Was my car leaning out? Pics inside

[dsmmike50t]

Anyone know why my pistons look like this.

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[Splitpi]

Silly, you shouldn't be using your engine as a BBQ pit.

Were you burning alot of oil? What does the head valves look like?

 

[xdxoxuxgx]

I have never seen anything like that, that looks terrible, I'm sorry dude.

 

[dsmmike50t]

I know it looks bad, someone told me it might be too much fuel. The reason I took off the head is because the head was bad. When I took off the arp studs three of the bolts came out with the studs. I'm guessing that was the problem.

 

[Krazy_Kreationz]

that looks like you were burning oil bad!

 

[ApexVIII]

wow, is it really hard? can you flake some off?

 

[dsmmike50t]

Yup all the flakes came off the pistons. The pistons look nice and clean now. I just wanted to see what everyone had to say about this.

 

[Gamble97]

Help a noob out here (me)
How can you tell? Just looks like carbon build up to me.

 

[97GSTAUTO]

Seafoam it!

 

[knochgoon24]

So, how many miles since you last had the head off? Did this happen over the life of the engine, or just in the last 6 months?

 

[dsmmike50t]

The head was off about a year ago. I guess I didn't tighten the studs enough with my allan key.

 

[1sick91tsi]

It just looks like a lot of carbon build up. I wouldnt worry about it. Bring each piston to tdc, and clean them off and call it a day. It may have been a little rich and if you babied it the carbon will get a chance to build up.

 

[meliketoball]

It just looks like a lot of carbon build up. I wouldnt worry about it. Bring each piston to tdc, and clean them off and call it a day. It may have been a little rich and if you babied it the carbon will get a chance to build up.

winner.

 

[dsmmike50t]

It just looks like a lot of carbon build up. I wouldnt worry about it. Bring each piston to tdc, and clean them off and call it a day. It may have been a little rich and if you babied it the carbon will get a chance to build up.

So what exactly is carbon buildup and what did you mean by, "If you babied it". I just did a search but no answer.

 

[MrBoxx]

So what exactly is carbon buildup and what did you mean by, "If you babied it". I just did a search but no answer.

The major waste products of combustion are water, carbon dioxide/monoxide, and carbon. A little carbon is okay; you'll undoubtedly notice it inside your muffler tip, exhaust piping, etc. If you run rich, you tend to create more carbon. When you run the car hard, cylinder temperatures go up, which tends to burn off the carbon. If you tend to baby the car and never get on it, the engine doesn't get hot enough to burn it off, thus the buildup.

If you do a Seafoam treatment every once in a while, you'll notice that the carbon buildup will be significantly decreased, in the cylinders and in the intake manifold.

 

[EDM95]

So what exactly is carbon buildup and what did you mean by, "If you babied it". I just did a search but no answer.

Carbon Build-Up

Carbon is a natural byproduct of the combustion process and is vented through the exhaust system. It is normal for a thin layer of carbon to cover the parts of the engine and exhaust that come into contact with the combustion process or engine exhaust. Since the introduction of unleaded fuel, carbon deposits have been greatly reduced. Normally, carbon does not present a problem.

However, through the introduction of contaminents such as oil or overly rich air/fuel ratios, carbon build-up can become excessive and reduce engine performance and require costly service or repairs.

Driving habits can also impact the amount of carbon build up. Highway driving tends to cause the engine to get sufficiently hot so as to burn away some contaminents that would otherwise become deposits. Unfortunately, short trips tend to promote the build up of carbon deposits. Having said that, in general, there are two main causes of excessive carbon buildup; burned oil and overly rich air/fuel mixtures.

Oil-based carbon build-up occurs when piston rings become worn and oil is able to leak past the rings from the crankcase. Oil can also leak from valves into the combustion chamber. Typically oil-based deposits appear as dark black and have a gummy, tar-like consistency.

Carbon tends to coat any surface that may be exposed to either the combustion process or handle engine exhaust. It is often most evident on fuel injectors, engine valves and combustion chambers. Deposits also form on the throttle body, spark plugs, intake manifold as well as in the catalytic converter and oxygen sensors. If carbon buildup is present in the EGR passages, it is probably the result of oil leaking down the valve stems. An automobile that is burning oil will tend to emit exhaust that has a bluish tint and may be a little heavier than normal.

By contrast, fuel-based carbon build-up occurs when an engine burns an excessively rich air/fuel mixture. Too much fuel will tend to produce a relatively large amount of carbon waste that is not as thick as oil deposits but it is hard, dry and tougher to remove.

Causes of fuel-based deposits often include a computer fault, a bad or leaking fuel injector or other potential reasons that cause and excessive amount of fuel to be burned during the combustion process.

In general, carbon deposits can cause a drastic drop in both fuel economy and performance. Because so many automobiles on the road rely on computers and sensors for optimal engine performance, it is easy to see how carbon deposits can play havoc with modern engines. For example, most automobiles rely on an onboard computer to adjust the air/fuel ratio in accordance to the O2 readings for optimal performance. Because oxygen sensors are exposed to engine exhaust, it is easy to see how susptible they are to contamination from carbon-deposits. Incorrect oxygen sensor readings causes the computer to make performance adjustments based on incorrect data.

Particularly thick deposits also tends to increase engine compression simply because the carbon deposits take up more space inside the combustion chamber. Abnormally high compression may result in spark knock (detonation), particularly when driving under load or accelerating. In more extreme conditions, if carbon deposits are thick enough, the top of the piston may actually come into contact with the carbon-coated cylinder head or valves. When this happens, the sound resembles a hammer noise or like a rod bearing has gone bad.

Carbon build-up can also result in excessive auto emissions. Here's how: An excessively rich fuel mixture or burned oil can create a heavy carbon residue that coats the inside of the catalytic converter. If left unchecked, excessive carbon deposits can make the catalytic converter ineffective at burning residual fuel vapors (hydrocarbons). A sufficiently compromised catalytic converter will need to be replaced. In addition, if your state requires annual auto emissions testing, you may fail simply because your catalytic converter is unable to reduce your vehicle's auto emissions.

Here are a number of signs to keep an eye out for if you suspect carbon build-up:
-Engine pinging
-Hesitation
-Poor acceleration
-Spark knock
-Lack of power
-Carbon coated spark plug
-Repeated stalling in cold weather
-Thick, bluish exhaust
-Engine ping or a hammering sound

To treat carbon build-up there are off the shelf fuel addatives that tend to reduce or treat carbon build-up. In addition, there are more thorough carbon cleaning option available at most service facilities. Some of these solutions involve special chemicals, pumps and vacuum devices or blasting equipment to remove stubborn deposits.

If your engine has excessive carbon deposits, parts of the engine may need to be disassembled to do a thorough cleaning. Also, keep in mind that to do a thorough job, the intake manifold should also be removed to clean the carbon buildup from the inside of the manifold.

 

[assault187]

damn...+1 for EDM95

 

[Car_guy_09]

Wow edm posted something useful ....

 

[EDM95]

Wow edm posted something useful ....

I should go back to school

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

copied and pasted.