1999 Ram Van - 5.2L - 120,000 miles

Today I did a de-carbonization by squirting water and methyl alcohol slowly down the throttle body as mentioned in this post:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...pinging-3.html.

Kept the engine at +-2000 rpm. Never once did it bog down - but the biggest mystery was there was no smoke ( steam) whatsoever. None!

No black chunks of any size. The tailpipe was barely wet.

I squirted 3 quarts - .75 gallon - over a 15 to 20 minute period.

In all of the other posts that I've read on a variety of board and Even youtube videos, there has always been smoke and/or steam.

Anyone know why this van would be any different?

My reason for doing this is engine ping/knocking. I'm hoping that there was too much carbon
buildup and that it's not the plenum.

Where is the EGR valve located? Could that also be the cause of the pinging?

 

Windshield washer fluid, if it does indeed contain methanol, also contains a bunch of other stuff I would not spray into the engine hoping to reduce carbon deposits.

Also his I don't understand how carbon build up on the intake valves will affect timing as PressB states in that link. Intake valve deposits are more significant on the side not in the combustion chamber. Carbon build up on the piston would increase compression and possibly cause pinging with low octane fuel.

Spend the 10 dollars and get this Sea Foam aerosol. spray.

The above product comes out like wasp spray when used without the straw. I do not think the Deep creep Aerosol sprays out as viciously. Spray it without the straw down the intake while driving for half a can. Introduce it into the vacuum lines for half the remaining can, then stall the engine with the remaining quarter can spraying down the TB, and spray the rest into it. re install the air filter. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then drive it like you stole it.

Buy the liquid Sea Foam and put it in your tank with 12 gallons of 93 octane before driving it like you stole it.

If there is no noticeable improvement , the pinging is not being caused by carbon.

 

That doesn't really do much by using it the way you are. This is a method that is supposed to be used all the time by sucking the fluid in through one of the vacuum ports.

Here's a "how to" write-up with a couple of pictures.
http://blizzard.rwic.und.edu/~nordli...jection/novak/

 

Ya, I should have said it a engine knock/ping rather than use the word valves.
I have edited the original post.

I've heard of others using Seafoam. The others also state to stall the engine by pouring down the TB, bu6t wouldn't that cause hydrolock?

This problem began after I overcharged the AC system. Initially the engine ran fine, but after restarting it and turning on the AC, the AC compressor would cycle on and off quickly and when on, it really stressed the engine to a very low idle.

After removing some of the R134A it solved the engine stress problem, but left me with this valve ping.

I had Autozone plug into the OBP - no codes came up.
Excessive oil use hasn't been a problem either. Still has plenty of power....but the engine knocks at mid acceleration.

The engine has a very 'lean' smell at the exhaust pipe.


I will give the Seafoam a try and also pull the plugs.

 

I wouldn't pour the liquid down the throttle body. The directions with the liquid say to pour it down the brake booster vacuum line. I don't think you could pour it fast enough to hydrolock it. Even at 800 rpm, think how fast the cylinders are moving versus how fast you can pour it in. At the most you are increasing the compression from 8.5 to 1 to 10 to 1 by introducing it by a can down the intake. But I would still not do it.

No danger of hydrolock with the aerosol spray, and it cleans the intake beautifully. My opinion, use the liquid in the fuel tank, and introduce the aerosol spray into directly into the combustion chambers.

But there is no no guarantee the pinging you hear is related to carbon build up in on aroung the combustion chambers.

Look for other sources, like a loose bracket holding the alternator. I thought my engine was pinging, and no matter how I set the timing, the noise was exactly the same, then I found the lower alternator bolt was loose. Sounded exactly like spark knock.

 

Hello alloro,

Thanks for reply and the interesting read.
Good articles.

I'll report back about the plug condition. They were changed about 7K miles ago as were wires, cap,rotor,pcv,breather. Air filter just changed 3 days ago.

landyacht318,
I've checked for loose or rattling items all through the engine bay, front end etc....def a ping/knock in this case.

 

Just a quick note: I've used Seafoam on several cars with no ill effect. You can get the same effect by using mineral spirits or ATF (I tend to use ATF these days due to cost; it is also great for cleaning the crankcase if you put some in the oil.)

 

The brake booster hose routes right into the air intake plenum. If pouring Seafoam down the hose, it will end up in the same place as the pouring down the TB butter-fly valves. The only difference is that the hose will be bias on the Seafoam to the cylinders on the passenger side of the engine since the tube shoots inward from the drivers side.

I've done both of these methods with the Seafoam.

Since the engine runs lower at idle, have you cleaned the IAC and it's ports?

In the past few months, my van engine had terrible engine ping. I tried injector cleaner, Seafoam and changed the plugs to single platinums. Nothing helped. It took more driving until the check engine light came on and the engine was getting hard to start. Then B-A-M, the passenger side exhaust pipe separated from the intake manifold. I had the entire exhaust system replaced with a new CAT. Well, then engine light went away, the engine runs sooooo smooth and the pinging and dieseling is totally gone.

The Ram Van engines are known for getting clogged CATs and no engine codes. Like wise, no codes typically are thrown with bad engine coils.

I was reading in another dodge forum about changing to different spark plug thread depth and temperature range to affect the lean//rich burn on our ECM/PCM vans and dodge trucks. The article was very interesting.

If you are running the 3924/3923 plugs with a cooler t-stat, your ECM/PCM could be fouled into running differently too.

Hope you can look into any of this. The new CAT made the biggest improvement ever with my van which just rolled past 100K.

 

Hi Stev,


My Idle is very good. It was low during that AC Overcharge as the AC comp. put alot of stress on the motor...but once some refridge was released, everything went back to normal there.
I have cleaned the IAC and ports about 3K miles ago.

Ya, I had a bad cat about 7K ago and had to replace it. A bit over $500 for the cat and install.

I just bumped into a thread about Champion TRUCK spark plugs. They are a bit shorter than standard plugs and eliminated the pinging for the guy that made the post.

Wish I had seen the post earlier about the Truck plugs.
I'm using Champion RC12LC4 but I am going to look for those truck plugs. I hope they still make them.

Has a Dodge 195F thermostat replaced in Jan 2010.

I did replace #5- #8 although when I pulled them they looked just fine. I did increase the gap from about .042 to .050. I haven't driven the van since I put the new plugs in so I hope it helps it a bit.

BTW, is there an EGR and knock sensor on these vans and if so - where are they?

 

No our vans do not have ether one.