Combustion Chamber Cleaners
- January 26th, 2010
- Posted in Tech Articles
- Write comment
A word of caution on using combustion chamber cleaners…
On some engines that have an EGR Valve (older 3.9, 5.2, or 5.9 or newer 3.7 and 4.7 engines) you may want to think twice about using a combustion chamber cleaner like SeaFoam or Mopar’s Combustion Chamber Cleaner. If you don’t know what these products do, they do a GOOD job of cleaning out the combustion chamber, forcing the carbon deposits out to the exhaust system. But if your engine has an EGR valve, the carbon being exported may clog up your EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve. This will probably cause a check engine light and taking out the valve and either cleaning it or replacing it.
Unfortunately, I confirmed this on my 05, but luckally NAPA had them in stock! 
Have you ever heard of the Motor Vac procedure? This is a $120-$150 procedure that supposedly cleans out everything in a way that it avoids the deposits from breaking free and clogging other parts because it involves connecting another machine to the engine.
I’ve heard of Sea Foam and have wondered if it would be of any use to me if I plan to perform Motor Vac every 18 months / 18K miles or so. The issue you brought up is the exact reason I don’t like doing things on my own because I am a complete novice at this stuff and there’s always some “gotcha” involved with everything you can do on a truck.