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Old 16th December 2007, 21:58   #1
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Shoving water inside an exhaust to clean it?

Hi guys,
I had taken my car for a body wash to the nearby service station. I observed something that was quite shocking. I saw the service centre boys shooting water into the silencer of a scorpio . And then the driver revved up the engine and i could see black water pouring out from the silencer.
Is this a recommended way of cleaning the silencer?
Isnt there any harm caused to the vehicle system by doing thatis?
Regards,
TG.
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Old 16th December 2007, 23:02   #2
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I have seen this too.

We had a Mitsubhishi Pajero 2800 and my driver used to clean the exhaust in the same way. Pour water into the exhaust pipe, then rev the engine and I could see black water flow out. This was repeated 3-4 times.

I asked him why and he said its done because he wants to get the PUC done. And also by doing this - the black smoke from the exhaust also reduces .

The black color is due to the carbon deposits inside the exhaust but anyone tell us if this is the correct thing to do ?

Last edited by normally_crazy : 16th December 2007 at 23:04.
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Old 16th December 2007, 23:02   #3
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Its a common way of "Decarbonizing" the silencer. Nothing to worry here. Unless the water pressure is so high that it goes into engine, such mild spray is not an issue
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Old 16th December 2007, 23:09   #4
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but what about the water remaining in the mufflers...doesnt that cause it to rust.
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Old 16th December 2007, 23:13   #5
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Thank goodness they dont use this method to clean the engine
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Old 16th December 2007, 23:20   #6
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Still isnt it a rather non-conventional and unscientific way to do this? or is it the only way??? It seems rather crude to me..
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Old 17th December 2007, 00:02   #7
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good or not make sure you give that car a good 20 kms run to rid the water and moisture else you might end up with a rusted pot in no time.

also diesel engines need to be given a full redline blast once every 1000 kms to rid all that soot in the pipes. extended slow speed driving builds up carbon fast.
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Old 17th December 2007, 00:37   #8
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I dont think its an issue as long as it doesnt reach the engine. However another weird thing i see is water being hit at high pressure into the engine bay. .. cleaning? no issues? what if it has a open cone filer?
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Old 17th December 2007, 00:43   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IronWolf View Post
I dont think its an issue as long as it doesnt reach the engine. However another weird thing i see is water being hit at high pressure into the engine bay. .. cleaning? no issues? what if it has a open cone filer?
If it has an open cone, rest assured...Cone gone
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Old 17th December 2007, 00:47   #10
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I had a Tata Sumo and a Tata Estate,everytime i serviced at a local petrol pump near my house,i used to make sure he flushes the water jet in the silencer and i used to revv up the engine,but i used to drive around about 7-12kms after the service and had no problem,i have seen a couple tempos,trucks and Tourist Indica doing the same thing,as far as i know i never had any kind of problem by doing that for atleast 4years of the ownership of those diesel cars

cheers..!!
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Old 17th December 2007, 00:52   #11
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When you give your car for service and see that 200rs charge for Cat-con cleaning, what do you think they do!?
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Old 17th December 2007, 00:57   #12
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Well actually... i never gave it a thought until now
So u reckon its perfectly safe. Point noted.
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Old 17th December 2007, 13:05   #13
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Hi TorqueGuru, you probably noticed a quick & dirty technique to clean silencers. I remember reading one such method for decarbonizing engines. It involved removing your air-filter, & dribbling half-a-teaspoon of water into your engine intake (really) ! The theory was that the water would explode into high-pressure steam during combustion, & dislodge the carbon deposits !
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Old 17th December 2007, 13:47   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by im_srini View Post
Hi TorqueGuru, you probably noticed a quick & dirty technique to clean silencers. I remember reading one such method for decarbonizing engines. It involved removing your air-filter, & dribbling half-a-teaspoon of water into your engine intake (really) ! The theory was that the water would explode into high-pressure steam during combustion, & dislodge the carbon deposits !

This is an outrageous theory - Should NEVER-EVER be put to practice. Water at high pressures will damage the engine beyond repair. Hence we have a water filter feature built into fuel filters of modern day diesel cars.
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Old 17th December 2007, 13:56   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by im_srini View Post
Hi TorqueGuru, you probably noticed a quick & dirty technique to clean silencers. I remember reading one such method for decarbonizing engines. It involved removing your air-filter, & dribbling half-a-teaspoon of water into your engine intake (really) ! The theory was that the water would explode into high-pressure steam during combustion, & dislodge the carbon deposits !
This theory in a different setup termed as water injection is used to boost power in petrol engines and has the added benefit of decarbonising the engine.
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