Easy start,WD40 and Redex

[baconsdozen]

Some times the old ideas are the best....
I was always told diesels are ruined by using ether or one of the 'easystart' aerosols.It seems to wash the lubricant off the bores and encourage pre ignition with the result that the engine gets rapidly worse.One way used a few years back to get a reluctant diesel to fire was WD40 (which is pretty much diesel oil anyway) sprayed into the manifold,it doesn't knock as bad and doesn't dry the bores as much either.
Redex is sometimes used to clear carbon from petrol engines.The idea is a little is put down the plug holes and the blue smoke coming out the back is said to be the carbon being burnt.The smoke is mainly the redex being burnt,there's little that will dissolve baked on carbon but temporarily increasing the compression with redex or any light oil will move some round the rings and valves etc and might help free off stuck valves.A engineer I knew servicing a fleet of hire boats always did this at the end of the season, he dosed them up with 3 in 1 oil,took the governors off and blew the crap out of the exhaust into a bucket.The increased revs and compressions shifted a load of stuff.

[transitexpress]

Too much Redex has been known to split exhaust systems, I have always found upper cylinder lubricant fine for sticky piston rings, WD 40 is a good trick as an easy start though, I have used vinegar in the past for heavy carbon removal on dismantled parts so long as it is rinsed thoroughly afterwards ( Old soldiers trick ).

[Smooth Hound]

Too much Redex has been known to split exhaust systems, I have always found upper cylinder lubricant fine for sticky piston rings, WD 40 is a good trick as an easy start though, I have used vinegar in the past for heavy carbon removal on dismantled parts so long as it is rinsed thoroughly afterwards ( Old soldiers trick ).

coca co;las a good one too, just dont drink it

[bazw]

an old skool way to remove carbon was to run the engine at mid revs and spray small amounts of water into the inlet ( not enough that you flood it ) and as it burns off the steam brings off the carbon

remember that aero engines used to have a 10 /90 methanol/water mix injection to boost power on take off and iirc
evo's and scoobys used to have optional water injection kits too as the spray boosts power by suppressing knock