do. He then proceeded to tune the engine. This is back in the day when leaded gas was still being used. Thanks for sharing.

I'm 75 and my dad taught me this trick when I was about ten. We used it on tractors and farm equipment. I still use it on older cars. Thanks for the refresher

**I had a cousin that was a mechanic all his working life in Florida and he built hot rod engines too. Well my aunt had a first year Ford Taurus that she mostly just drove around town and it ran like crap so he told her to bring it over and I saw him get the water hose, pull the air cleaner out and started putting a pretty good trickle of water down it with it running at a fairly high rpm and after he did that for a while her car ran like a new one and every once in a while she would take her car over and have him clean it out like that and as far I know that car would probably be running if she would not have passed away. So I saw it with my own eyes that it worked and you can't beat the price…lol**

I used to do this on my cars back in the 70"s. I even installed the "Ol" JC Whitney water injection kit, (back when it was mail order). The complete kit was a Mason Jar with a valve on the lid (adjustment) a piece of hose and a T fitting for the PCV. Thanks for a ride down Memory Lane, Brother.

I was taught the same method and transmission fluid in the oil trick as well!....I've known these two tricks since I was a boy and I'm 44 now and I've been working as a ASE master automotive technician at a dealership and guys younger than me look at me like I'm crazy...can't wait to show them this video today 👍🏼

We were using that trick back in '69 when my dad bought a garage. Never harmed an engine and we've pulled a few apart after the water treatment and they were extremely clean inside. Good to see someone still knows a few of these tricks.

My Dad was a Navy Aviation Mechanic in WW2 and Korea. He shared lots of Old school tricks of the trades with me. All good proven practical methods!

I grew up in the 50s and 60s and everyone knew the water trick.

I’m 25 years old, I was told this trick when I was 16, thinking it was a prank I never did it till last year. Laid about 100 to 200ft of garden hose out in the sun to heat up, put my spray nozzle on mist and sprayed right by the intake. Worked like an absolute charm. But be aware, you can flood the motor if yours not careful and hydro lock it. (Ask me how I know)

It's physics. Water bonds with carbon to form hydrocarbon. Plus the heat helps it release and expel it out the exhaust.