Both diesel and petrol engines suffer from carbon build up but in different areas, therefore they need to be treated and cleaned differently.

Carbon is a by-product of the combustion of fuel in your vehicle. A build-up of carbon can accumulate on the fuel injector, rear of valves, combustion chamber, pistons or catalytic converter. These carbon deposits can create a loss of fuel efficiency which results in poor performance as well as a lot of money wasted on filling up the tank.

Diesel vehicles specifically suffer from build up of carbon at the inlet manifold due to the EGR and engine breathing. We highly recommend a foaming diesel intake clean and oxy-hydrogen carbon clean (brown gas). We also recommend fitting an oil catch-can.

At Blackwood Dyno Tune & Service we can perform all of these services and get your car back to peak performance in no time!

Carbon cleaning is the process of cleaning the fuel injector, combustion chamber, intake manifold, DPF, EGR and other parts of the vehicle where carbon deposits may have accumulated.

To ensure the best possible result when carbon cleaning, our mechanics physically remove the different parts from the engine. These parts are then fully cleaned using our specialised Prostream Carbon Cleaning equipment. All parts are then thoroughly checked to make sure any traces of carbon deposits have been successfully removed, before they are set back in place in the vehicle.

Carbon can clog the parts of your engine creating a loss in efficiency. Some of the most common issues caused from carbon deposits include:

• Loss of fuel efficiency, including over fuelling and under fuelling, due to a buildup of carbon around the fuel injectors.
• High emissions due to carbon deposits in the catalytic converter not being properly removed from the engine.
• The engine light may appear due to a build up of carbon in the DPF.
• The engine may shake and stall when the vehicle is idling due to a misfire in the system.

Fitted to modern common rail diesel engines in order to meet Australian Design Rules (ADR's), the EGR system is a form of emission control designed to reduce emissions of harmful NOx gases into the environment.

NOx (or Nitrogen Oxide) is produced by an engine during the combustion cycle and is considered harmful to the environment. The EGR recirculates some of this NOx back through to the intake side of the engine to help maintain lower combustion chamber temperatures, minimising the amount of NOx emmitted.

As gases from the combustion cycle escape past the Piston Rings (called blow-by gases), they become trapped inside the crankcase, causing pressure to build up, promoting the builld up of sludge and shortening the life of the oil. This pressure must be relieved and this objective is achieved via a process known as Positive Crankcase Ventilation through the PCV Valve. While necessary to avoid damage to seals and eventually the engine, this process also releases small amounts of engine oil back into the intake at the same time.

When the oil allowed through by a PCV Valve, turbocharger shaft or air compressor meets the recirculated NOx Gases within the Intake Manifold it becomes a problem. When mixed, a build-up of sticky Carbon deposits is created, slowly solidifying over time and effectively choking the system. EGR valves are also affected by carbon buildup.

Over time this build-up restricts air flow to the point where efficiency of the engine becomes impacted and fuel economy suffers. In very serious cases it could even end up with damaged seals and the engine needing to be replaced.