Soda crystals on black death

[Dolph]

Morning all. My Vito van has a serious case of black death. I've got a lot of the carbon off and injectors out which have been serviced and tested. I saw a video of a guy putting soda crystals all over area then leaving them to break down the carbon, then washing it off as it fixed away. I've tried carb cleaner but this only does part of the job. Also I have seen warnings that the soda will make the aluminium head porous or eat into it. I've spent two days now trying to clean this stuff off. Can I use soda crystals if I only leave them on for short periods of time then rinsing thoroughly? I'm at my wits end with this black stuff. Desperate for a practical solution that works. I've read people using bg, biodiesel, cola, acetone, etc etc but want to try the soda crystals. Can't afford to have van off the road as need it for work. Thanks guys.

 

[Dolph]

Here's a link to a guy using soda crystals.

Also now my injectors are out I can't run engine to warm it up and soften the stuff. Any tips on getting it heated up? Heat gun?

 

[Doug1234]

Neat acetone , the stuff just literally dissolves it.
But wear old clothes and have plenty of rags handy as it’s messy.
Just clean what needs to be done to get the job done , wouldn’t worry about the rest of its not causing harm , like I say it’s messy.

 

[Dolph]

Thanks for that Doug. Will try that first. At least it's a cheap option and will have gloves and plenty of rags to hand.

 

[mioba]

Just watched the video and all the smoke made me think - that cant be healthy. Then the person was coughing.
I would be apprehensive of using soda as you dont know what it will eat away.

As above. Clean what needs cleaning - imperative to clean injector bore and face perfetly (use nylon brushes), use new seal, make sure all bolt holes are properly cleaned down to the wells (otherwise new bolts wont hold) and get new bolts.
gloves, tonnes of rags and get mucky.

I done a leaky injector on my sisters car last year - took me two days to get it spotless. An injector bore cleaning kit ebay, new seal and bolt from dealers.

 

[rayhennig]

Neat acetone

But bear in mind that acetone disolves some plastics and nicely removed the original MB finish from my alloy wheels.

Take great care.

RayH

 

[peterws1957]

You might try a strong solution of citric acid. Doesn't affect plastic or aluminium will dissolve rust etc. Used in cooking etc and harmless. Buy 2 kilos of granules on ebay for about £8. Id do 50/50 granules to hot water. Might be worth a shot if you're struggling.

 

[Dolph]

Been told about a spray called CarbOff which is ok to use on aluminium. Might try that if anyone has advice on it. With the acetone, is it ok if any go down into cylinders? Friend lent me there inspection camera and heads of cylinders have build up of muck on them. Worried that when engine runs the crap will block injector nozzles

 

[Dolph]

I soaked these overnight in acetone. They've come up a treat. Just the main block to do now!!

 

[mioba]

Been told about a spray called CarbOff which is ok to use on aluminium. Might try that if anyone has advice on it. With the acetone, is it ok if any go down into cylinders? Friend lent me there inspection camera and heads of cylinders have build up of muck on them. Worried that when engine runs the crap will block injector nozzles

you cant get any crap down the injector holes. An injector bore cleaning kit will contain plugs to pop in the bore holes via a long tool - also provided.