How many of you decarbed before....

[rickdb1boat]

Just curious, how many of you decarbed your motor before you started reading all the post about it on here? I recently started doing it because of the advice on this forum, but for me and others I dealt with, it really was not the norm a few years years back. Never heard anybody mention they decarbed there motor. I never decarbed for MANY years and never had a problem. But then again, the motors that I had ran very well and they ran clean enough(From cylinder and piston inspection) that there did not appear to be any problems with carbon build-up. I know it's been around a long time now, as I remember JB posting about a few drops of water in the carbs would burn of the deposits. Just curious...

 

[OBJ]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

I actually never thought about it until I opened up the shop and started seeing what other owners engines looked like inside. Got me wonderin' about what mine looked like. So...started decarbing at least at a minimum of once per season...usually when I did the pre-op thing in the early spring. Would think it don't hurt to make decarbing a regular item for heavy boaters. Little extra protection don't hurt.

 

[ED21]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Never. I've read it in the manual, but never thought it important.<br />Now I'm a believer.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

^

 

[MATTT]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

I stop by Napa and got a few can of the seafoam and thinking about doing it this weekend.<br /><br />I have read some of the post about the decarb with seafoam. People are saying that there were gunk and black stuff coming out of the prop area after the decarb. I was wondering would those gunk was the material from the seafoam itself ? Just curious.<br /><br />I still think decard might be a good idea eventhough I have never done it before and I well find out soon this weekend.<br /><br />Mattt.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

<br />west marine has a coupon for 5 bucks off 2 cans... although it is a manufacturers coupon, which means you DONT need to use it at west marine(expensive)<br /><br /> coupon for decarb <br /><br />anyway, i just did my 1976 merc 115hp inline 6 that had been sitting in a garage since 1985, when i got it home, it ran bun really really bad, i replaced the plugs and ran a can of decarb through about 1/4 gallon of gas and now im amazed..... i put it in every post, its so easy and cheep, im pissed you guys didnt tell me about it earlier

I was wondering would those gunk was the material from the seafoam itself ? Just curious

nope the black crud is all the old oil, fuel, and carbon thats been stuck in your carbs, rings and cylinders and all over your reed vales this whole time!

 

[lakelover]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Never, but planning to as a first step in starting to spruce up a 1969 9.5 Johnson.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

As much as we would like to believe that all that black crud is comeing off the pistons, cylinders and reeds, I personally think that the most is coming out of the exhaust area as it trickles down there. However, there certainly is a lot of it coming from those areas. I decarb an engine when I get it. But I use the best oil I can find, (Synthetic), and it burns so clean I do not normally ever do it again. If the engine is still carboning up, then there is a carburator issue to deal with.<br /><br />Seafoam is my choice as it has some lubricating qualities. but Im sure there are other products that work as well.

 

[Mr.Ladyfish]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

I'm getting close to 200 hours on my '02 Johnson 150. Should I start thinking about decarbing? Are there any chances of doing more harm than good? Basically I guess I'm asking if I can screw up my engine in any way. I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

I guess my question should have been, in the past have you NOT decarbed and had any problems related to carbon build-up that was verified. I'm betting that there are many more people that do not decarb than do overall.

 

[Sivart]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Never have heard of it before this forum. I purchesed the supplies and plan on decarbing this weekend. My only concern is overheating during the decarb process. We decarbed my dads 150hp Yammy last weekend and it overheated. Never has on the muffs before. We took it to the lake to run on the water. It was just fine on the water.<br />I am a little worried about having an overheating problem on my XP 200. Is there something that happens during the decarb process that causes the engine to run hotter?

 

[walleyehed]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

OMC pushed "engine tuner" for years, but I think it took quite awhile to catch on...<br />Sivart, you shouldn't have any bad issues with the XP, the decarb proccess is the same, just follow the instructions on the can.

 

[DJ]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

I have been decarbing for years. Probably since the seventies.<br /><br />I used to work, as a kid, for a dealer (OMC) that was about as sharp an OMC guy as I've ever met. He sold me on the process by showing me what destroyed engines. He would show me cylinders destroyed by one of two things.<br /><br />1. Lean carbs.<br /><br />2. Broken rings due to carbon build up behind them. Rings VERY rarely failed due to a true defect.<br /><br />We "fixed" many an engine by cleaning it out. Usually, the issue was low compression due to stuck rings. As long as the cylinder hadn't been hurt, the decarb would restore compression.<br /><br />As I recall, after a hiatus for school etc., I became a boat owner and used the OMC engine tune product.<br /><br />I can't recall what we used to use in the shop. It may have been the OMC tuner. <br /><br />I also learned the same benefits of decarbing, from an Oldsmobile engineer. They promoted decarbing using GM Top Engine Cleaner. The old timers just used water. It, water, could be a bit tricky but it was just as effective. I wouldn't recommend using water unless you know exactly what you are doing.<br /><br />Using water in a 2-stroke is not such a hot idea because the water has to pass through the crankcase to get to the combustion chambers. There is a lot of stuff in that crankacase that can be hurt by water.

 

[Jack Shellac]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Well, the dealers that you bought your motor from never told you about the need to decarb regularly. After I bought my last new motor in 1991, I read an article in Powerboat Reports about the need for decarbing. When I went back to the dealer to buy some OMC Engine Tuner, he said "Good idea" and showed me two motors in the shop that they were rebuilding the powerheads on due to carbon buildup. I guess if I hadn't seen the article, I would have found out about it when I took my motor in for the powerhead to be rebuilt.

 

[DJ]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Jack,<br /><br />You make an excellent point. The dealers do not tell you about that. That can be looked at in a couple different ways.<br /><br />1. They want your "tune up" biz.<br /><br />2. They do not always know your maintenance abilities, or maybe do not care.<br /><br />A far as number 1, who knows? Do you need to know how to change the trans fluid in you car? That's a point we can debate forever. How far do they/we go? As far as number 2, it may come down to not wanting to scare people off and completing a sale. Again, a point we can debate forever.<br /><br />I think, in a broad sense, the people on this forum are different. We are, for the most part, gearheads to an extent. We care about that stuff. On the other hand, I would venture to say that we are a VAST minority when it comes to boat owners, in general. Don't know for sure, just a hunch.

 

[rwise]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

3. They want your money!<br /><br />I use a carbon preventitive in each tank of fuel. Just started about a year ago. Anyone else using something to prevent carbon buildup? What do ya'll think about stuff like this? does it work or not?

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

i never heard of it before iboats.com forums....<br /><br />i didnt think it was such a big deal till i tried it and made my engine run 50 times better. i ran it through the carbs and through the tank so it would clean all my fuel lines and carbs on the way in.... i have yet to spray it in the cylinders and try that. maybe later today....<br /><br /><br />i have a 1988 14hp evinrude that i will decarb today....it starts on the 10 or 11th pull and coughs and sputters... i will post back the results<br /><br />m ikey

 

[MATTT]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Guys,<br /><br />Can I use the same stuff to decarb my jet ski, lawn mower, or chain saw ?<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Mattt.

 

[Ronald1]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

Having never decarbed before I'm a little leery to try it, you know it's not broke don't fix it. I have a 1977 Evinrude 35hp, and a 1970 Evinrude 60hp. I'm planning on using the pint of Seafoam with 1 gallon of premix method. What do I look for during this process and what results can I expect. Is this method effective? How do you guys do it? Thanks

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: How many of you decarbed before....

capt tuna, you seem to have it right... <br />or you can spray it into your carbs and then into the plug holes.<br /><br />and guys, for all of the "if it aint broke, dont fix it" thinking.... when it DOES break cause your rings were stuck with carbon and you hafta get your powerhead rebuilt....its only 8 bucks a can