Help with using Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner

[yammo323]

Hi Guys,

I've been attempting some basic car maintenance and tried to use the Subaru Upper Engine cleaner on my car.

However I'm not sure if I sprayed cleaner into the right ports, I didn't notice too much white smoke coming out the exhaust.

I was hoping if someone more mechanically minded could let me know if I sprayed it in the right place.

The arrows showed where I've sprayed some cleaner. I put in about 1/2 the bottle on port 1 on the picture, and a few squirts in port 2.



Appreciate any help!

[Fatty]

well seeing as many of us are unfamiliar with the product, maybe tell us where the instructions tell you to spray it.

[yammo323]

Hey,

Sure here is the description and instructions on the back of the can.

Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner contains a powerful foaming agent to efficiently clean the induction system and combustion chamber of the engine:

* Helps remove gum, varnish and carbon deposits from the combustion and intake systems
* Helps smooth rough idle
* Helps remove hot spots and marginal increases in compression ration which results in pinging
* Helps reduce pollution and improves fuel consumption
* Helps improve performance

Directions.

1) Warm the engine to normal operating temperature
2) With ignition turned off, remove convenient vacuum hose from intake manifold and spray approximately half the can into the manifold using the nozzle tube supplied with this can.
3) Allow the engine to stand for 5 minutes
4) Start the engine and run fast enough to prevent stalling while spraying the remainder of the can into the manifold
5) Stop the engine as the can empties and allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes
6) Restart engine and rev engine to purge any remaining foam
7) Reinstall the vacuum hose
Road test the vehicle to ensure good performance
9) Extremely dirty systems may require reapplication

[Fatty]

hmm ok it seems you sprayed it into the head then. not the intake manifold as instructed. also you did not use a vacuum hose.

try again using the vacuum hose just above the \"1\" in your pic (the thin little hose) or the one at the front of the intake manifold, near the throttle body. at least, they LOOK like vacuum hoses to me (i'm not that familiar with the 1.8 ) , but they are in similar locations to the 1.6 vac hoses on my engine.

[Juffa]

You have actually put the product into the cam cover and therefore the product would not get into the intake tract. I would be concerned that the you have sprayed a cleaning product in the engine oil, thereby diluting it. I'm going to suggest that you drain and replace the engine oil.


The lower end of the hose in Port 1 is one place that you could spray the product, as that is the intake manifold. Or, as Fatty pointed out the thin hoses on the intake mannifold are also good for this purpose.

J

[Fatty]

and yeah what juffa said. that stuff should not be in there with yr oil ... sounds very dodgey.

[yammo323]

Ah alright,

Thanks guys. I'll go and change the oil.

Also in a Homer Simpson \"Doh\" moment i stumbled across this article
http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/s004_93.html

This looks a tech writeup using a \"Mazda Upper Engine Cleaner\".

Would putting cleaner in either the intake side of port 1 that Juffa suggested, or the Purge Control Solenoid Valve be ok?

Tony

[Babalouie]

You have actually put the product into the cam cover and therefore the product would not get into the intake tract. I would be concerned that the you have sprayed a cleaning product in the engine oil, thereby diluting it. I'm going to suggest that you drain and replace the engine oil.


The lower end of the hose in Port 1 is one place that you could spray the product, as that is the intake manifold. Or, as Fatty pointed out the thin hoses on the intake mannifold are also good for this purpose.

J

Actually, the underside of the cam has these boxed baffles which would trap the cleaner. The foam would have to navigate its way thru a maze inside the top of the cam cover before getting out and into the engine interior.

So I would bet that the cleaner hasn't dribbled onto the cams, etc and would still be inside the boxed chambers of the cam cover, so an oil change won't do the trick, and the foam will still be inside the cam cover for a long time.

I would very seriously take off the cam cover. You will see on the underside some removable plates, take them off and wash out the foam.

[Fatty]

Would putting cleaner in either the intake side of port 1 that Juffa suggested, or the Purge Control Solenoid Valve be ok?

Tony

port 1 in your photo IS the purge control solenoid valve. it's the same thing.

[yammo323]

Thanks Babalouie,

I'll take your advice and take off the cam cover. Any danger in leaving it till the weekend?

Also another newbie question... What should I be using to wash the cam cover? I'm guessing that Water will probably rust it?

Tony

[Babalouie]

Thanks Babalouie,

I'll take your advice and take off the cam cover. Any danger in leaving it till the weekend?

Also another newbie question... What should I be using to wash the cam cover? I'm guessing that Water will probably rust it?

Tony

What does that Subaru stuff look like anyway? Is it like a greasy foam? I think the chambers inside the cam cover are pretty well sealed tho, I remember squirting water in there and it didn't leak out....so leaving it in there until the weekend might be ok....

But I reckon Brakleen or any other Brake cleaner will do the trick.

Once you remove the cam cover you will see that those hose inlets don't just open into the cam cover itself, but go into these chambers which are closed off with these plates. The plates are held in with phillips head screws and are loctited very solidly in place by the factory (after all you don't want these screws to come undone and fall into the engine).

So you will have to soak the screws as best you can with a penetrating fluid and then leave it as long as poss before trying to undo the screws (they will be VERY tight so use a good screwdriver that is the right size).

And oh yes...use loctite on the screws when you put it back in

Alternatively...maybe you just leave the plates alone, and try to rinse the chambers out with water & cleaner using the hose inlets (after the cam cover is removed)? I dunno...this might be a bit dodgy tho

[fattima]

Use some degreaser (just the stuff in a spray can will do it) then wipe out with clean rags. If you have access to compressed air you can blow out any gunk in hard to get at places.
Babalouie beat me to it, what he said would work as well

[yammo323]

Thanks Guys.

Is this a good enough description for how to remove the valve cover?

http://www.miata.net/garage/valvecover/index.html

Also, will taking off the valve cover require me to replace the gasket as well?

Oh, also forget to mention earlier that I also started the car while the gunk was in the cam cover. Does this mean I will need to do more dis-assembling / cleaning?

Tony

[Babalouie]

Thanks Guys.

Is this a good enough description for how to remove the valve cover?

http://www.miata.net/garage/valvecover/index.html

Also, will taking off the valve cover require me to replace the gasket as well?

Oh, also forget to mention earlier that I also started the car while the gunk was in the cam cover. Does this mean I will need to do more dis-assembling / cleaning?

Tony

Nah. I reckon at worst some of the gunk would be sucked back out of the camcover and into the engine (ironically where it was supposed to go!) but the thing you have to worry about is this gunk seeping out into your engine oil over time. That said...I'd imagine that the foam would just dry up into a residue and be forever entombed inside the camcover...that's possible too.

But ya, given that the stock cover gasket isn't known for long leak free life you might as well bung a new one in...

But this pic is a good one to illustrate what I mean....the hose inlets go into those boxes

[SuperMazdaKart]

doing a TB clean too? if your throttle body valve has the clear seals on the front of it then don't use the Subaru stuff as a TB cleaner. if you got the later TB (it'd seem that big nose crank NA6 onwards don't have the clear sealant) that doesn't have the clear sealant & just the black sealant on the back of the valve then it should be just fine.

been there done that myself, wrecked the seal on a perfectly good working TB using Subaru's cleaner despite how much I asked around & researched. replacement TB from these forums & i was good to go again.

the Subaru cleaner is a very good product though & does it's meant to do. who needs seafoam.