Texas2012FX4

Howdy,

Getting ready to change plugs, clean MAF, throttle body etc. on the 5.0. Was looking at seafoam, berryman or similar for top engine cleaning.

What about going old school and using plain old water to clean carbon off the pistons?

Fire away.

mechanicboy

I put an oil catch can on before 5k miles and always changed my oil early. When I took the intake off to install my blower the intake and ports looked about brand new. A top end cleaning shouldn't be needed and isn't worth the small risk of damage from the cleaning.

One reason the ports where so clean is because the injectors are directly very efficiently that allows then to keep the ports and injectors clean.

I've used the water trick on oil carburetor engines before and had mixed results. If you were to try this on the 5.0 you have a good chance of water pooling in the intake then it suddenly getting sucked into the engine which could create a hydrolock condition.

Tothemax

Just run a quality fuel in each tank and you shouldn't need to do any cleaning.

Texas2012FX4

With no catch can I can assume some synthetic oil (royal purple) has been sucked into the intake when I go WOT. As maintenance shouldn't I clean the upper engine?

violinguy77

Blow by is more of an issue with the Ecos. The 5.0 PCV system is pretty rock solid, not saying it catches everything but it does a way better job than the set up on the Eco's. I am surprised Ford didn't take a cue from Volvo on the PCV system as Volvo really perfected it on turbocharged engines decades ago. Anyway, happy motoring!

mechanicboy

Some, but once you're rings are set not that much. I also don't think going WOT makes a big difference because under part throttle there's more vacuum placed on the system that can pull harder on the crankcase, but I have not evidence either way. Oh, and an oil catch can doesn't get everything either, just better than nothing.

Change your oil often enough (don't extend just because you're using a synthetic) and buildup doesn't occur as much. Oil doesn't wear out, it gets contaminated. When it gets contaminated it will leave more carbon buildup and increase wear on the engine.

I've thought about running a water-meth system on my truck. It helps WOT performance and helps clean the upper engine at the same time. A water-meth system uses a fine mist that reduces the possibility of water puddling in the intake.

If you're really worried about needing a carbon cleaning, pull the spark plugs and take a look in there. No reason to shove anything down the engines throat if it doesn't need it.