hi pps
i am taking my xk8 2000 for a terraclean saturday morning has anybody any views etc on it would just like ur opinion guys thx

 

Yes it works, but (& there's always a but isn't there), if you have a high mileage car then in all likelihood the valve stem seals will have hardened & as the carbon build up on the valve stems will be reduced then they will be likely to leak more, also it wont do anything for the valve seats.
It really all depends on what you want, if you are going to keep it long term then nothing beats a strip, de-coke & lap the valves - replacing any that are showing signs of distress.
If however its a sell job then.....

 

An engine in good condition that has been fed fuel with decent cleaning additives (which is pretty much all of them today) will not have sufficient coke to make any extraordinary cleaning efforts necessary or of benefit.

The '50s and '60s where such things were common are long gone.

If your engine is indeed carboned up, a terraclean might do some good for a short time but is not a 'fix'.

 

Hi all, Not many US folks are going to know what you are talking about (de-coke), it's what we call a valve job, which cleans the heads in a tank and grinds the valves. The tops of the pistons get cleaned but never go all the way to the edge on the piston, was told by a old English mechanic it breaks the seal.
I do think the modern engine burns so much cleaner without the lead, that a de-coke my not do all we hope to accomplish.
Wayne

 

I've never heard the terms 'de-coke' and 'valve job' used to mean the same thing.

 

Mikey, we are talking about the same thing, only different approaches. Back in the '60's we took the head off the Ford Anglia and removed all the carbon build up, then lapped (twisting the valve with a rubber suction cup on the head) the valves in with compound. This was a de-coke back then and cost very little, but the price of gaskets and work involved just to get to the parts, we tend to do a more thorough job.


Wayne

 

I'm very familiar with that process, just never heard it called a 'de-coke'. Removing carbon deposits was one job, improving compression by lapping the valves and seats was another. Doing both at the same time was for convenience only. Neither is required on modern engines.

The OP is considering squirting a liquid through the intake to remove carbon deposits (that are probably not there in the first place).

 

Mikey, if I told you that in the '50's in US many a garage would look like it was on fire when they would pour automatic transmission fluid down the carb to "de-coke" the engine, would you believe it?


Wayne

 

I'm well aware of that too. People still do it to this day, typically using Seafoam. They mistake the clouds of smoke coming from the tail pipe as burnt off deposits, not realizing that it's the product itself which is 50% oil.

 

Mikey, you are starting to show your age. I'm older than dirt and happy to be able to remember this stuff, just don't ask me where I put down the screwdriver.


Wayne

 

At least you remember whether you have a screwdriver or not. LOL!

 

If you are fortunate to acquire a new or low mileage example of any vehicle then yes if it has been run on purely synthetic oil you are correct. If however you purchase a high mileage example then you have no way of knowing what oil has been used, and not all owners are quite as conscientious as most of the people on this forum & will not pay the extra for oils such as Valvoline Max Life with seal conditioner additives.
I am unaware of all the oils that are available Stateside but in Europe many people still use semi or part synthetic lubricants or even mineral oils & reclaimed oils purely due to cost - hence we still see many vehicles that require some valve work & do see many intake valve stems that need cleaning, partly caused by the crankcase breathing system.
Also virtually every high mileage XK engine has needed the part load breather reaming out due to coke / lacquer build up.
One of the cleanest engines that I stripped out recently was my 4.0 sovereign AJ6, I went into it at around 90k some years ago for a slight head gasket leak then into it a few months back at 280k to replace a chipped #6 exhaust valve. I had used Cataclean twice a year in the fuel & its perfect - valves still needed lapping though.

 

I had a terraclean a few months ago on my 98 xk8 with 100k miles on the clock. I didn't notice any difference afterwards at all. One of the emissions tests went right down on the next MOT, but I regret spending £140 or whatever it was.

 

Remove your breather hose from the air box, use a portable steamer to emmit steam for 15 minutes just idling attached to the airbox with duct tape if needed.

Your entire combustion chamber,including all valves,pistons,piston rings, valve seats, spark plugs,catalytic converter, will be shiny like jewelry !
Any stuck rings will now be free, every piece of carbon will be absolutely gone !

Reconnect the hose, start the car and let idle ten mins, then clear any codes,that do not self erase after driving.


Thank me later, its a trade secret Ive been using many years, and do not share with others!

Screw any other method, they don't work like my method does, and its cheap.

 

Only a minority of people use synthetic oils here on cars that do not require them- like these Jags. As such I think it's a bit of a stretch to state that standard oils cause a problem. Having a terraclean or similar over here is almost unheard of.

Possibly what's being witnessed here is a cultural difference. Owners in the UK were used to doing decokes at regular intervals back in the 50s and 60s, something that was rare on US built cars. Old habits die hard, much like owners on this side of the Atlantic insisting on oil changes at 3K miles just like their Grandpa's Chev.

 

Mikey, thats true we got em here, generally drive rice rockets with blacked out windows that go everywhere at max throttle, but they gotta have an oil change every three months. Saw one the other week, loads of oil changes recorded but I reckon the filter was OEM original - it weighed a ton & was black as hell!

 

I have to say that as someone who sees both sides of the pond regularly the oil companies in the States really push 3000m oil changes - obviously they have product to sell. There just isn't that advertising push in the U.K.. It's also worth noting that oil in the U.S. is much, much cheaper than the UK even accounting for taxation differences. I buy Mobil 1in Florida for $26 per 5 US qts/4.73litres.

 

The unfortunate/ironic(?) part is cars have long had a 10K mile oil change interval- even SWMBO's lowly 2003 Honda Civic. Owners are horrified at the thought and still go for 3-5K mile intervals being convinced that 10K is 'dangerous' and an example of the OEM going cheap or being idiots.

Wait till they find out the newest wave of cars have a 15K mile interval. The horror! The children! The whales!

 

Quite Mikey - I used to own and run Scania trucks in the UK - they were up to 60000km oil changes with 120000km under certain conditions. Used to raise more than a few eyebrows with older haulage contractors.

 

Hmm, guess they won't want to go for the VW on condition program up to 18000miles or 24 months if you drive at least 25 miles a day