Combustion Chamber Cleaner. What Is It, and When Is It Needed

Last Updated on June 14, 2023

If you’re a car owner, then you know that your vehicle needs occasional maintenance in order to run smoothly. One important, but often neglected aspects of automotive care is keeping the combustion chamber clean. But what is combustion chamber cleaner, and when is it needed?

Combustion chamber cleaner is commonly used to remove deposit build up, such as hard carbon from the piston rings and valve train of an engine. If neglected, carbon deposits can result in drivability issues such as hesitation, stumbling, and hard starting.

If your car is starting to run a little rough, it might be time to clean the combustion chamber. Luckily, there are plenty of combustion chamber cleaners out there that can remove these deposits safely and efficiently.

In fact, many dealerships offer a combustion chamber cleaning service. It’s a simple process that can make a big difference in how your car runs.

In this post, we’ll discuss what a combustion chamber actually is, what the cleaner does, and why it’s important for your car. Plus, we’ll give you some tips on how to tell if your car needs a combustion chamber cleaning service. Let’s get into this!

What Does The Combustion Chamber of an Engine Do?

The combustion chamber is the heart of an engine. It’s where fuel and air come together to create energy that powers your car. It’s the area within the engine cylinder where the fuel and air mix is ignited. As the engine’s piston compresses, the fuel and air mix making contact with the spark plugs.

This mixture is then combusted and pushed out of the combustion chamber in the form of energy.

What Causes Carbon Buildup in The Combustion Chamber?

The causes for dirty combustion chambers are typically from excessive oil and soot entering the engine. This can happen when your car’s oil level is too high, or from worn or defective piston rings or valve guides.

If left neglected, carbon deposits on the valves and pistons will eventually lead towards an increase in overall engine wear over time.

Premature engine wear often causes oil consumption issues. This, in turn, can lead to a host of other problems, such as increased emissions and decreased fuel efficiency. Even catalytic converter failure.

What’s The Purpose of Combustion Chamber Cleaner?

The purpose of combustion chamber cleaner is to remove hard carbon deposits from fuel injectors, intake valves and throughout the combustion chamber. This cleaning service flushes out deposits that are blocking engine performance and helps to restore your vehicle’s power. It can also help reduce emissions and the need for costly engine and fuel system repairs.

Is Combustion Chamber Cleaning Service Necessary?

The simple answer here is yes – combustion chamber cleaning is becoming more important for several reasons. The first, and most common reason is due to modern gasoline. Today’s gasoline now includes a slew of additives and increased levels of ethanol. As a result, water and soot from the fuel is captured in the combustion chambers. Eventually, the water and soot hardens and turns to carbon.

Keep in mind that carbon is one of the hardest substances known to man, just under diamonds! So all the debris accumulating in the cylinders are basically boring out the engine as you drive. This leads to premature engine wear, poor performance, smoking and increased emissions.

Combustion chamber cleaning is particularity important for vehicles that have oil consumption problems. Like carbon, the oil gets caked onto the valves leading to poor mileage and engine performance.

How Often Should The Combustion Chamber Be Cleaned?

The most important factor in when you should have combustion chamber cleaner service is driving conditions. For example, stop-and-start driving, low speeds, or frequent idling produces more carbon buildup than highway driving. As a result, you may want to clean them every 15,000 miles.

However, if the majority of your mileage is at highway speeds, it’s recommended you should clean your combustion chambers every 30,000 miles.

Will Combustion Chamber Cleaning Fix My Oil Consumption Problems?

No, as oil consumption is typically a mechanical problem. Cleaning the combustion chamber will only remove the carbon deposits produced by the effects of oil consumption.

This service will help clean the combustion chamber, and remove the effects from oil consumption. But it’s a short term fix for a much more costly problem.

Fact is, the most common reason for oil consumption in a modern vehicle is from prematurely worn or damaged piston rings.

Thus, performing a combustion chamber cleaning service on a vehicle that has oil consumption issues will help improve overall performance. It may even help extend the life of the vehicle, but the jury is still out on that one.

Do GDI Engines Need Combustion Cleaning Service?

GDI engines require a slightly different cleaning service, which is commonly referred to as “GDI induction cleaning.” Since GDI engines have direct fuel injection, this means the fuel is sprayed directly into the combustion chambers. Because the fuel is directly sprayed into the chambers, it makes it’s more susceptible to carbon buildup. Simply put, the fuel no longer reaches and cleans the valves.

GDI engines typically place the injector behind the valve instead of in front of the valve. As a result, you don’t get that mechanical cleaning on the backside of the intake valve that you would on a typical port fuel injection engine.

As a result, GDI engines require an induction cleaning service in order to keep them running smoothly. Similar to a combustion cleaning service, induction cleaning helps to remove any build-up of deposits that can occur over time.

Some experts suggest having an induction cleaning service performed on your GDI engine every 15,000 miles to keep your engine running at its best.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that combustion chamber cleaning services are becoming more important as cars age. If you notice your car has problems starting, hesitating, or stumbling, it might be time to consider a combustion chamber cleaning service. Not only will this increase the performance and life of your car, but it can also help you save on fuel costs in the long run.

Have you had your car’s combustion chamber cleaned recently?