Powerfoam Piston Soak

[Vspec]

So unless you guys think this is a bad idea, Im thinking about removing the spark plugs on a I-4 1.6l 04 Hyundai accent motor and filling each cylinder with Power Foam and letting it sit for awhile to help decarb the top of the pistons.

I could either use amsoil powerfoam or B12chemtool for this, which do you think would be more effective for a piston soak and how long should I let it sit?

Also please feel free to relocate this thread, im not exactly sure where it fits.

 

[JimPghPA]

I de-carbed a engine that had carbon build up on top of a piston and the carbon riped up the cylinder. If you do get the carbon to come loose, you MUST get ALL of it out of the cylinder before you crank the engine, or it will rip it up.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
I de-carbed a engine that had carbon build up on top of a piston and the carbon riped up the cylinder. If you do get the carbon to come loose, you MUST get ALL of it out of the cylinder before you crank the engine, or it will rip it up.


Both products he mentioned are designed to melt the deposits with petroleum distillates, not just break it loose. I use the PF everyday on 2 cycle/4 cycle small engines, works great for me. Typical soak time is about 2 hours, then I rinse/flush the cyl with gasoline before I replace the plug and run the engine.

 

[Joseph_S37]

I don't mean to steal this thread in any way, but what exactly is the proper method for doing a piston soak?? Is there an instructional video anywhere?? On my engine, the plugs are fairly deep, so how would I even rinse out the cylinder?? Also, how can I tell if a soak is necessary??

Again, dont mean to steal te thread, just curious

-Joseph

 

[demarpaint]

Typically someone takes their cleaner/soaking agent, in this case Power Foam. Remove the spark plugs and fill the cylinders with Power Foam, and let it soak. Then either crank the engine over or turn it over by hand and fill the cylinders again and let it soak again. Soak time varies, I like to let it soak at least 24 hours or longer filling and turning the engine over at least 4 times or more.

Once the soak is complete leave the plugs out and crank the engine to clean the liquid out, it can be messy, so prepare for it. Install the plugs start it up drive it for about half an hour get it good and hot, then do some spirited driving and change the oil.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: Camry_Frenzy37
I don't mean to steal this thread in any way, but what exactly is the proper method for doing a piston soak?? Is there an instructional video anywhere?? On my engine, the plugs are fairly deep, so how would I even rinse out the cylinder?? Also, how can I tell if a soak is necessary??

Again, dont mean to steal te thread, just curious

-Joseph


Frank gave you a pretty nice idea of how a piston soak is done. It's actually not easy to tell if you need it or not, most of us that do this just do it simply because it's a good idea. I like to do it right before I change my plugs, and I do an extra step that Frank did not mention. After removing the plugs, putting the PF on the pistons and then turning it over a few times, I rinse the pistons with gasoline after they have been soaking for several hours. Then I turn the engine over one more time before I put in the new spark plugs. It will spray out each plug hole pretty good, so I place an old towel over each hole before cranking. Finally, a long drive to get it up to temp and you're done.

 

[demarpaint]

I never tried it with the gasoline rinse. I never used PF for a piston soak on a car engine yet, but have done it with success on small 4 stroke engines with very good results. I think where people go wrong is they don't turn the engine over, and are to quick to finish the job. The longer the soak the better IMO. I'll have to remember the gas rinse. That doesn't breakdown the chemical you're using for the actual piston soak?

If the plugs are easy enough to remove I usually fire the engine up with the old plugs, [after clearing the soaking product] in the rare event of fouling a new plug. In the case of my Aerostar I'd take my chances with the new plugs since it is a ROYAL PITA to change plugs in that beast. In the I-6 E-150 it is only a matter of about another 15-20 minutes work to take the old plugs out and install new ones. If I plan a piston soak it's always part of a major tune up spark plug change.

 

[keesue]

Couldn't one just disconnect the coil and pull the PF through a vacuum port by cranking the engine over? It would fill the cylinders naturally along with coating the intake valves. You could do it several times over the same time period, then, just reconnect the coil and fire up the engine. The pull of those pistons should be sufficient. The dissolved carbon, which would be very close to liquified, would simply be burned with the rich mixture at cold start and expel through the exhaust valves?

 

[Vspec]

Update: so I piston soaked the hyundai with amsoil powerfoam with great results. I followed up with my usual piston soak of b12chemtool with more success.

I finished the can out in the intake manifold and then changed the plugs and oil.

That combined with the overall tune up made a great improvment.

Just thought id share.

 

[Joseph_S37]

Thanks for the instructions on this, I'll copy and paste into a word document for furure reference, won't be attempting anything until warmer weather, but this is for sure something I am interested in.

Also, to the op, thanks for update! How many miles were on the vehicle at time of piston soak??

 

[Vspec]

It was the girlfriends new car, has 145k miles on the motor, unknown maint history.

Im pretty [censored] sure the plugs were original, they were champion coppers for sure and they almost had nothing left to them.

I changed the PCV Valve, oil and filter, plugs, plug wires, piston soak and intake manifold decarb.

Threw a bottle of Amsoil PI in the gas tank.

For those curious I used a Puroloator PureONE oil filter and Pennzoil Ultra.