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fuel injector cleaners

rh71

rh71

No Lifer
Was looking into these more and it doesn't appear to be a gimmick like I originally thought. But what are your real-world experiences? I'm looking at the Techron stuff which is highly regarded... do these things have a shelf life? Thinking of buying in bulk because there are no Chevrons here and I'm paying ridiculous shipping...
 
Good quality fuel from reputable suppliers has all the injector cleaners and lube you need.

A separate cleaner additive or cleaning procedure is not necessary unless you have symptoms of dirty injectors.
 
Actually cleaning of the injectors is rarely necessary. Most injectors are self-cleaning and do a good job of it. But, what the cleaners DO help with is cleaning carbon. BG products are very good at this.
 
halik said:
Techron and the 3M one are the best ones out there, though anything with PEA will do
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Yes PEA is what it needs to have, if not its useless, the higher the concentration the better.

3M is not going to be found easily. But has a 30-60% PEA content

Redline is Guaranteed 30-50% PEA according to the MSDS, which is a high amount. Redline can be found at pepboys.

If you are going to buy the Techron stuff make sure its the Plus version, if you buy the regular you are just buying a watered down version.

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http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2336826
 
what about those who say to only use it right before an oil change because it dilutes the oil? I'm not due for another change for nearly a year.

can too much PEA be bad?

Another issue I'm having is the fuel gauge sensor which didn't reset when I filled up gas so that needs to be addressed too (which Techron, re-branded by BMW as their own, specifically says will do). Will redline do the same? My dealer has been recommending fuel injector cleaning for over 2 years now and with the recent rash of fuel-related issues I've been having, I'm all over it.
 
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It does not really matter. Its not going to dilute your oil, when people get gas with detergents in them, they dont change their oil when they get gas lol.

The good products are safe.


The whole bottle of redline is good for 20-25gallons for the shock dose. Or you can do the mantinance dose which I believe it listed on the bottle.
 
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rh71 said:
what about those who say to only use it right before an oil change because it dilutes the oil? I'm not due for another change for nearly a year.

can too much PEA be bad?

Another issue I'm having is the fuel gauge sensor which didn't reset when I filled up gas so that needs to be addressed too (which Techron, re-branded by BMW as their own, specifically says will do). Will redline do the same? My dealer has been recommending fuel injector cleaning for over 2 years now and with the recent rash of fuel-related issues I've been having, I'm all over it.
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Yes,
I had that issue with my S4 - if your tank is full of crap, it will dislodge it and clog your fuel filter. It's best to do it right before swapping the filter out.
 
I believe a lot of auto manufacturer manuals say not to add these to the vehicle.

It may be one of those things that was more relevant in the past. There are a million anecdotes either way supporting everything in the world, but statistically relevant I'm not sure if they are worth bothering with or not.
 
^ When you go to the dealer for the "Fuel Injector service" all they do is dump something into the tank.

rh71 said:
can too much PEA be bad?

Another issue I'm having is the fuel gauge sensor which didn't reset when I filled up gas so that needs to be addressed too (which Techron, re-branded by BMW as their own, specifically says will do). Will redline do the same? My dealer has been recommending fuel injector cleaning for over 2 years now and with the recent rash of fuel-related issues I've been having, I'm all over it.
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PEA is a detergant that is meant to work slowly and over time, and burns cleanly.


Too much can be bad yes, but just follow the directions and you will be fine.
 
IIRC, they can hook a device up to the Schrader valve on the fuel rail and pump a cleaner/lube through the injectors. If your vehicle has such, that is.
 
A modern fuel injector doesn't need to be lubricated, There is nothing inside the injector that needs to be cleaned either. The injectors are assembled in a clean room environment and have a 1 micron filter pressed into the inlet. Nothing is getting in that would damage or stick the injector. If you did get anything in it would either stick open or closed in short order and you would know it. Hydrolock or misfires. A few skin cells are enough to cause it to stick open or closed with the micron tolerances of the moving parts inside.

The only thing that could get a buildup and need cleaning is the nozzle tip where the spray holes are, which could effect the spray pattern. This is only if you are using crappy gasoline. Additional or dealer pushed fuel injector cleaners are a waste of money and time.

I have been working in the fuel injector manufacturing business for > 15 years.
 
I'm not sure if it's relevant at all, but my car recently went past 60k miles, and I dropped a Slick 50 Fuel System high mileage treatment in there and it seemed to pep things up a bit. It was 3-4 tankfuls ago, but I noticed a little improvement in idle and slightly less bog.

Fwiw, Slick 50 oil products are pretty much not recommended, but their fuel and tranny treatments have shown good results for me personally.
 
Arkaign said:
I'm not sure if it's relevant at all, but my car recently went past 60k miles, and I dropped a Slick 50 Fuel System high mileage treatment in there and it seemed to pep things up a bit. It was 3-4 tankfuls ago, but I noticed a little improvement in idle and slightly less bog.

Fwiw, Slick 50 oil products are pretty much not recommended, but their fuel and tranny treatments have shown good results for me personally.
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Like I said you can get crusty buildup on the injector tips ( Highly unlikely with a quality gasoline and certainly not at 60K miles ) that can be cleaned off. Most of the dirty problems are in the throttle body MAF, MAP sensors and idle up solenoids/servo motors esp for idling issues.
 
pcgeek11 said:
Like I said you can get crusty buildup on the injector tips ( Highly unlikely with a quality gasoline and certainly not at 60K miles ) that can be cleaned off. Most of the dirty problems are in the throttle body MAF, MAP sensors and idle up solenoids/servo motors esp for idling issues.
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Yeah don't ask me why it worked lol 🙂 I use only major-brand gas stations (Shell, etc), but it's all got a craptop of ethanol in it.
 
Better to pull them out, tap the crud out of the screen, and soak and scrub both ends in solvent.

Gasoline is already a highly effective solvent. If you really need injectors cleaned, it's best to pull them and have them professionally cleaned where they install them on a bench unit and obseve the spray patterns and such.

But at that point they are so cheap you are better off buying a brand new matched set for a couple hundred $.
 
Arkaign said:
Yeah don't ask me why it worked lol 🙂 I use only major-brand gas stations (Shell, etc), but it's all got a craptop of ethanol in it.
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If it did anything, it cleaned the carbon in the combustion chamber. If you had enough of that, getting rid of it might help.
 
I've used them before and they usually smooth out the idle but thats about the only difference i noticed. Thankfully my DD now does not have fuel injectors to worry about.
 
exdeath said:
Better to pull them out, tap the crud out of the screen, and soak and scrub both ends in solvent.

Gasoline is already a highly effective solvent. If you really need injectors cleaned, it's best to pull them and have them professionally cleaned where they install them on a bench unit and obseve the spray patterns and such.

But at that point they are so cheap you are better off buying a brand new matched set for a couple hundred $.
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Getting my fuel injector's cleaned wasn't that expensive (this is when I had the same car you have now).

It would cost me 65 bucks to get my injectors cleaned (sonic). I did it twice a year because I was really anal about that shit.
 
to my surprise, Pep Boys sells the Techron Concentrate Plus. I was holding a bottle of Redline (which had very little info on the label) when I saw it. Talked to the guy who seemed pretty knowledgeable and he recommended the Techron over it. I know the chart above says otherwise, but I'm gonna give the bigger name a go first...
 
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