[BuckMR2]

Years ago as a kid I remember helping my dad decoking the odd engine while he had them apart for repair which often took days.
After watching Edd China decarbonise an XK8 on Wheeler Dealers the other week inside an hour with a Terraclean machine I decided to contact the company who are rolling out the machines across the UK to see where I could get mine done. A place on my doorstep was recommended which is one of the few in the country at the moment with the diesel version called Terradiesel. I booked my car in last weekend.
On the way there I warmed the cars engine up to normal temp and took it for an emissions test so the results of the decarb could be seen before and afterwards.Here is the BEFORE result showing the emissions are only 0.24m[SUP]-1[/SUP] (MOT pass is for mine is shown as 1.5 m[SUP]-1 [/SUP]but Vosa website shows it to be 3.0m[SUP]-1[/SUP])

My car was connected up to the Terradiesel machine and ran for 20 mins.

This pic shows the blue smoke as carbon build up in the engine was burnt off...

After a 10 minute soak to allow the more caked on carbon deposits eg on the EGR valves etc to soak the engine was ran for a final 20 mins to burn any final deposits off.
A few days later I took my car back to the MOT station to see what difference if any the treatment had made (again after ensuring the car was up to temp) and these were the results showing the test results had dropped right off to only 0.09m[SUP]-1[/SUP] or as the tester put it "only air is cleaner than that"!

 

[BuckMR2]

 

[djdex]

So Buck, main question, are you finding any performance/economy benefit?

 

[BuckMR2]

Im not sure.As the car was fairly clean to start with so probably not the best car to get noticeable gains from.

 

[Richard-XJR]

How much did they charge to clean your engine?

Richard

 

[Watson]

Interesting test results though. The firm have emailed me a couple of times but their nearest techo is a distance from me. They say they are inundated with garages applying for the system so one should be within reasonable distance sometime soon.

 

[BuckMR2]

How much did they charge to clean your engine?

Richard

For the 2.7d it was £70 all in

 

[cviewmaster]

Hay Buck, was anything said about possible benifits or dangers on doing this to a diesel with DPF fitted?
Just curious as to if it is likely to dislodge any caked soot which does build up in all dpfs over time, reducing the capacity to retain as large a surface area as original.
I would also think it would have some benifit in freeing up the variable pitch mechamism in the turbos as well as around the piston rings valves & injectors.

 

[BuckMR2]

I asked Terraclean about the DPF and it effectively burns off the soot that is in the DPF during the treatment so the DPF will be clean same as it would following a DPF regen cycle.If the DPF was so far gone that it had a redlight warning and needed a dealer visit to scrape out the deposits it would be too late to use the treatment to help fully at that stage
Regarding the variable vane turbos they sent me this letter (I have removed the name of the writer)

Roadcraft.
.Professional & Occupational driver training.

Dear Sir,
I am writing to endorse your product 'Terraclean'. I have had some problems with one of my vehicles for a while and was informed by the dealership that due to carbonisation of the variable vanes in the turbocharger, a new turbocharger would be required at the cost of approximately £890.00 + V.A.T. as you can imagine I was a little dismayed.
This is when I had the good fortune to see your product used on national TV on an automotive program. Following a little detective work I tracked your company down to your premises in Northumberland and was met by an approachable and friendly staff that were extremely knowledgeable and professional in their field of expertise.
After approximately 1hour of the engine being coupled to your hi tech machine I was let loose in my own vehicle to see if there was any noticeable difference, the results were staggering! There were marked improvements in throttle response, engine note, driveability, and more importantly MPG! Although you did not make any rash claims as to the savings that could be achieved I have been impressed to gain an EXTRA 3 MPG on previously recorded figures with no change in driving style. Also the problem with the turbocharger has now been rectified due to the carbon deposits being removed by the Terraclean system; this in itself represents a huge saving worth hundreds of pounds. I can recommend this to any prospective customer based upon my own personal experience. A professional product, from a professional organisation.

Principal Instructor.
Driving Standards Agency grade '6' approved driving instructor.
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
R.o.A.D.A.R. Group Training officer
Advanced Tutor / Tutor / Advanced driver.
I.A.M. advanced driving qualification.
City & Guilds accredited A1 assessor.
NVQ 3 driving instruction certification.
NVQ 3 Information / advice / guidance.
Instructor trainer, mentor, coach, & advisor.
Skid Car instructor. Cedergrens Skid Car UK authorised.
Former Northumbria Police advanced driver & approved driver trainer.

 

[cviewmaster]

Glad I asked, we all just need some recomendations as to when we should consider having it done, as until a certain level of absorbtion rate is reached which could be used as a guide to how dirty your engine innards are, but it is certainly worth a go for those with high emmisions!
My last test showed less than yours at 0.20/M with 103000 miles, so I will not yet be looking to have it done, but as levels clime then worth a try!

 

[BuckMR2]

Subaru in Canada (the country where it has been developed in over the last 15 years) are recommending it is done as part of an annual service.As I understand it its now in their service schedule.Ford and Chevrolet are about to follow suit over there.

 

[Cambo351]

Subaru has always been focused on cleaning of engines. I remember 15 years ago picking up my mother's Subaru from the dealer after a service, out the back of the garage one of the mechanics had a car, standing outside with his foot on the accelerator, plumes of white smoke coming out the exhaust. I asked him what happened, and he told me he was cleaning the engine, showed me a spray can with the label "Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner"

Some years later, a friend got an apprenticeship at a Subaru dealer. He was always bringing home half-empty cans of this stuff.
Just googled it now, seems it's the same as Seafoam? Anyhow, there is no standing in the way of progress, I imagine this Terraclean is like that, just better....very interesting results Buck.

 

[scm]

Maybe Subaru engines just run dirtier.

 

[bigbear]

Looks like the x is a perfect candidate Terraclean Fuel and Post Combustion Decarbonizer - YouTube

 

[arrowlink]

Had mine done today. 0.52 to start 0.13 after well impressed

results are upon the x350 thread

 

[JimC64]

UPDATE>>>>>

Ok, so having filled my tank with Shell V power and running it through after the Terraclean treatment, I believe I'm starting to see fairly significant mpg improvements ( albeit its early days )
I will return here and post updates as and when I've completed a full tank and also further fill ups moving forward, for those that may be interested.

As previously stated the absolute best mpg I ever actually attained was approx 695 miles
This was ALL motorway and I was hypermiling to try and achieve the best results possible.

This current tankful of fuel, has been a mix of approx 60% city driving with 40% dual carriageway / motorway thrown in.
Although I'm trying to see what is the best mpg I can get, my boot is crammed full of workgear including files / boxes / jackets / hard hats & boots etc as it always has been.
I'm driving carefully and to the limits, no harsh revving, perhaps one slight burst of speed for a little while

The first results are shown below.
The fuel gauge although it cannot be seen has not moved from full at this point.

Distance travelled 76.6 miles
DTE ( Distance to Empty ) 655 miles
Instant MPG - 44.7mpg

Further through the tank of fuel ( still no pic of the fuel gauge - sorry, but at around halfway between full and 3/4 )

Distance travelled 130.6 miles
DTE ( Distance to Empty ) 645 miles
Instant MPG - 48.6mpg

Having eventually learned, the fuel gauge can be clearly seen in these pics and this is where I'm at to date.
The fuel shows clearly that its well above the halfway mark. Usually I can predict around 240 miles - perhaps 280 at halfway position!

Distance travelled 335.9 miles
DTE ( Distance to Empty ) 455 miles
Instant MPG - 51.2mpg

Incidentally, the lifetime mpg counter has been at 36.6 mpg for as long as I can remember, and has since started to climb, currently at 37.1mpg.
From experience ( unless reset ) this will be a very slow n steady climb if there's a continuing upwards trend.....we'll see.

If, and I know it is If I can achieve anywhere near the targeted 790 miles range + whatever is left in the tank it will be the best results achieved over 5 years of ownership AND through a mix of motorway and city driving, not just motorway miles( I'll try and be as accurate as I can with the mix when I post of course )

In the meantime, I've started a fuelly account to try and cross refer my findings
I'll post again when I have more info.

 

[JimC64]

UPDATETODAY 14.08.2012 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

History first
I used to get decent mileage but then I travelled mostly motorway miles. The best I ever achieved was one day when I had a particularly long run ( approx. 700 miles to cover in one day ) This was with me 6'3" 17 stone + a workmate at 6'7" 19 stone,work gear and a boot crammed full of work related items.
I managed 695 miles covered with 40 approx left in the tank + reserve fuel meant I could have got about 850 miles at the 52.2mpg rate had I run her dry.
Incidentally when I refuelled the DIS told me to expect a 915 mile range if I travelled in the same manner going forward.
915divided by 52.2mpg = 17.6 gallons so it all seems to work out fine!

Recently
My mpg is shot to bits, I travel a mix of city and motorway now, probably 60/40 or thereabouts, maybe even a little more city stop start than that even. The car doesn't always get up to temp and the instant mpg usually hovers around the mid 30's range, high 30's to low 40's if I'm lucky on motorway jaunts.
The average for the lifetime of the car was recently showing36.6mpg.
Based on the fact I usually get around 500 - 550 to a tank + whatever isleft in reserve it kinda works out about right.

Past week or so
As you may know I recently cleaned my EGR valve, switched to Shell V power and had a Terraclean treatment done on the car. I've been monitoring my mpg etc ever since and recently started a fuelly account to help with this. My first fuel up showed 36.7 mpg which is scarily close to the average showing on the DIS in my car.

My second fill up I looked even closer and decided to see what I could get out of her and if the steps I took had any effect. I topped her off with Shell V power and reset the instant trip, but left the lifetime trip meter as is at 36.6mpg

Over the course of the full tank I probably did a mix of 75% motorway and 25% stop start town driving. I was careful, not exactly hypermiling as the boot was still crammed full, the AC was on and the drivers window open slightly as I am a smoker.

I managed to get 750.2 miles on a full tank and this left zero miles in the DIS so I was essentially on reserves at that point.

I refuelled almost exactly the same as the last fill up at £104.01 for 70.80litres of Shell V power diesel. On the basis that my instant mpg had seen 52.2mpg but settled at 51.2mpg and the the fill up showed me that 9.2 litres (2.03 gallons ) remained in reserve, meant if I had run her dry I was looking at an 854 mile range….not bad!

This turnaround in a week or so is impressive, at least for me

From past experience the car's computer slowly builds mpg when driven sensibly and economically but reduces it drastically when the lead foot appears. 5 years of ownership has taught me once its way down at the kind of levels I mentioned earlier it takes a long time, lots of regular motorway miles and very economic driving to get the upward trend back on track

The only part I don't understand is the DIS after refuelling showed a DTE of 715 miles?
I was sure this was based on the level of fill x the instant mpg which would have meant approx. 910 mile range NOT the 715 miles as indicated.

Anyhow in the matter of less than a week my mpg isup from 36.6mpg to 42.4 according to my fuelly account, even though my instant trip on the DIS shows 51.2 and the average for the lifetime of the car is now at 37.1mpg

This shows a huge improvement for me as far as I'm concerned and I further believe that if I can continue the trend and drive enconomically I can achieve even better results.

 

[S Man]

A friend with an N reg M3 with 85K miles on the clock told me about the Terraclean process and the vast improvement he had noticed in performance. I did some browsing about the diesel process and, given the favourable comments, I decided to give it a go.

My 2004 S-Type 2.7D has mileage of 58K and when last MOT'd in September 13 the emission results were excellent. The car runs well and has always produced plenty of poke when I've asked for it. I don't pay much attention to MPG as my annual motoring is only around 5,000. I just enjoy driving the cat.

I arrived at Auto Lube in Letchworth yesterday and they hooked the car up to the kit. I couldn't believe how quiet the diesel sounded running on the cleaning fluid. I expected to see clouds of smoke pouring from the exhausts, but there was nothing.

The process took about an hour during which time the engine was set at 1,200 rpm and there was a period of 'soak' where the engine is turned off and the cleaning agent is allowed to do it's stuff. The engine is then started again for the final 20 minutes or so.

The emissions were tested before the clean and endorsed the results from the MOT mentioned earlier. The technician road tested the car before the clean and drove it afterwards, remarking that he'd noticed more urge, but said that I would have to make up my own mind.

So does it work?

In short - yes it does. I took a drive up the A1 last night and the diesel is noticeably smoother with more power. I guess the effect may be greater with higher mileage cars?

 

[BuckMR2]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
That's another great result to add to the many members who've had theirs done.I would have thought there would be some blue smoke after the soak stage as the more stubborn deposits get burnt off.
Be interesting to see your before and after MOT results to compare to others posted.

 

[S Man]

Hi BuckMR2 and many thanks for the warm welcome.

Have to admit I was expecting to see the workshop full of smoke, but the only detectable element was the sweet aroma of the clean passing through the system. The Technician did mention to me that the clean will continue for 2-3 days after the process, as the cleaner is slowly flushed out of the system by the normal diesel. Because it continues to work, the more stubborn deposits will loosen and he did warn me that there may be some blue smoke in the early stages afterwards. I did notice some as he pulled away for the test drive and there was a slight puff when I started the car this morning, but this only lasted for a couple of seconds. The engine definitely sounds sweeter on tick over and I couldn't hear it at 70 mph.

The clean cost me £108 and I would recommend this to anyone wishing to keep the valves etc in good condition. My local Jaguar garage, where the car is serviced, quoted me £200 for their 'clean', but I'm not certain whether it does the same thing, i.e. all the way through. Apparently the Terraclean process is good for the Cat Converter etc, but I'm no mechanic by any means and have to accept advice I'm given. I read various forum posts before taking plunge, just to make sure it wasn't going to do damage. I was assured it wouldn't and this is echoed on a number of forums I've visited.

Perhaps a word of caution to drivers with high mileage cars, as I have heard that damaged valves etc, which can be 'held together' with soot, can have weaknesses found by the process and I'm sure this has been mentioned by others.

I did not keep a note of the emission test results and was told by the technician that the results immediately after the clean can be poorer than before, because the agent is still clearing out the rubbish. In any event he said that the car would pass an MOT emission test with flying colours and that's good enough for me.

I had not heard about the process until less than a week ago and here I am with a car running sweet as a nut. I'm so pleased with the results - money well spent in my view

Finally, because my annual mileage is pretty low, I've decided to pay the extra for Ultimate diesel and hope this will help preserve the good work done. I've read threads on the virtues of using the higher grade and, as usual, there seem to be mixed views on this topic. Any thoughts anyone?