Cleaning Intake and EGR - what chemicals would do the best job?

I'm preparing to do the job and am researching needed tools and chemicals.

Maybe, I'm trying to reinvent the wheel - if so - let me know

Here I want to discuss, what chemicals clean the carbon and epoxified deposits in the intake manifold and in the EGR system the best, the easiest, the safest and the quickest (maybe not all at once).

I know, there are a multitude of descriptions, films and discussions about that, but they are not always consistent. For different people, different agents do the job and they demand a different amount of effort and time...

I think, it would be worth it to have the best functioning chemicals collected and discussed in one place.

And the thing is - we should discuss chemicals - not products.
Of course, a distinct product has a distinct ingredients - if someone can confirm, a product is doing a great job, we should look at the ingredients and try to understand, which one is doing the most and which is only for the good smell there

The prerequisites for me would be:
1. the chemicals should be accessible for an average man and that not only in the US (on-line, normal chemical or construction shop, maybe automotive parts shop)
2. the chemicals should not be excessively harmful to the environment or to the user (working outside or in very well ventilated area, using gloves and eye protection is OK)
3. the chemicals should do no harm to the cleaned part (I realize, there will be different chemicals for the intake and for the ERG cooler - that's OK)
4. the chemicals should do the work - minimal scrubbing and no days long soaking at best
5. the chemicals should not be excessively expensive.

Disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic, I'm not a chemist!

Apparently one can not dissolve carbon and we actually do not have to dissolve it.
We have to dissolve the backed stuff, that holds the carbon sticking to our parts - a kind of resin or epoxy, the carbon is embedded in...

I did some research and it seems, few chemicals come over and over again in the discussions and descriptions of cleaning carbon deposits, and this are:

- NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide, attacks aluminium - do the intake manifold have aluminium parts?) eventually with additives. Could be used for intake manifold if you avoid contact with aluminium parts. Here some interesting reading:
What breaks down burnt carbon deposits? | Physics Forums
https://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?323620-Cleaning-Spark-Plugs-(for-Colour-Tuning)
Both links seem to come from one author.

- CH2Cl2 (Dichloromethane or DCM or methylene chloride or methylene bichloride) - a strong diluter found in products like Aircraft Paint Remover. Here is safety data sheet of Aircraft Paint Remover (I think more products are named similar?): http://kleanstripauto.com/resources/product-resources/3404_18_KS_Aircraft_paint_Remover_SDS_05012019.pdf

- acetone - this one, I know, removes easily carbon baked on a copper sheet (DIY methode of making printed circuit boards)

There are many others for sure.

An additional good stuff to read is here:
https://www.nylacast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NylacastChemicalResistanceTable19.pdf

Our intake manifold is made of PA6 reinforced with fibreglass (PA6-GF30).

I'm interested in a good discussion about how to quick and simple clean our intake manifold and EGR system and cause as little damage / harm as possible to anything / anyone.
Of course it can happen, there is no such method at all, but maybe it is - let's see, if we can get closer to it

Best regards

Mat

 

I don't think they are THAT sketchy (a new word for me). I'm OK with gloves, good ventilation and safety glasses - safety should allways be first.

I really appreciate the opinion of @Mendel Leisk, but with Oxyclean (is it OxiClean?)
I do have a problem - is it accesible outside of North America? It is a product - not a chemical, which I wanted to discuss and it needs a night long soak...

And I think, a good discussion is never bad, even if we are discussing something, that appears obvious
I hope, I was clear enough in my initial post, about what and why I would be glad to dicuss.

Mat

 

Te safety precautions are obvious, but mentioning them every time is not too much.

NaOH should not harm PA6 (10% solution at room temperature), but what with the metal inserts in the intake manifold. If they are aluminium, it could afect them - no idea how qiuckly and how strong.

Mat

 

On the contrary, it is very important which component does the job!
Not everyone has te possibility to buy every product made in the US

It would be nice to know, what is the concentration of NaOH in the product and how long was it on the pistons.

Mat

 

Oven cleaners have NaOH very often on the list of ingredients beside of some solvents (ethers), ethylene glycol (like antiffreeze) and methylene chloride (dichloromethane, which was on my list).
It will not harm the stainnless steel cooler and the steel pipe wich sits between the cooler and the intake manifold.

RIGHT - definitely not for intake manifold or for EGR valve.

It would be nice to know, what type of GUNK product exactly it was and what are the ingredients. Is it possible to get the ingredients list anywhere (I'm from Poland - didn't even know, there is someting like GUNK )?

Mat

 

I can undestand your point of view. If it is not a problem to buy some exact product, it does really not matter, what is inside.
If you live outside of the USA and have trouble to get that product, or it has to be imported, payed for shipping and customs, it beginns to matter, what are the ingredients. You can then find something with similar ingredients in your region.

Yes, it matters to me, while I'm not living in the USA.
I think on priuschat.com there are more people like me.
And maybe others would be glad to know, what really does the job - out of simple curiosity

Regards

Mat

 

Acetone seems to be a really promising chemical.
It is widely accessible, apparently not that aggressive to the environment - you find it in almost every nail polish remover.
I think methanol is here to dilute any oily residues, acetone dilutes resins, I think, and toluene is mentioned on many ingredients lists of cleaning stuff I saw (maybe replacing dichloromethane, which seems to be really nasty stuff, I did not know before).

I found two films on youtube showing acetone in action on piston carbon deposits - really interesting:

a short one

a longer one.

I'm not sure, why they are mixing acetone with transmission oil.
Has it to be _transmission_ oil?
My guess would be, to make it less volatile and more sticky - better for application, but then, every oil would do, wouldn't it?

And our intake manifold plastic (PA6) seems not to be harmed by acetone, as you can see here on page 3:
https://www.nylacast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NylacastChemicalResistanceTable19.pdf.
Maybe you could even clean the EGR valve with it? Many use brake cleaner to clean the valve.

Mat

 

OK. I had to google both - the quotation (didn't even know what would be the "bitog") and the ATF (I am a non american species ).

Found the quotation and grasped it.

Then I read a little about ATF in Wikipedia.
Found something like this:
"Most ATFs contain some combination of additives that improve lubricating qualities, such as anti-wear additives, rust and corrosion inhibitors, detergents, dispersants and surfactants (which protect and clean metal surfaces);"
and even a mention of whale oil was there:
"In the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, ATF contained whale oil as a rust and corrosion inhibitor."
So... ATF was not based on whale oil as lubricant - it contained whale oil as an additive.

So much to clarify the poor whales role in ATF production

I can imagine a role the ATF could be playing in ATF-acetone mixture as it has additives to "protect and clean metal surfaces", but still... I think, it is mostly there to let the mixture stay in place and not evaporate that quickly, as acetone itself would do.

Mat