In last post, i've written about the ownership experience of a Yamaha R15 V3. I've mentioned that the owner is also a friend of mine. In our conversation, i came to know about the term decarbonization and this topic built our conversation more. Then, i've researched more about this and came to know about that, this process is present out there from very long time and started to think how i failed to know about it. So in this post, let's see something about the process of decarbonization.
So, what is it?
It is the process of removing carbon deposits which is present inside the engine including the head assembly, bore, piston crown and several other parts. The process of proper maintenance work should include this process also.
Effect of carbon in 2 stroke engines
Now, every motorbike's engine have 4 strokes of cycle where the motorbikes from those days have 2 stroke engines. Unlike a 4 stroke engine, 2 stroke engine doesn't have separate oil for lubrication. It uses 2T oil which is mixed along with the fuel and sent to the combustion chamber for lubrication. From this we can conclude that some amount lubricating oil also gets burned along with the fuel air mixture and leaving carbon deposits mainly in the cylinder head and in exhaust port's header pipe. Those carbon deposits is to be cleaned regularly or otherwise its sure that much amount of money will be fading from your pocket.
But in the case of 4 stroke engines, separate lubricating oil is used. There's no necessity for the lubricating oil to mix with the fuel. The lubricating oil is always stored in the crankcase and delivered to the required parts where there's a friction with the help of oil pump and oil passages. In piston, oil rings will be present which seals the engine oil entering into the combustion chamber and prevents burning of it with the fuel air mixture. Unless the piston rings are damaged, engine oil would not enter into the combustion chamber forming carbon deposits.
But in modern day motorbikes, as we know, everything is based on sensors and actuators. There are many sensors like lambda sensor and the sensors present in the throttle body like Intake Air Temperature sensor, pressure sensor, Throttle Position Sensor in which if the carbon is formed and deposited, there are chances for the wrong signal sent to the ECU thereby actuating the ignition and injection parameters wrongly affecting the performance and mileage.
From this, we can come to a point that, there's less chance for the deposition of carbon in 4 stroke engines. If you maintain your motorbike periodically and with much care, decarbonization is not needed for your motorbike. If you are running your motorbike without changing the engine oil and without servicing it for a long time, then you can go for decarbonization. But once if you are done with it, there's less requirement for doing it again.
Ways of doing it
There are two ways of doing it. First one is the mechanical way of doing it. When you overhaul your motorbike's engine, carbon deposits can be peeled off and removed with the help of some solvents and other chemicals. We can able to see more amount of carbon deposits in cylinder head, exhaust's header pipe and near the inlet port only if the bike is not maintained periodically.
Another method is doing with the help of chemicals and the process is known as hydroxy decarbonization. In this process, hydrogen gas is sent into the intake of the engine. Hydrogen and fuel gets mixed and when combustion takes place, it gets interacted with the deposited carbon in the valve head and other parts and everything comes out through the exhaust port. If it is a diesel engine, surely we can able to see those deposited carbon in the form of black smoke coming out from the vehicle. This process doesn't require the entire engine to dismantle and it is the advantage here. If you leave your motorbike for decarbonization in the nearest center, it'll take only about half an hour. This process is very effective for petrol and diesel cars. But, this process is also effective for the motorbikes which is not serviced for long time as i said and for the motorbikes which is really in bad condition.
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So, what is it?
It is the process of removing carbon deposits which is present inside the engine including the head assembly, bore, piston crown and several other parts. The process of proper maintenance work should include this process also.
Effect of carbon in 2 stroke engines
Now, every motorbike's engine have 4 strokes of cycle where the motorbikes from those days have 2 stroke engines. Unlike a 4 stroke engine, 2 stroke engine doesn't have separate oil for lubrication. It uses 2T oil which is mixed along with the fuel and sent to the combustion chamber for lubrication. From this we can conclude that some amount lubricating oil also gets burned along with the fuel air mixture and leaving carbon deposits mainly in the cylinder head and in exhaust port's header pipe. Those carbon deposits is to be cleaned regularly or otherwise its sure that much amount of money will be fading from your pocket.
But in the case of 4 stroke engines, separate lubricating oil is used. There's no necessity for the lubricating oil to mix with the fuel. The lubricating oil is always stored in the crankcase and delivered to the required parts where there's a friction with the help of oil pump and oil passages. In piston, oil rings will be present which seals the engine oil entering into the combustion chamber and prevents burning of it with the fuel air mixture. Unless the piston rings are damaged, engine oil would not enter into the combustion chamber forming carbon deposits.
But in modern day motorbikes, as we know, everything is based on sensors and actuators. There are many sensors like lambda sensor and the sensors present in the throttle body like Intake Air Temperature sensor, pressure sensor, Throttle Position Sensor in which if the carbon is formed and deposited, there are chances for the wrong signal sent to the ECU thereby actuating the ignition and injection parameters wrongly affecting the performance and mileage.
From this, we can come to a point that, there's less chance for the deposition of carbon in 4 stroke engines. If you maintain your motorbike periodically and with much care, decarbonization is not needed for your motorbike. If you are running your motorbike without changing the engine oil and without servicing it for a long time, then you can go for decarbonization. But once if you are done with it, there's less requirement for doing it again.
Ways of doing it
There are two ways of doing it. First one is the mechanical way of doing it. When you overhaul your motorbike's engine, carbon deposits can be peeled off and removed with the help of some solvents and other chemicals. We can able to see more amount of carbon deposits in cylinder head, exhaust's header pipe and near the inlet port only if the bike is not maintained periodically.
Another method is doing with the help of chemicals and the process is known as hydroxy decarbonization. In this process, hydrogen gas is sent into the intake of the engine. Hydrogen and fuel gets mixed and when combustion takes place, it gets interacted with the deposited carbon in the valve head and other parts and everything comes out through the exhaust port. If it is a diesel engine, surely we can able to see those deposited carbon in the form of black smoke coming out from the vehicle. This process doesn't require the entire engine to dismantle and it is the advantage here. If you leave your motorbike for decarbonization in the nearest center, it'll take only about half an hour. This process is very effective for petrol and diesel cars. But, this process is also effective for the motorbikes which is not serviced for long time as i said and for the motorbikes which is really in bad condition.
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