top of page

Mobile Walnut Blast Cleaning In Bristol

Walnut Blast Cleaning. The Gold Standard of Intake Carbon Cleaning.

The intake valves on modern direct injection (GDI) petrol engines don't benefit from the self-cleaning nature of earlier port-injected versions. This means the intake valves get caked in carbon quite quickly and the engine suffers from performance and driveability issues in the same way or worse than their diesel counterparts. When things have been left to get fully caked with tough carbon deposits then non-disassembly cleaning procedures do not work. The industry-accepted best solution is to remove the inlet manifold and decarbonise using the walnut blasting technique.

Vehicle manufacturers recommend walnut blasting every 40,000 miles to fully remove these hardened carbon deposits from the intake runners and intake valve heads and stems. This is a service we specialise in and as can be seen in the before/after image here it has the potential to bring these components back to an as-new condition.

BMW Walnut Blasting. Showing Before And After Results

Our mobile intake cleaning service is very popular with car enthusiasts or those that want to see exactly what’s going on with their engine with the work being done at their home.

​

We come to you and use our vehicle-specific service tools and equipment to remove and professionally clean your engine’s intake system to restore lost engine performance. Depending on engine type this takes between 5 and 9hrs and completed the same day.

​

Walnut blasting is only part of our service. At the same time your inlet manifold and associated components will be removed and cleaned as necessary in our fully-enclosed 2,000psi water blast cleaning cabinet, giving your whole intake path a complete refurbish. All we need from you is an electric connection and your vehicle for a few hours. If the weather isn't on form then we set up a gazebo over your vehicle to maintain a workshop level of working environment.

​

This is a premium service, carried out with pride by a professional who has been living and breathing engines all their life and the results are very satisfying and rewarding with the potential of huge gains in performance, economy, and driveability.

​

Some common signs of intake carbon build-up are:

​

- Engine misfiring

- Rough Idling, particularly on a cold start

- Reduced power and fuel economy

- Induction related fault codes/check engine light on

 

To view my walnut blast carbon cleaning service for specific engines please use the below links, otherwise see our general price guide below.

​

Mazda 3, Mazda 6, Mazda CX-5, Mazda CX-8 Skyactiv-D 2.2 Engine Walnut Blast & EGR Carbon Cleaning Page​

​

Mini Cooper N14 & N18 Engine Walnut Blast Cleaning Page​

​

VW Audi TFSI & TSI Engine Walnut Blast Cleaning Page​

 

BMW Engine Walnut Blast Cleaning Page

​​

Peugeot & Citroen Engine Walnut Blast Cleaning Page

​

​

Price Guide (General):

​

Price includes diagnostic checks and inlet manifold cleaning. Inlet manifold seals not included.

​

3 or 4cyl. Engines:

Easy Access: 5hrs. £300

Complex Access: 6hrs. £360.

5 or 6 cyl. Engines:

Easy Access: 7hrs. £420.

Complex Access: 8hrs. £480.

Complex Access+: 9hrs. £540.

​

Our service is mobile and performed at a location of your choice and thus we need to complete our service within one working day so unfortunately this eliminates V8 engines unless the inlet manifold is removed prior to our arrival. Please message me if you think we can help. John

​

Please note:

​

1- £50 booking deposit will be taken via a booking link. The balance due immediately on completion.

​

2- To re-install your inlet manifold and other components we will need to change the seals or gaskets that were disturbed during dis-assembly. It depends upon the vehicle but normally this only amounts to less than £50 in parts. Customers normally request us to supply parts. Lead time for this is normally about 5 working days.

​​

3- Performance time on the day may vary slightly but prices remain fixed. ​

​

Please message or email John with your vehicle details to see which service applies for your vehicle.

​

Some related FAQs:

  • Business Terms & Conditions
    1. BOOKING POLICY: Bookings are handled initially by phone or email and followed up by booking online. Please call or email us before making a booking so that we can discuss a date, time, and suitable location to perform our services. Once this has been agreed then please use our booking form for the relevant service. If you wish to cancel our services in advance and request a refund then please do so at least 24hrs prior to the appointment. Costs are incurred by us during the booking process and through lost business. Failure to cancel the appointment within this time may result in forfeit of the booking deposit. If you need to reschedule our services on the day, please call us as early as possible. Free rescheduling within one hour of start of service may not be possible if we are already on our way to your location. In this case we will have incurred costs, lost any other opportunity, and your booking deposit may need to be forfeited to help cover this. You must ensure that you and your vehicle are available at the time agreed and booked. If you (or your representative) or your vehicle are not available within 30 minutes of the time of appointment, then the booking will be deemed cancelled by yourself and your deposit may need to be forfeited at our discretion. We will however in a genuine delay case beyond your control always try to show some flexibility, but this will not be possible if the delay will affect the service of our next customer or other commitment. If we ourselves are unable to provide our service for whatever reason, either on the day, or in advance, we will try to contact you. At this point you have the right to either reschedule or request a full refund of the booking deposit. If our services are running late on the day and not able to arrive within 30 minutes of the booked time then you have the right to re-schedule to a mutually agreed time. Auto regen reserve the right to reschedule at any time and without reason. Auto regen will not be held liable whatsoever for any costs or losses incurred by any party due to our cancellation or rescheduling of a booking. 2. PAYMENT POLICY: Costs are incurred by Auto Regen for all bookings, so all service fees include a non-refundable booking fee paid at the time of booking. The balance of payment will be paid during the appointment by card or cash. If you do not accept these terms or think you may not be able to pay in full, then please do not go ahead with booking our services. If full payment is still not received for any reason whatsoever at the time a vehicle is due to be handed back to its owner then as per government legislation we have the legal right to place a lien on any vehicle that we service or repair until payment has been received in full. 3. YOUR LOCATION: A private driveway or car park would be an ideal location to perform our services. We will discuss this in advance of your booking. The area must be secure with no obvious health and safety concerns otherwise we may not be able to go ahead. In this case it would be beyond our control it may result in forfeit of the booking deposit. A coverage map of our service area is available on our website. For areas on the map but outside of the circle there may need to be a small fuel surcharge per visit. This will be advised during booking communications. 4. WEATHER: In the case of moderate weather we will endeavour where safe for ourselves and your vehicle to continue supply of our services. In the case of heavy weather, we reserve the right at any time before or during our services to re-schedule the visit. 5. VEHICLE CONDITION: If your vehicle engine has any pre-existing problems, has had recent work or repair attempts performed, or a professional has made any negative observations regarding the mechanical condition then we must be made fully aware in our pre-booking phone call or email. We will then assess whether it is still safe to go ahead and perform our services. On the day, prior to performing our services a condition assessment will be made of your vehicle. We will advise you in writing of any negative observations we make before we start the service. If we decide not to go ahead for any reason you will receive a full refund. The services provided by Auto Regen involve only proven-safe technologies that will cause zero harm to your vehicle. With regards to undisclosed or hidden developing issues Auto Regen cannot guarantee the condition of your used vehicle as presented to us and Auto Regen therefore will not be held responsible for any issues that should develop during or after our services have been performed. If your vehicle, engine, or any other component has a current warranty in place then you must satisfy yourself that our services will not affect this as we will not be held responsible for any complications that might arise. 6. COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF VEHICLE USE: We will not be held liable to compensate for any loss of earnings due to non-availability of any vehicle or hire or other charges related to its replacement due to any circumstances related to provision of our services including failure of any repairs. 7. OUR CARBON CLEANING SERVICES: are maintenance procedures designed to remove carbon build-up from engines. The proven benefits of these services can include regeneration of vehicle performance, lowering of emissions and engine noise, improvement of engine response and general wellbeing of the engine and vehicle. In addition, the benefits will often include clearing of existing faults and improvement of ongoing issues but as a maintenance treatment this is not something that we will ever guarantee. Results will vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on factors beyond our control. We will always do our utmost best and help you in any way we can during our visit. 8. OUR DPF UNBLOCKING SERVICE: This is our attempt to save you the great expense of renewing your diesel particulate filter. In most cases, even when a DPF is heavily blocked we can clean the filter back to where it will perform as well as it did before the blockage occurred. Before arriving, making checks and starting to clean, it is impossible to judge how well the DPF will respond. If we at any stage during the service decide that it will not be possible to restore the DPF back to a serviceable condition and make it safe to reset your vehicle’s computer then we will notify you and happily advise on your options. At that stage you will only be charged our one-hour standard diagnostic callout fee. 9. OUR WALNUT BLAST CLEANING SERVICE: Engines are presented to us in a used and unknown condition for carbon removal at the owner's request. We will not be held responsible for any subsequent loss of performance where removed carbon had been playing a sealing role due to worn components. Once carbon is removed, sometimes hydraulic valve adjusters may need time to adjust to new clearances and during this period some rough running and/or poor starting may be experienced. This is considered normal and usually clears within minutes but can take longer. Manually adjusted valves will need valve lash checks made. In very rare cases with worn engines, it may take time for newly cleaned valve seats to fully reseal as cleaning the carbon may have revealed imperfections in the sealing faces. In extreme cases, further reseating of the valves may be necessary although this is something we have never experienced. 10. PARTS REPLACEMENT POLICY: Our standard practice is to use only original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, however, often there are very good quality aftermarket equivalent parts available that can offer significant savings without compromise on quality. In each case if requested we will check and offer an opinion on different availabilities, but if you wish to opt for aftermarket parts it will in any situation be deemed as through your own choice. If any part replaced by us should be proven to fail within the limits of a manufacturer’s warranty, then we will be happy to assist in mediating any replacement but any labour costs for removal or replacement will be borne by the customer at our standard labour rate of £50 per hour. We will not be held responsible for any quality related issues or consequences of whatsoever that arise from failure of parts that we have been requested to supply. Parts payment will be made by the customer prior to our ordering. Different parts options will be discussed via email. Once a parts request has been made, a secure payment link will be sent. We do not mark-up parts for profit, but a 10% finance charge will be applied to cover our costs of website transactions and the like. 11. DATA PROTECTION: We assume you are happy for us to use your personal information you have provided for marketing and communication purposes. We will ensure that your information is kept safe, not shared with anyone, and that there is no breach of data. You can instruct us in wiring to delete your data at any time. 12. MEDIA: We assume that you allow us to take photographs and videos of your vehicle during and after we have performed the service. Any personal effects, number plates or other means of identification will be obscured from view. 13. SUGGESTIONS & COMPLAINTS: We welcome all customer feedback, whether it be positive or negative. If in the very unlikely event that you have a complaint about any aspect of our services, then please make contacting Auto Regen privately your first form of action. This gives us the chance to clear up any misunderstandings or make amends as necessary. We will vigorously defend ourselves and take whatever action on whatever level necessary if we feel we have been targeted by unjustly negative or fake reviews of any kind.
  • Website Terms & Conditions
    By accessing this website you agree that autoregen.co.uk shall not be liable to any person for any loss or damage which may arise from the use of any of the information contained in any of the materials on this website. Hypertext links in this website may lead to websites which are not under the control of autoregen.co.uk. Third party links are included solely for your convenience and do not constitute any endorsement by autoregen.co.uk of third party products or services. When you activate these you will leave the autoregen.co.uk website and autoregen.co.uk has no control over and will accept no liability in respect of the material on any website which is not under the control of autoregen.co.uk. The information contained on this website is for information purposes. Whilst every care has been taken in its preparation, autoregen.co.uk does not make any warranties nor representations as to its accuracy or reliability. We neither accept nor assume any reliability in relation to the contents of these pages which should not be relied upon as accurate. In no event do we accept liability of any description including liability for negligence for any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the viewing, use or performance of this website or its contents. Autoregen.co.uk assumes no responsibility for and disclaims all liability for any errors or omissions, which may be referred to or linked to by this site. All product names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. The pages contained in this website may contain technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. The information in these pages may be updated from time to time and may at times be out of date. We accept neither responsibility for keeping the information in these pages up to date nor liability for any failure to do so. Information contained on the autoregen.co.uk website listed may not be independently verified by autoregen.co.uk. Autoregen.co.uk does not and cannot review all materials posted to autoregen.co.uk forum, guest book, gallery or any other part of its website by users, and autoregen.co.uk is not responsible for any such materials posted by users. However, autoregen.co.uk reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or government request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in autoregen.co.uk’s sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of this agreement. All copy offered for publication in autoregen.co.uk must be legal, decent, honest and truthful and must comply with the law and all other codes under the general supervision of the advertising standards authority. When deemed necessary contents may be edited. We do not sell, rent, share, trade or give away any of your personal information or any details of activities of users to any third party. Considering the real-time nature of autoregen.co.uk’s forum, guest book, gallery and other parts of its website, it is impossible for autoregen.co.uk to review members’ contents or confirm the validity of information posted. Autoregen.co.uk does not actively monitor the contents and are not responsible for any messages posted. Autoregen.co.uk does not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and is not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of autoregen.co.uk or any entity associated with autoregen.co.uk. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. Autoregen.co.uk has the ability to remove objectionable messages and will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if determined that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realise that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately. Autoregen.co.uk and its members do not and will not be held liable for any illegal activities in any way or form. Autoregen.co.uk does not in any way, endorse or promote any illegal events or activities and will not be held liable for those who attend or arrange them. All content including photos is © copyright autoregen.co.uk. All rights reserved.
  • Choose Your Providers Carefully..
    When choosing between service providers there are a lot of potential pitfalls to consider. The biggest let down can come from booking a service from somebody who claims to have one small machine that can do it all i.e. end to end cleaning of your engine intake, combustion, turbo, EGR, and DPF in 30min, for under £100! There's a lot of it about unfortunately. A nice chap stands at the front of your vehicle telling you of the technological wonders that are going on inside your engine as you speak. Then 30min later he's gone, without even rolling his sleeves up and off to the next customer. We also use latest technology such as HHO carbon cleaning and expensive cleaning chemicals but after browsing our services hopefully it should be quite clear as to the individual benefits and limitations of each technology or service. This is based on our knowledge, experience and honesty. All of our machines are workshop-grade units from leading UK manufacturers and in the right hands give the best chance of getting a broad spectrum of results. ​ The effect of our services and machines will in most cases stretch beyond the modest limits that we advertise but we'd rather keep that additional overlap of services and results to your advantage. We offer our 10-in-1 service at a heavily discounted price because we want our customers to see the benefits of all these services but at a cost that is easily justifiable and can be completed in one visit by myself in just a few hours. It's not the easiest route for us but we believe it's the best route for our customers and their vehicles. I'm sure you will agree! Happy motoring! John.
  • Why does my intake need cleaning? What happens if I just leave it?
    All modern direct injected engines - diesel or petrol suffer from heavy carbon build-up inside the intake manifold and intake runners and valves inside the cylinder head. This is because crank-case emissions and EGR gasses contain oil and carbon deposits that are fed back into the engine intake. Until recently most petrol engines were indirect injection and port-mounted fuel injectors would "wash" the valves with fuel as it entered the engine. Tighter emissions laws meant that manufacturers had to develop direct injection petrol/gasoline (GDI) systems, and this is where the problems started for petrol engines. Diesels have had this issue all along since EGR has been around. It's not a big deal but maintenance should be factored-in every few years or 40k miles. People are often very shocked to see the amount of carbon build-up that is found inside their otherwise shiny looking engine. The problem is that if it is ignored then eventually large clumps of hardened carbon will fall into the air intake path and be ingested into the engine. If lucky this may go unnoticed for a few events but often this happens when the engine is under higher load so damage will occur. The carbon build-up can also interfere with the mechanics of swirl flaps and any restriction will stress the system and could lead to swirl flaps falling off, into the intake and then into the engine causing catastrophic failure. This is why vehicle manufacturers insist that it is performed every 40k miles to maintain warranties. For the small cost and minimal inconvenience of having all the carbon removed at your own home it is simply not worth the risk of leaving it in there. Another factor is that carbon deposits are flammable and once alight they burn fiercely in the presence of fast flowing air. In any case it is not good to have a flammable substance trapped in the engine intake with hot exhaust gasses being recirculated. In extreme cases and normally coupled with an overheating event, it has been known for engines to "run away" out of control and self-destruct while running on flammable carbon-derived gases entering the cylinders from the intake manifold.
  • Your walnut blasting service. How does it Work?
    During the process we will remove your intake manifold(s) then use our special blasting equipment to blast walnut shell media into the most difficult to access areas like the intake valve heads and stems to clean away many thousands of miles of carbon build-up. Walnut shell particles strike the perfect balance between tough hard cleaning power and still being quite soft, so it is not possible to cause any damage. In the same visit your removed intake manifold will be thoroughly cleaned inside along with any other accessible components such as sensors, throttle body, and the EGR valve. We will generally need access to your vehicle and a single mains electrical socket (within 40m) for 5 to 9hrs depending on number of engine cylinders and configuration. A private driveway, private car park or similar off-street location is needed for this service to be performed.
  • What is Tec4 Engine Carbon Cleaning?
    This is a chemical-based approach where we run the engine on an alternative fuel supply containing a highly enriched blend of fuel and cleaning agents which lubricate precision moving parts and break down deposits within the fuel injectors, dramatically improving injector spray pattern and performance. The cleaning agents are non-combustible so once in the cylinders they continue working to clean the engine internals and on through the exhaust components such as O2 sensors, the catalytic converter and DPF.
  • What is the 10-in-1 Full Engine Decarbonisation?
    Despite what a lot of folk claim, no engine carbon cleaning services can properly reach the inlet side of the engine, and with modern engines with anything over around 40k miles the inlet components are guaranteed to be dirty and this also has a major effect on MOT emissions test results and general well-being of your engine so what we offer is our 10-in-1 Full Engine Decarbonisation. This is what most people opt for as it covers all bases by including both of the above engine carbon cleaning services plus our 7-in-1 Intake Carbon Cleaning Service and full dealer-level Diagnostic Callout service. We'll be with your vehicle between 2 and 4hrs depending on engine size and in that time will go through everything methodically and also take whatever additional actions we deem worthwhile during that time to get you back to where you need to be. Flexibility and enough time to focus on our findings and maximise benefit. ​The 10-in-1 Full Engine Carbon Clean Service is offered at 40% discount so is well worth going for. We offer this because we believe it gives us the best opportunity to get in there, clean and go through everything and do whatever we can to help you in that 3-4hr time window and maximise the benefits of booking our service. In summary our 10-in-1 Full Carbon Clean Service consists of: 1. HHO Engine Carbon Cleaning 2. Tec4 Engine Carbon Cleaning 3. 7-in-1 Intake Carbon Cleaning. The 7 components covered are 1-MAF Sensor, 2-MAP Sensor, 3-Intake Manifold, 4-Inlet Valves, 5-Throttle Body, 6-Turbo and 7-EGR. They are cleaned by removal where possible. If not, then cleaned in situ. 4. Diagnostic Callout. Any other faults we find and can fix within the 10-in1 service timeframe we will and will keep you posted as to any problems we identify that may be on the horizon For further details please just call John.
  • What is engine carbon build-up? Why do we need to remove it?
    Carbon is created when burning any organic matter, so when fuel is burnt inside an engine, carbon is created as a by-product of combustion. Most of this carbon will be rejected via the exhaust but some will be trapped inside the engine and if not removed it will go on to cause problems. The amount of carbon build-up can vary dramatically. Generally, engine type, fuel quality and driving habits play the biggest roles in the rate of carbon deposit build-up. Low rpm urban trips, stop-start systems, amongst other things they all prevent engines getting up to full temperature and a getting a good clean-out during normal use. In earlier times a good occasional run down the motorway used to give engines a good clean out and prevent carbon from taking hold but these days with emissions-driven drivetrain design engines run at little more than idle even at motorway speeds so carbon takes hold easier than in the higher revving old days. The problem is that carbon attracts carbon because once a smooth surface has carbon deposits on it then it provides an easy key for more carbon to build up on. It's worth remembering that modern engines offer us fantastic performance and economy. But the only way they can deliver this is by maintaining very fine engineering design and tolerances, and one place this is essential is in the internal combustion chambers. Over time two major factors reduce performance and these are: component wear, and carbon build-up. In my 35+ years' experience I have learnt that carbon build-up has a far greater impact on engine performance than normal engine wear does. Carbon interferes with fine tolerances and the result is lowered performance, reduced economy and increased noise levels. It's not like the old days - today everything needs to be on top form otherwise we feel the effects. ​ The good news is that these days with the right skills and right equipment, carbon can be removed from engine internals very quickly without disassembly. ​ Some major effects of internal combustion carbon build-up are listed here: ​ Fuel Injector nozzles become fouled both externally and internally. This affects the spray pattern and burn efficiency of the fuel. Inefficient combustion increases emissions and exhaust smoke levels and is a major attributor to MOT emissions failures. A modern fuel injector needs to inject 6 times during one flap of a hummingbird's wing so to enable this injector nozzles and internal moving parts need to be perfectly clean and free to move. Piston carbon build-up reduces the already fine clearance between piston crowns and the cylinder head, particularly in the squish zone. This causes carbon knock and pinking due to lack of clearance and increased compression levels. This is particularly noticeable when engines are cold and have contracted and therefore have reduced clearances. Piston rings become restricted in operation due to carbon build-up in the ring grooves and ring lands which prevents free springing movement of the rings. This reduces sealing power of rings and allows excess blow-by into the crankcase which forces oil back through the air intake to be burnt for even more carbon build-up. Sticking turbo vanes. They live directly in the hot gas path just after the exhaust manifold and as a moving part they are vulnerable to carbon build-up. When they stick they can cause under or overboost conditions, engine light on and limp mode conditions. All of these issues contribute to rough, noisy, sluggish, inefficient running and eventually an MOT emissions failure. So, as you can see, carbon removal is required to maintain the health and performance of every modern engine.
  • What is Oxy-Hydrogen Carbon Cleaning?
    The process uses electrolysis to break tap water down into Oxy-Hydrogen gas which is then fed into the engine intake while running. The gas increases the fuel burn temperature inside the cylinders and reacts with and atomises carbon deposits on the piston crowns, top ring lands, cylinder head, valve heads, and injector nozzle tips. The end product of the reaction between HHO and carbon is hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) gas. This then passes safely through the DPF on diesel vehicles and discharged via the exhaust. Our HHO carbon cleaning machine is a professional grade product that uses wet cell technology and is manufactured in the UK by Carbon Clean UK, who are World leaders in this field.
  • What about carbon build-up in the engine air intake?
    Unfortunately, it doesn't stop with the engine internals. Modern engines with EGR systems also suffer from carbon build-up inside the EGR valve system and inlet manifold components. Our 7-in-1 Intake Carbon Clean targets this area using a combination of chemical and manual strip-and-clean methods. The 7-in-1 Intake Carbon Clean is an integral part of our popular 10-in-1 Full Engine Decarbonising service which comprises all our services and is highly recommended. If intake carbon is left to build up for too long, then air flow into the engine can be seriously affected, reducing overall performance, causing lumpy idle and other driveability issues. The only way to safely clean it at this stage is to remove the inlet manifold and manually clean things as attempts to remove large amounts of carbon in-situ could lead to the engine ingesting large clumps of carbon with the potential for engine damage to occur. At Auto Regen, for this level of cleaning we offer Walnut Blast Intake Cleaning which is the gold standard for removing hard baked carbon from intake runners and inlet valve stems and valve heads. This procedure is recommended by most vehicle manufacturers to be performed every 40k miles particularly for direct injection diesel engines or gasoline direct injection GDI engines that suffer the most. This covers most engines from around 2008 onwards. Walnut Blast Intake Cleaning involves removing the intake manifold to access the inlet ports and valves. We then use our special blasting equipment to blast soft walnut shells against the dirty valve components inside the cylinder head to remove hard-baked carbon deposits. At this time the removed inlet manifold is soaked and fully cleaned to a level that cannot be achieved without removal. The results are stunning, very satisfying, and make the valves look like new again.
  • I only have time for one carbon cleaning type, which one should I choose?
    If you regularly use premium fuels or quality in-tank fuel additives, don't have visible smoke concerns, and you are only looking for a lower cost maintenance clean then you might want to consider HHO cleaning, as premium fuels or quality additives would have somewhat helped the wet side of the fuel injection system during normal driving. Normally customers who have had HHO cleaning done in the past have seen great results and won't consider anything else and often come back for a regular maintenance treatment. If your engine is already showing some obvious problems, then HHO cleaning alone may not be enough to get you back to where you want to be. HHO does work well to reduce emissions though and many MOT emissions re-tests go straight through after a good HHO clean. If you have carbon-related visible smoke, rough idle, misfire, poor cold starting, etc then we would focus on the fuel injectors more, and this is where HHO cleaning cannot compare to Tec4 cleaning as it cannot reach the injector internals. The only way you could reach the injector internals when using HHO would be to also use an in-tank additive as well, but this is a much less intense way of going about things and a long drive would be needed to see any effect, whereas the intense cleaning and lubricating effect of the Tec4 approach has an immediate, much greater effect on fuel injection performance so this is what we would recommend. Both of our engine carbon cleaning services utilise the best workshop grade, UK manufactured machines from Carbon Clean UK and Tec4. The best names in engine carbon cleaning. Remember you can call John anytime to discuss options.
  • Your Tec4 & HHO Carbon Cleaning Combo. Why use both technologies in one service?
    Both are excellent standalone solutions and they do have some overlap in benefits, however the lower running costs of HHO cleaning allow us to use it for longer to concentrate on cleaning the combustion internals which is what it does best, and the Tec4 chemical approach is fantastic for additional cleaning of the combustion and exhaust components such as turbo and DPF but most importantly it also cleans and lubricates the fuel injector internals allowing more efficient operation. When both services are performed it really does offer you the best of both worlds.
  • Which one is better?
    Neither is better, they just work in different ways and the balance of their cleaning powers is different. Both of these approaches have their strengths and do a great job of cleaning the cylinder internals while having some cleaning effect on the turbo vane mechanism, exhaust sensors, catalytic converter and DPF on the way out of the exhaust. The HHO reaction gently eats away at deposits and due to the lack of expensive chemicals it is cost-effective to use over a longer service time. This means the treatment is of lower cost. The Tec4 chemical based approach offers the big advantage of cleaning and lubricating the "wet" side of fuel injector internals that HHO cleaning can't reach, so if your injector performance is in question through having visible exhaust smoke etc then this is a better all-rounder but maybe has slightly less effect on the cylinder internals due to the decreased treatment time and some of the cleaning power being spent in the combustion process.
  • Is it not better to remove a DPF to clean it? Theory vs reality & budget.
    It's worth mentioning that even with the best tools and knowledge, a DPF removal and re-installation procedure is inherently problematic due to the high temperatures and under-vehicle environment the system has been exposed to. Bolts are often seized or rusted and snap, or other secondary issues often develop such as damaged expensive sensors etc that will add to the cost of an off-vehicle service, and of course you will need to take your vehicle to a workshop and lose the use of it for an un-specified amount of time. With our mobile service we will visit you and hand your vehicle back to you around 3hrs later. The bottom line is that it is much more cost effective, quicker and easier to have it professionally cleaned on-vehicle, but please choose a service provider carefully. Remember - We offer our service with guaranteed results, so if we can't get your DPF back to a normal state then you will only be charged £70 for a 1hr diagnostic visit. Regarding satisfactory results from on or off-vehicle cleaning, it depends on the type of blockage you currently have and the history of your DPF. Generally, there are three types of blockages: Soot-related blockage: This covers the vast majority of cases. This where the vehicle's engine management has been unable to complete its regular regeneration (regen) of the DPF because of either an ongoing fault or repeated short driving cycles. There are no benefits to removing the DPF to clean soot, so it is much more cost effective to clean it in place. Once soot has been removed on-vehicle then as long as any faults have been cleared, the engine management will be able to resume its normal regen routine. If your vehicle had not had regular DPF related problems before your current problem, then most likely your blockage is only soot related. Ash-related blockage: Ash is deposited in the DPF due to combustion of poor-quality fuel, or combustion of engine oil, particularly if your vehicle has been run using wrongly specified engine oil, or if your engine has had a long running problem with a turbo, etc. Soft ash can be cleaned out along with soot via a good quality on-vehicle cleaning, but after many miles, hard ash will slowly build up inside the DPF. The only way to possibly remove hard ash is by removing and soaking the DPF, but this is not guaranteed. Hard ash build-up is a gradual scaling process built up over the life of the vehicle. Your engine management detects this and factors-it-in to its cleaning/regen routine. Hard ash build-up only becomes a problem when it causes your DPF to regenerate on too low an interval of miles due to increased restriction. You would have noticed this developing over time before your current DPF problem. Depending on driving habits, with a well-maintained engine it could take 200k miles or more for this to be of concern. At this point, due to increased fuel consumption it may be worth considering an off-vehicle clean, or if you intend on putting many more miles on the vehicle then DPF replacement might be the best option. Damage-related blockage: If an incorrect reset procedure has been applied to a DPF then it is possible that the DPF could have been overheated and the internals melted. This is most likely if a cheaper aftermarket cordierite type DPF has been retrofitted. In this case the DPF will need replacing, so no type of cleaning will offer results. In summary: If the DPF blockage has been brought on by an engine light fault being ignored, or too many short trips then go for on-vehicle cleaning but with a good service provider. If your vehicle has many miles and regen intervals have been decreasing gradually for some time then it may be best to consider an off-vehicle clean, or replacement of the DPF.
  • How does a DPF get blocked? Some blocked DPF Basics
    During normal combined cycle driving, unless you have any engine fault codes present (engine light on) your engines computer (ECU) will regenerate (regen) your DPF every few hundred miles. Around this time the ECU will detect the correct conditions for a regen to take place, such as engine temperature, engine rpms, fuel level etc and a regen will be triggered which normally takes around 10-15min to break down the soot and blow it out of your exhaust. Sounds ridiculous right? big soot to small soot then out of the exhaust anyway, but the end product is much less harmful to humans. To successfully complete a regen the right conditions will need to be maintained otherwise only a partial regen or even a failed regen will take place. In this case only part or none of the soot is cleaned from the DPF. If the right conditions for a full regen are repeatedly not provided, then the soot loading of the DPF will reach too high a level and the ECU will prevent possible engine damage by putting the engine light or DPF light on and putting the vehicle into limp mode to limit exhaust back-pressure. Anyway, that's the technical stuff done with... ​ The fact is that in most cases your DPF will be fully serviceable but has only become blocked with soot beyond the ECU's limits because of a series of events so a specially trained human needs to step in. This is different to a high mileage or abused DPF having become full of hard ash or oil deposits which are harder to clean. Some ash, the harder type does not get removed during a regen so slowly builds up over the life of the vehicle until the DPF is no longer serviceable, but this normally takes many years and high mileage. ​ The most likely causes of a blocked DPF are: ​ Repeated short urban stop-start driving cycles without any occasional out of town runs (think 5min shopping and school runs or to local work and back) Ignoring your engine light for a little bit too long (the ECU will not allow a regen to take place with a fault code set) Habitually running around with too low fuel level, say less than quarter of a tank (most ECU's will only allow a partial regen with low fuel level due to increased fuel consumption during a regen) Engine temperature not reaching normal operating levels. Cold weather, a damaged thermostat, or stop-start systems reduce the rate at which an engine can reach operating temperature where a regen can be triggered. ​ If any or all of the above sound familiar, then you're in luck as we'll no doubt be able to restore your DPF back to its former glory and get you back on the road.
  • What are my options for a blocked DPF? Advice based on Experience
    One personally hard-learned lesson I can offer you when considering options is that if you still have your factory original DPF fitted then it's always better to try and rescue your original quality DPF than opt for a new aftermarket DPF. Particularly if it has an integral catalytic converter where the aftermarket units will short-cut on precious metals and won't give good temperature rise for efficient regeneration. Original parts are expensive, sometimes beyond reason, but have far superior materials and construction than most aftermarket DPFs and if you're going to buy an expensive higher-end aftermarket DPF you may as well go all the way to original or see if your manufacturer offers a remanufactured DPF on an exchange basis. They often have this option but don't tell you. Original DPF's are normally Silicon Carbide construction whereas a lot of aftermarket ones use cheaper Cordierite construction and less quantity of less precious metals. The end result will be more frequent, smokey regens, and less fuel economy. Even "type-approved" UK made DPFs will let you down in my experience. ​ DPF Delete/Removal. Never mind the legalities or the resale ability of the vehicle should you ever plan on selling it, be careful if considering removing/deleting your DPF, particularly if your vehicle is registered after Jan 2014 (late Euro 5 and all Euro 6) when the smoke opacity limits became very tight as your vehicle may fail its MOT smoke test even if your engine's in great shape. Then you'd be completely up the creek without a paddle or a DPF because in the process some dodgy garage took it off you and quietly sold it for £300 scrap. If your vehicle's plated emissions value is less than the default 0.7m-1 (visible smoke) then it may struggle to pass because the tester needs to use the lower of these two values. Besides, a blocked DPF is normally an indicator of other issues which may become more apparent if you remove your DPF. The reality is that with a well-maintained vehicle, a bit of learning along the way, and a bit of mindfulness about driving habits, DPF's aren't that bad to live with. So beware: If you remove a blocked DPF then most likely you'll need to spend more money on getting everything else on the engine up to peak perfect shape to stand even a chance of passing your emissions test without the DPF. ​
bottom of page