Terraclean

[CaveDweller]

Has anyone actually used this and did you notice any difference? Since Ed China used it in Wheeler Dealers I've seen it popping up at all sorts of garages.

 

[new2me]

I wonder what the readings were after a thousand miles?

 

[CaveDweller]

No idea but if it lasts then it should be worth doing. Unless some part is causing a problem in the first place.

 

[Tirpitz]

we offer the Terraclean service at my work. when people ask me about it i say that they should read up on it & make their own decision based on customer reviews.
i don't want to talk somebody into something that costs over £100 if its not something they're sure they want.
i drive a brand new car so there would be no point in me trying the process as there would be no real benefit on an engine with 5,000 miles on it.
however EVERYBODY who has had it done has given me positive feedback, most of them report a driveaway difference.
people say things like, smoother tickover, better pickup, crisper sounding? & they all report increased mpg.
usually between 4 & 7 mpg which with the price of fuel nowadays it wouldn't take long to pay for itself.

no hard sell just genuine feedback..

 

[Julie1979]

I'd be interested in knowing when it is recommended to do this on a vehicle. My Mini Countryman is 18 months old, 11k on the clock so not needing done yet. I plan on owning it for 8 years at least so would consider getting this done when the time is right. Just not sure when the time is right?

 

[CaveDweller]

we offer the Terraclean service at my work. when people ask me about it i say that they should read up on it & make their own decision based on customer reviews.
i don't want to talk somebody into something that costs over £100 if its not something they're sure they want.
i drive a brand new car so there would be no point in me trying the process as there would be no real benefit on an engine with 5,000 miles on it.
however EVERYBODY who has had it done has given me positive feedback, most of them report a driveaway difference.
people say things like, smoother tickover, better pickup, crisper sounding? & they all report increased mpg.
usually between 4 & 7 mpg which with the price of fuel nowadays it wouldn't take long to pay for itself.

no hard sell just genuine feedback..

nice one. Do you know if it will clean gunk out the EGR and inlet manifold? I have a bmw 330d and it's done 80k miles now. Still runs like a dream but would be worth a good clear out.

 

[Willid1]

These people were at Autosports International and I spent quite some time chatting to the guy asking quite a few in depth questions.

I'm afraid to say (apologies Tirpitz) that I wandered off muttering "snake oil" under my breath.

They did not have any independent "before and after" test house data, and the explanation of how it worked defied logic as far as I could tell.

The origins of the system, something about the Canadian government wanting a way to reduce emissions from cars, sounded plausible but I have not researched it.

David

 

[CaveDweller]

I'd be interested in knowing when it is recommended to do this on a vehicle. My Mini Countryman is 18 months old, 11k on the clock so not needing done yet. I plan on owning it for 8 years at least so would consider getting this done when the time is right. Just not sure when the time is right?

Depends on the way it's driven and the condition it's kept in I suppose. If it's diesel all the engine internals will get covered in gunk quicker than a petrol, but I wouldn;t have thought you'd need it doing anytime soon. 11K miles your engine is still bedding in , well compared to my 80k lol

 

[Gary Coyle]

My nephew is a mechanic and the garage he learnt his skills used to just spray water into the air intake to clean the system (must be done after some valve or other) he did ours once on a 60,000 mile corsa SXi and what a difference.

 

[nilagin]

nice one. Do you know if it will clean gunk out the EGR and inlet manifold? I have a bmw 330d and it's done 80k miles now. Still runs like a dream but would be worth a good clear out.

Buy yourself a can of BG244 http://www.powerenhancer.co.uk/product.php/3/bg-244-diesel-fuel-cleaner run the tank down until you have about 1 gallon left, pour in half the can, you'll need a small bottle to keep the rest in as the can can't be resealed. Allow to sit for a few hours then go and fill up the tank, you may well notice a difference immediately, my car started quicker than normal and it always started quickly anyway, pulled a lot smoother too. Drive economically as much as possible so the additive lasts in the tank as long as possible, when you get down to half a tank, pour in the rest of the BG244 and top up the tank again. Drive economically for the full tank again to allow the mixture to last and have a chance to work. Many people use BG244 just before their MOT because they are worried the car is smokey and will fail, the quick clean up sees the car sail through way below the allowable limit.
Other than that I'd recommend using good quality fuel and steer away from the higher bio-diesel supermarket rubbish. There have been reports of green mould found in cars fuel systems that have run solely on the stuff.

 

[nilagin]

I'd be interested in knowing when it is recommended to do this on a vehicle. My Mini Countryman is 18 months old, 11k on the clock so not needing done yet. I plan on owning it for 8 years at least so would consider getting this done when the time is right. Just not sure when the time is right?

Just use a decent fuel and you will probably never need it.

 

[CaveDweller]

Buy yourself a can of BG244 http://www.powerenhancer.co.uk/product.php/3/bg-244-diesel-fuel-cleaner run the tank down until you have about 1 gallon left, pour in half the can, you'll need a small bottle to keep the rest in as the can can't be resealed. Allow to sit for a few hours then go and fill up the tank, you may well notice a difference immediately, my car started quicker than normal and it always started quickly anyway, pulled a lot smoother too. Drive economically as much as possible so the additive lasts in the tank as long as possible, when you get down to half a tank, pour in the rest of the BG244 and top up the tank again. Drive economically for the full tank again to allow the mixture to last and have a chance to work. Many people use BG244 just before their MOT because they are worried the car is smokey and will fail, the quick clean up sees the car sail through way below the allowable limit.
Other than that I'd recommend using good quality fuel and steer away from the higher bio-diesel supermarket rubbish. There have been reports of green mould found in cars fuel systems that have run solely on the stuff.

Aye I use Millers quite often but that looks a bit better. I'm blanking my EGR off when I get the parts next week so I'll buy some of that and give it a good clean out at the same time. I don;t have any problems with the running of the engine or anything like that, I just to keep things clean and smooth

 

[nilagin]

Aye I use Millers quite often but that looks a bit better. I'm blanking my EGR off when I get the parts next week so I'll buy some of that and give it a good clean out at the same time. I don;t have any problems with the running of the engine or anything like that, I just to keep things clean and smooth

I treated my Mondeo to BG244 about a month after buying it 2nd hand and with 45k on the clock and I had no idea of how good the fuel was that it had run on. I certainly felt the difference straight away. I ran the car on BP Ultimate all the time I had it and although I added a can of BG244 once every 6k miles, I never noticed the big change after that so I'm assuming the first dose had done the job and the rest and the use of BP Ultimate were just to maintain it. When I took off my egr valve and manifold to clean them, they had a very thin coating of carbon on them, about 0.2mm thick at most. I've seen some egr valves where the main bore was practically blocked.

 

[Tigger.ufo]

@nilagin

My car has a 60 litre tank so would I put the whole can in to start with? (after running it down low of course!)

...and what about Archoil?

 

[the black fox]

best bet is to block your egr valve off completely ,better performance ,more mpg ,more power .

also before taking your diesel car for a m.o.t or for that matter do this at least once a month anyway ,go for a run warm the engine up try to find a bit of a incline to run up (not a hill) get to around 65-70mph then dip the clutch and rev the engine hard ,watch all the black muck pour out of the exhaust ,you will immediately feel the benefit .we used to do this regularly on the taxis due to the fact they were used round town a lot .it really does work and costs sod all .the only diesels its not worth doing on are those used all the time on fast motorway runs ,but theres not many of those around

 

[CaveDweller]

best bet is to block your egr valve off completely ,better performance ,more mpg ,more power .

also before taking your diesel car for a m.o.t or for that matter do this at least once a month anyway ,go for a run warm the engine up try to find a bit of a incline to run up (not a hill) get to around 65-70mph then dip the clutch and rev the engine hard ,watch all the black muck pour out of the exhaust ,you will immediately feel the benefit .we used to do this regularly on the taxis due to the fact they were used round town a lot .it really does work and costs sod all .the only diesels its not worth doing on are those used all the time on fast motorway runs ,but theres not many of those around

aye I'm blanking the egr off next week when I get the part. I'll also have to code it out the ecu otherwise it will throw a fault up. My car is always getting a good boot, my right foot enjoys the 320bhp from a diesel too much lol

 

[Gary Coyle]

isnt it illegal to blank off the EGR, and wont they pick it up at MOT time

 

[nilagin]

@nilagin

My car has a 60 litre tank so would I put the whole can in to start with? (after running it down low of course!)

...and what about Archoil?

My car had a 62litre tank, so still half a can. Not heard of Archoil.

 

[nilagin]

isnt it illegal to blank off the EGR, and wont they pick it up at MOT time

No it's not illegal, on Euro 4 emission cars it may well throw up the engine management light but that's not illegal nor an MOT failure neither. Catalytic converters can also be removed on diesel cars, it's still only petrol cars which must have them present.

 

[CaveDweller]

isnt it illegal to blank off the EGR, and wont they pick it up at MOT time

Not illegal to remove the EGR, but it is to remove the DPF (diesel particulate filter) in the exhaust. That will fail the mot straight away with a visual check for an existing DPF, if there is one missing when it should be fitted. They don't check for the EGR valve.

I know my car will throw up a fault code when I blank the EGR off but I'll just hook it up to my laptop and map it out the system so it thinks it never existed.

I've done the same with my DPF (yes, I'm a naughty boy). Although I haven't removed it, I've just chopped it open and gutted it out so it looks like there's still one in place and hidden the welds where no one can see them. It's very popular for people to do who don't want it clogging up and to fork out £1500+ for a new one.

 

[CaveDweller]

No it's not illegal, on Euro 4 emission cars it may well throw up the engine management light but that's not illegal nor an MOT failure neither. Catalytic converters can also be removed on diesel cars, it's still only petrol cars which must have them present.

There is a visual check for DPF/catalytic converters on diesels now. That's why when people "remove" them now they cut them open and gut them out, but that also requires coding of the ECU to stop the car performing a regeneration in the DPF
.

 

[nilagin]

There is a visual check for DPF/catalytic converters on diesels now. That's why when people "remove" them now they cut them open and gut them out, but that also requires coding of the ECU to stop the car performing a regeneration in the DPF
.

They'd have had a very difficult job checking for the cat on my Mondeo, it's not visible from above because of the engine cover and being tucked down the back of the engine beneath the turbo and from underneath the view was blocked by an under tray, none of which can be removed. As of May last year I no longer have the Mondeo but at that time, it still wasn't a problem not having a cat, was it finally introduced this year?

 

[CaveDweller]

They'd have had a very difficult job checking for the cat on my Mondeo, it's not visible from above because of the engine cover and being tucked down the back of the engine beneath the turbo and from underneath the view was blocked by an under tray, none of which can be removed. As of May last year I no longer have the Mondeo but at that time, it still wasn't a problem not having a cat, was it finally introduced this year?

Some time last year. It's only a visual check though and they're not allowed to remove any parts for a better look. But...with the popularity of gutting out the DPF so it looks like there's still one there, I won't be surprised they introduce OBD checks to see if it's functioning or not.

 

[Russ77]

I go on the Ford Focus Owners CLub forum and there are mixed reviews on Terraclean.

Some have seen big improvements on their emissions (they actually did before and after readings) others have said that their car "felt" better and others have also muttered "snake oil" too.

 

[nilagin]

I go on the Ford Focus Owners CLub forum and there are mixed reviews on Terraclean.

Some have seen big improvements on their emissions (they actually did before and after readings) others have said that their car "felt" better and others have also muttered "snake oil" too.

A lot will be determined by how clean or dirty the engine internals were in the first place.

 

[Tirpitz]

one can of BG244 treats 60 litres of fuel, (got a can in my hand right now) thats the optimum concentration. just pour it in at roughly that level of fuel & just drive as normal. if you have some massive journeys coming up you'll just use that tank quicker so maybe use some when you'll just be trundling locally.
again i've only ever had positive feedback from customers who've purchased BG244 or the petrol engine equivalent product..

the BG109 engine flush is very good also

Cavedweller, you asked about Terraclean's viability as an EGR/ intake cleaner, as with all fuel based additives the fuel/treatment/additive etc enter the engine at the point of injection so for direct injected engines this is the combustion chamber, where it will clean from there outwards...
BG make an induction system cleaner that might be more suitable and Terraclean now have a dedicated EGR and DPF cleaning solution which might prove more beneficial..

as for the snake oil comments, yes you can believe what you want to believe, as can we all. i'm just giving findings based on genuine customer feedback
tbh i thought it sounded like a load of boolox the first time i heard about it too

 

[the black fox]

you can buy a plug in fault code remover on e/bay for around £15 or less .a half decent one will also let you know if there are any other problems . not sure if the warning light can be programmed to stay off permanently though .unless someone on here knows how .
apparently on mondeos anyway a 5mm hole in the blanking plate cures it but can clog up again it seems ??

 

[CaveDweller]

you can buy a plug in fault code remover on e/bay for around £15 or less .a half decent one will also let you know if there are any other problems . not sure if the warning light can be programmed to stay off permanently though .unless someone on here knows how .
apparently on mondeos anyway a 5mm hole in the blanking plate cures it but can clog up again it seems ??

I have a plug in scanner but never use it because I have all the software on my laptop needed to read every possible thing about my car. I can see exactly how it's running, how much fuel the injectors are putting in, literally anything you can think of. I can also erase things out the system completely and adjust all the current files on the car include tuning it if you know what you're doing. I did my own "remap" on it whilst I got a friend to drive it, it's called a live road remap. That way I was able to tune it for proper road conditions, how my engine is running, when and how much I want the turbo to kick in etc, rather than getting a generic remap from another company which isn't completely tailored for your cars condition etc, it's just made for everyone of that engine.

 

[CaveDweller]

one can of BG244 treats 60 litres of fuel, (got a can in my hand right now) thats the optimum concentration. just pour it in at roughly that level of fuel & just drive as normal. if you have some massive journeys coming up you'll just use that tank quicker so maybe use some when you'll just be trundling locally.
again i've only ever had positive feedback from customers who've purchased BG244 or the petrol engine equivalent product..

the BG109 engine flush is very good also

Cavedweller, you asked about Terraclean's viability as an EGR/ intake cleaner, as with all fuel based additives the fuel/treatment/additive etc enter the engine at the point of injection so for direct injected engines this is the combustion chamber, where it will clean from there outwards...
BG make an induction system cleaner that might be more suitable and Terraclean now have a dedicated EGR and DPF cleaning solution which might prove more beneficial..

as for the snake oil comments, yes you can believe what you want to believe, as can we all. i'm just giving findings based on genuine customer feedback
tbh i thought it sounded like a load of boolox the first time i heard about it too

Aye I was wondering how it cleaned the EGR and intake system then the company who does it said that's a completely different method.

 

[nilagin]

you can buy a plug in fault code remover on e/bay for around £15 or less .a half decent one will also let you know if there are any other problems . not sure if the warning light can be programmed to stay off permanently though .unless someone on here knows how .
apparently on mondeos anyway a 5mm hole in the blanking plate cures it but can clog up again it seems ??

The EGR valve on euro 4 Mondeo's can't be deleted. The eml will keep coming on. A blanking plate with a hole in it is a pointless exercise, the egr or the hole will still eventually clog up. Eother blank it off completely or just unplug the electrics to the motor so the valve remains shut.

 

[CaveDweller]

The EGR valve on euro 4 Mondeo's can't be deleted. The eml will keep coming on. A blanking plate with a hole in it is a pointless exercise, the egr or the hole will still eventually clog up. Eother blank it off completely or just unplug the electrics to the motor so the valve remains shut.

The only way to get the eml light off after blanking it to code it out the system. Easily doable by someone with the right software. A tuner will charge roughly 150 for the task.

 

[nilagin]

The only way to get the eml light off after blanking it to code it out the system. Easily doable by someone with the right software. A tuner will charge roughly 150 for the task.

It can't be done on the Mk3 Mondeo I'm afraid. Many have claimed to be able to do it and all have failed miserably.