Sunday, June 19, 2022

At least one MPG increase if not more from accidental acetone engine flush a la Berryman B12 cleaner

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ag7H1bge3g&list=LL&index=6

The teenagers working at Valvoline thought I was crazy for bringing the car back from yesterday's oil change but I remained insistent I needed to make sure I got all the acetone out from my accidental engine flush - I probably sprayed a couple ounces of CRC throttle body clean right into the camshaft from the PVC hose intake connected to the air box. So then I added Lucas - after I had driven a bit without the Lucas. So then I got the oil change yesterday - added some more Lucas. My silicone shaft seals started leaking but they were leaking a couple years ago from using MMO in the crankcase. So I think it's just since the oil is so thin. So the seals still leaked with the LUCAS in but not as much. But then my mileage was terrible and I discovered the Lucas totally clogs up VVT engines. Luckily I didn't put in that much. Maybe 4 ounces at a time - twice. So then I returned back to the 2nd oil change - explaining how I had to MAKE SURE I got all the acetone out of the oil as the acetone eats up the seals. So as I drove home I reset the MPG average and it had jumped UP a mile at least! I could not believe it - I was getting over one mile better than the factory rating for the MPG and this car has 267K on it. hahah. Thanks for the advice on insisting on multiple oil changes in a row. 
 
So Berryman B12 cleaner USED to advertise itself as an engine flush - and the main ingredient is Acetone but Acetone is too corrosive to seals and gaskets... so now it's just advertised as a fuel cleaner.
Let's see if we can find older uses of the Acetone Engine Flush and if it increased MPG.
 
Berryman B-12 CHEMTOOL FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER (part #0116) has been used as a motor flush since the product was developed in 1958 and is still successfully used today. The caveat in doing so is that the composition of B-12 is so strong that it can break loose chucks of sludge in high-mileage and poorly maintained vehicles. These chunks can clog oil in the screen and starve the engine of oil.

So I guess I got lucky that I didn't use that much Acetone - my oil pressure stayed strong the whole time.

If the oil pressure gets knocked down even for a momentary clog of the oil pump - that will destroy the engine!! So I got very lucky indeed.

 So the Berryman Oil Flush now is just mineral spirits aka Stoddard Solvents - about half as corrosive as Acetone. 

I have a can of B-12 Chemtool to put in the crankcase. It says on the bottle to put it in when the motor is cool, let it idle for 3-5 minutes and then drain it immediately.

https://shoforum.com/threads/b-12-chemtool-in-the-crankcase.15063/ 

So that's an older thread with the stronger Acetone version!!

 I LOOOOOOOOVE this stuff, but I'm too afraid to use it in the crankcase myself.

yep - it will melt away the gaskets and seals!! Looks like I got lucky - hopefully. I didn't use that much acetone. I think the original B12 Berryman is maybe 30% acetone?

Well their Carb and Throttle Body cleaner is 90% Acetone 

Putting anything in the crankcase that reduces the lubrication properties of the oil is a risk and definitely not advised.

And that's precisely what I did!! haha. Amazingly it survived I think. All I know is the MPG is way better and I've driven probably 200 miles on it since I put the Acetone in.... Seems to be fine - power is great.

 I've been a shop owner for decades and use Berryman's as a crankcase flush. Some really old engines use a (wax covered) rope for the rear main seal. These are the only engines I do not use Berryman's in as it will cause it to wash off the wax and increase leaks. It does a great job cleaning varnish and sludge off the internals, frees up sticky rings. Just before an oil change add the Berryman's slowly to a running warm engine and then let it fast idle for 15 to 30 minutes (do not drive). Then drain and change oil & filter. It also makes hard seals soft again, stopping most oil leaks. The wife's Hionda is getting the flush as we speak (250,000 miles with no major repairs).

Now which Berryman's product are they talking about?

 Ingredient CAS Number Weight
Ethylbenzene 100-41-4 10-15%
Petroleum Distillates 64742-47-8 30-40%
n-Propanol 71-23-8 5-10%
Xylene (mixed isomers) 1330-20-7 40-50%

Probably that stuff. 

 The key difference between xylene and acetone is that xylene is a cheap and less toxic solvent, whereas acetone is an expensive and more

 Yeah so the Acetone is WAY stronger than a typical engine flush. hahaha. Even stronger than Berryman's!! I got very very lucky.

One vid of Acetone as "engine cleaner" for an ATV 4 wheeler

 It does work. There should not be any smoke so thats fine. Acetone burns very clean, releasing only CO2 and H2O, so it also doesnt harm catalytic converters or DPFs. The only other extra thing is the "crap" that gets washed down by it from the intake (intake valves), but that's really only useful on a direct injection engine when it has an EGR valve and the oil mist from the positive crankcase ventilation also gets routed back into the intake. Still, that gunk that gets washed down is normally running through the engine, so there should be a minimal amount of smoke only, if any, on a dirty engine.

2nd vid of Acetone in crankcase - again an ATV 4 wheeler 

 Wow my MPG went up at least 1 mile average - maybe more. Still I got two oil changes in two days just to be sure to flush out that Acetone. hahaha. I also added Lucas before each flush - drove about 200 miles. My silicone seals started leaking but they leaked when I put in MMO also. So now I ordered the silicone-polymer Titan product to rebuild the silicone seals. 267K on the engine and now the MPG is better than the factory rating. hahaha.

 

 

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