water is the universal solvent. . . learned that back in '97 during high school chemistry. the only reason is that its so abundant. . . anyways, the oil topic is a good one. we would probably have less problems with carbon if we didnt burn oil. so, in order to fix that 2stroke low ash is the next best thing. i use the rotary aviation conversion plate. i have a tank that holds a few pints of castrol synthetic low ash 2stroke premix/injector oil. i dont doubt one bit that im doing my engine more justice than the stock lube system could offer. something about clean, new, unbrokendown (is that a word ) oil seems to attract me on that one. haha

paul

 

First of all I'd like to say that this thread brings up some pretty interesting points.

However, I don't understand the assumption that carbon buildup is produced by oil. I believe that the cause of carbon is actually unburnt fuel (like when running rich (choke on)). Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that oil in the combustion chamber would cause excessive buildup of carbon. Just my 2 cents.

 

Wow, someone else who's owned a 69 Corona. The one I had always confused parts store workers since it was a 69 but was sold as a 70 (apparently they could do that back then if it didn't sell that year). I have to say for what it was, it was a fun little peppy car.

 

thank you. I'm eight months into my first rotary (2nd gen) and about to trade for a first gen. I always felt a weed wacker vibe from the rotary. I'm pre mixing from now on.

 

holy resurrection! at least it was a good thread this time... interesting though.

 

What a way to necro-post.

A local rotary shop installed a 4 port 13B into a '69 Corona a few years ago. The conversion process took a long time and cost the owner a lot of money just in labor. It was interesting for me because when I had my Corona, I would have loved to install a rotary in it. Maybe that's why I'm into rotaries so much these days... because the desire was so strong back then.

 

I don't understand. If a person post a car question they are berated for not searching regardless if they did or not.

if a person searches, finds and answer and posts a simple thank you. That person is still get comments like "What a way to necro-post.".

For me this is water off a ducks back, so I'll live. I just dont understand the logic behind this point of view.

Not to mention the apparent pride at all web forums in an individuals "Post Count".

I thought this was a car hobby, not patrol web forums hobby.

Then again maby I'm crazy for putting 20 man hours under the hood a week and 3 man hours on the keyboard.

 

lol my post wasn't even aimed at you.

 

he does make a good point, but i think its more of a shock thing to see a thread that was bumped after three years, is not necesarily a bad thing, but something worth commenting on.

 

Meh, even though this is probably beating that poor dead horse to death again...

My understanding is that water is the universal solvent and as such is really one of the "perfect" solvents, least that was one chemistry teacher told us.

Anyways, I actually was able to watch and help out in steam cleaning a 2nd Gen TII and an 1985 GSL-SE. So here are my observations from doing such, keep in mind I wasn't able to tear down the motor.

I don't know if we've been talking about only carbed engine or what, but I learned that you want to use distilled water to eliminate the possibility of contaminants scouring your rotor housings. we took about a gallon of nice clean distilled water and ran it through a non essential vacuum hose that went directly into the intake manifold. This was so that the water was able to be drawn in at a stable rate in regards to engine load and to atomize it before it reached the intake port.

My understanding is that the steam cleaning method is to be used once you have softened the carbon build-up, otherwise you'd be breaking off large flakes that would not be very good for the engine. The carbon is supposed to break down into a fine powder that is blown through the engine and out of the exhaust.

One thing that I would like to point out to every one is that we are assuming that the water is staying in its liquid state which is partially true. But keep in mind that due to the high pressures and high temperatures, the water becomes water vapor which is a little more compressible than its liquid form. So essentially you are now adding an inert gas to the combustion process (I know not exactly but work with me here).

Now I don't know if you guys have ever stood behind a rotary that is being steam cleaned, I wouldn't recommend it. We have exhaust hoses that are supposed to be rated to high temperatures in our school's shop. I could smell the rubber starting to heat up and soften, took the hose off and nearly melted the rubber guards off my mechanix gloves.


Anyways, my point is that, if the carbon is broken down into fine powder then it would not matter too much to the engine. My reasoning behind this is simple, the way a cloud is formed is by water vapor retaining tiny particles of dust and debris. Sounds kind of like what's happening inside the combustion chamber when you inject water no?

Also even if the carbon is in a fine grit, it should still in theory be a minor factor in engine wear since all fuel is not created equal and fuel contains contaminants from everything from the refinery to our 20 year old gas tanks.

Another final thing to say is; remember that the process of combustion creates water as a byproduct of the combustion process which means that in reality, steam is always running through a combustion engine.



I am more worried about the effects of the fine carbon flowing through the exhaust than in the engine, for those of us running cats; how does it affect cat life?

 

After two years I found my rotors clean and shiny....1 oz sythetic penzoil 2 cycle per gallon worked 4 me. No AI yet.