Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
(OP)
In diesel engines carbon build up, leading to stuck piston rings, can be a problem. Is there a product that can be safely used to clean pistons and free stuck rings in a turbocharged, diesel engine, without removing the pistons from the engine? Commercial products appear to be limited to non-turbocharged, gasoline engines.





RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
I am concerned about where the loosened carbon might be lodged, potentially blocking oil passages in the turbocharger. Has experience shown this concern to not be valid? If the oil filter is in the by-pass mode, it is possible that oil supply from the pan is unfiltered.
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
1. Some clown is not using the correct grade of synthetic oil that meets VW's oil standard, or;
2. Some idiot is using vegetable oil as fuel - especially if they are not heating it up enough.
Best thing is to not have it happen in the first place. If it happens and is bad enough to cause trouble, there is only one proper fix ... the engine has to come apart.
Sold my previous VW diesel at 462,000 km, never had this happen.
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
whatever the cause, a good quality engine oil with sufficient detergent/dispersant properties should not only be able to prevent this from happening but might also be capable of cleaning up the engine internally - although that may take up quite some time, say up to 20000 km or several oil changes.
there are some substances available that might do the trick, however, that is a costly way of buying a little detergent/dispersant dispersed in a usually not so good carrier oil.
in my view using the correct grade of oil and sufficient load of the engine should be able to cure the problem, if not dismantling and cleaning is the only alternative.
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine
Some larger bore diesels actually use something called an anti-polishing ring around the upper end of the cylinder liner to limit the build-up of carbon deposits at the piston top land region.
Sounds like it's a little late for your situation though.
RE: Diesel Piston Cleaning in Engine