Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner review...

[madboy]

I put some of this through last night, I used the manifold inlet from the PCV valve. I could tell the plenum was filthy, the application tube actually came out of there dirty! funny tho when i started it up, no blue smoke at all, but lots of visible, stinky fumes.

It deffinatly smoothed out the idle, although it still suffers from stop light droop, also smoothed out cold start a fair bit.

Another thing I noticed, when I first restarted it to apply the second dose, i saw fumes coming from the exhaust side of the car wtf! had a closer look, flange welds on 2 and 3 are cracked, almost the full circumfrence of the pipe I guess I have found where that funny noise is coming from.

[Okibi]

EDIT: All good, figured it out and wow that was alot of smoke!

How did it go? Have you noticed a difference? Did you get it from Scoobydoo on Leech Hwy? How much was it?

[NMX516]

guys, i run a small subaru performance workshop in canberra and use heaps of this stuff. if there is serious interest in a gb i may be able to get it for about $12 a can.
postage may be an issue as its a flammable substance.
gb's aside, there are a few things to think about when using upper engine cleaner. you really should only use it just before an oil change as it can seep past the rings and get into the oil. subaru now recommend to only use it while the car is running as it has caused some issues with blocking cat converters on some newer cars. that may be an issue related to the cat design on newer subies. personally i still put in half the can and let sit for 5 mins, seems to get better results that way.
i use this stuff on all makes and models, its amazing the amount of white smoke that some cars spew out when its used for the first or second time. once you have used it a few times, use it every 5k before an oil change and you should not see much smoke as you engine is nice and clean inside
and also dont rev the crap out of the engine when spraying the uec in, it detonates and could potentially cause damage, just keep the revs high enough to keep it running.
its all sounds like a lot to think about but if used properly it will keep you engine running at peak performance for a long time.
hope this info is useful
Mick

Thanks mate Good thought re doing this just before an oil change.

[de Bounce]

Curious
Would there be any long term effect on the bore and rings once the carbon is dislodged or does this stuff assist flushing it out.

I'm thinking short term engine runs better - long term engine wear.

[PUR157]

Good point... any likelihood of carbon particles lodged in oil ways or some such

[de Bounce]

Don't think the oil galleries are such a problem PUR157.
If it gets to the oil in the sump, it should then be filtered out by the oil filter before lubricating the internals.

My concern is with high mileage engines and if the carbon deposits lodge in the rings or between piston and bore.

Anyone with thoughts or experience with pulling down a high mileage engine after it had been treated.

[NMX516]

I would expect that the carbon deposits would be softened up by this stuff. If the carbon fell off in big, hard chunks it would most likely get caught in valves etc etc, and I don't think Subaru would line themselves up for that! I used to use a fuel additive in every tank full on an older car and when the engine was pulled down for a rebuild, the few remaining traces of carbon around the valves could be wiped off with a rag...

[Dweezle]

I recently run a can of this stuff through my NA6.

Clouds of white smoke and all seemed to go well.

Only prob is now every 2nd or so time i cold start the car,
Its like a fire extinguisher coming out my exhaust.




Lasts until the car warms up.

Is this at all normal? Could the chemicals have eaten my head gasket or something?

Would it be at all possible for some of the carbon deposits to get stuck between the pistons and bore??

Its wierd in that it doesnt do it every time i start the car, and it usually takes about 20 seconds after it fires up then just blumes of white smoke.

Just a lil concerned now

[Okibi]

Sounds like valve stem seals.

[Steampunk]

It might take 100km or so to show up, but check the oil (under oil cap) for white residue which denotes coolant in the oil, vice versa with oil in the radiator.

Hopefully its just left-over cleaner.

I ran this in my Festiva a couple weeks ago (148,000km), and its fine.

[Dweezle]

Thanks guys..
I've read up a little on valve stem seals and the symptoms of dodgy ones very much match my problems..

I will check my oil cap and coolant, thanks red.. See what's going on there..

[Steampunk]

Not sure if it's part of the directions on the can, but my mate (who uses this all the time at his work) was instructed by Subaru that after application, to drive it pretty hard, ie. rev the engine high and often.
Did you do this? or have you dríven it fairly gently since?
You gotta be cruel to be kind

[Okibi]

...was instructed by Subaru that after application, to drive it pretty hard...

Must be more margin in gear boxes than engine cleaner.

[Steampunk]

yeah probably.
But my mate did use this as a cheap, but effective, fix for a potentially VERY expensive problem that some Peugeot's have.
Forgot which model Peugeot (I think its most diesel passenger cars), but they have some sort of air injection something-or-rather in the exhaust manifold/part of the head to help reduce emissions/pollution.
This system gets clogged up and shows a warning light on the dash and fault codes on diagnosis. Car still runs fine.
Peugeot's S.O.P. to fix this is to remove the head , and do a thorough manual clean and replacement of affected parts.
Instead of doing all that, my friend suggested he run through one or two cans of this stuff ..... voila!

[Regie]

ran a can of this on my car.. wow made a difference, runs a lot smoother and feels like its got a tad more go