Anyone ever hear of pouring water in the carb of a hot engine to unstick a rings?

 

I've never heard of anything like this. I'd like to hear how hot water helps? I don't think I'd try this either.

 

That's an old Shade Tree Mechanic's (or Bubba's) trick. You pour water slowly down the carb while the engine is running. The idea is the steam knocks carbon loose from the combustion chamber and piston head. As to whether it will free sticking rings, ???

I don't think I'd do to anything but an old beater engine. If then.

Cheers,
Pete

 

Funny you mention that. My first car was a 1958 Chevrolet with the 283. Now I'm dating myself. My Dad's old home schooled mechanic drained the oil and filled the crankcase with kerosene to free up internal parts in the engine. He let it idle for 10 minutes, then drained the kerosene out and ran regular motor oil in the engine. Again, after running the engine for 10 minutes, he again drained the crankcase and refilled it with regular motor oil. Guess that was a way to free up parts and get rid of sludge back in the 60"s.

Anyone ever hear of that procedure?

John

 

Yes, the old kerosene trick. My grandfather used that on my 57 BelAir, 283 powerpack when I had some lifter ticking. It actually worked and the ticking disappeared. He just filled a tin can with kero and poured it into the pushrod hole where the noise was the loudest. Did this with the engine running. Quite an oily mess if I remember correctly. Of course, in those days the ticking could have been avoided. People used to change oil at 10,000 miles instead of 3,000. My dad never changed his oil. Just added when it was needed. No wonder a high mileage car in those days had 80 or 90k. They didn't last past that!

 

Well sort of.. When I was young I knew an old timer mechanic that taught me a lot of things. He would rev a engine up pretty tight and the same time take a beer can of cold water and drissel it down the carb as much it could take it with out bogging it down too slow. He said the cold water hitting the hot pistons and valves would clean all the carbon build up off them and blow it out the exhaust. Ya never know about those old "tricks" ya hear from time to time. I will say though that I have done this to several of my cars over the years and it never hurt anything. I also have seen dozens and dozens of heads come off in my shops and many times the piston and valves in the cylinder that was getting the coolant leaked into and burned through it have been clean as a whistle while all the others have been all black and covered with hard carbon. I dont realy know what makes rings stick other than rust, but if carbon can do it I would say give it a try, I dont think it could make it any worse..

 

they sell this stuff in a can, called engine flush. it smells like kerosene to me.

 

Well, I'll step it up a notch, even though I had no one in my family experience this one. One of my childhood friend's Dad had an oil filter housing that would hold a roll of toilet tissue as its filter. Now, I can't remember how it worked or how often it had to be changed but it was very economical and ingenious to him at the time. By the way, as long as I have my vette, I always feel young.

John

 

The TP oil filter was called a sky laFrans filter, they worked very well. This trick with the water is intended to clean valves. A can of seafoam oil treatment will help get rings that are not seating to release. If you have a colapsted ring I'm afraid nothing will fix but a rering.

 

How about Bon-Ami and Coke to get rings to seat? Stinks to high heaven when you do it, but it works.

I'd try some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders, let it set with the plugs out, spin it with the starter to clear the oil, plugs back in and start it. If it's just full of goo that *might* get it. If the rings are really stuck, probably won't do much.

 

GM top engine cleaner will free up sticking rings. I like "pour in" for rings and spray for carbon removal.

 

Do it all the time for older sbc. Not a big deal, suck it thru the pcv hose slowly. Less carbon on valves is always better.
Won't do anything for rings though.



That setup was a Frantz toilet paper "bypass oiling system"
Started in the early 60's, but then the toilet paper industry changed the size and quality of toilet paper and screwed it all up. Today a new company makes the replacement paper rolls.
I still have a brand new setup in the original box, never installed.

BTW, almost all very expensive engines, yachts, over the road trucks, US military, use some type of bypass filter system, all about the microns.



Rislone, Seafoam, etc. I think I would just pull it apart if I knew the rings were stuck.
You can always just use syntheic oil and add Seafaom or equiv to the gas and oil and hope for the best.

Stihl makes a product called STIHL DE-CARBONIZER, they recommend putting in thru the spark plug hole with the piston at tdc on the valve overlap stroke, filling it for 12 hrs or so, but also using mid grade gas and synthetic oil to prevent coking.

 

Sounds like the water/methanol injector people put on turbo cars to keep detonation down.

 

This of course is all working from the top trying to get something down to the rings to soften the carbon deposits around the rings hoping the rings will then pop back out and seal better. Swepco oil company boasted and proved their oil that is high in detergent will clean the rings from the bottom side of the piston from oil splashing on the cylinder walls.
I think working from top and bottom is the best way to go. A top down softener (some drown the motor through the carb with Ford ATF) and let sit overnight or longer and high detergent oil and frequent changes.