Spraying carb cleaner into running engine =hydrolocking

Done it many times with no problems.

Carb cleaner is lacquer cleaner. Where does he get the hydro?

 

I don't have a can here, but I'll bet its combustible. As far as liocking the engine, etc, wouldn't you have to pour an awful lot in?

I have sprayed until the car stalled, but never broke anything. I have even heard of mechanics spraying water into the intake to blast carbon off the valves.

 

Can't argue with that.

Never tried it with a Ferrari, did it many times with my old '64 chevy. Do you mean to tell me they're in different leagues?

 

Most carb cleaners are combustible and spraying it down an intake while a motor is running is a common practice. The only time I have ever seen a motor get hydraulic locked from it was when it was sprayed in while the motor was off. If you think about it at 1000 rpm idle the intake valve is opening 500 times per minute and only for a brief portion of that. If you are going to introduce enough liquid into a cylinder in 1/500 of a minute to lock it you would need to be using a garden hose. Long before you can get that quantity in you will have killed the motor. In the case of it happening with the motor off one of the intake valves is certainly open and the fluid just runs right in. But even in the case I witnessed he sprayed a lot in.

 

You're right it would but with that little ventilation it would be a long while.

 

One of my worst moments a few years ago was using a little water to clean off accumulated carbon inside a motor. Just a little sip. No issue. Slightly bigger sip. Bang. Bent cod rod. Lots of damage. Be careful...
Philip

 

the most effective method for cleaning the valves or combustion chambers is pouring brake fluid into the intake while the engine is running, but be prepared to end up in jail
I would never dare doing it on a Ferrari engine, but tried it on an old GM- engine many, many years ago and the valves were shining like new.

Best Regards

Martin

 

You'd have to pour a bucket in the engine for hydrolock to happen. If you can, look up the vapor pressure of the cleaner. Therein is the answer. Carburetor cleaner has a higher vapor pressure than gasoline, I suspect.

 

Well I _HAVE_ sprayed carb cleaner into my Ferrari engine.

As for cleaning carbon out of an engine, I've used trans fluid for that before. The knocking went away. I woudln't do that on an engine with O2 sensors & cats, though; it can't be beneficial for either of those systems.

BTW, the Ferrari engine still runs just fine.

 

The story of hydrolocking (refering to fluid lock not necessarily involving water) the engine is a total wives tale. An engine, being injected with carb cleaner, would stall due to an overly rich mixture ages before it would ever hydrolock. It amazes me that a 'well known Ferrari tech' would ever be spreading this kind of nonsense.

To put you further at ease as to where I am coming from, I conducted an in depth study into the effects of water ingestion on engines a few years back. The aim was to determine how much water would need to be ingested to create a hydrolock condition. Fluid would need to be poured into an engine in full liquid form to even have the chance of damaging the engine. I urge you to ask this Ferrari tech two things:

1. Is this just a theory of his or has he seen it happen first hand. Not a story from a buddy or second removed cousin but first hand.

2. How do F1 engines cope with the massive amount of water they ingest through their airbox at 19K rpm in the rain?

 

It is very combustible. In a pinch it can be used as starting fluid.

I seriously doubt that the small amount that is sprayed into the engine with each intake stroke would be enough to cause hydraulic lock. While I haven't used it on the Ferrari yet, I too have spayed cleaner until the engine stalled without problem. I have also sprayed water from an empty 409 bottle into a carburetor to clean the valves with no problems.

Assuming the cyliner head has about 50cc volume, I would bet you would need at least 25cc of liquid before the pressure would get high enough to cause any damage. That is quite a lot in one cylinder unless you are pouring it in straight out of a can or are spraying it in without the engine running.