YACT: do you recommend the use of fuel injector cleaner?

[andylawcc]

?Injector cleaner works in the way that they remove particles and deposits from the fuel. However, the residual, if large enough, may in turn blocks the fuel injectors.? That statement was paraphrased quite a bit because I forgot what he said exactly, but is he correct in general? How does that differ if I pay a shop to do the ?Fuel Injectors Service? for 50 bucks? I call up one shop to ask and they say they pour injector cleaner in the tank and run the engine for a while? basically the same darn thing I can do myself.

my friend said, the complete "real" fuel injector job should involve removing the injectors, cleaning it with a brush, and then running it through a "resonator" or some sort to test it. He said that is usually not for regular people and more so for racing application, cause each injector cleaned would cost 20-30 bucks.


more questions:

should I change the fuel filter first, then dump the cleaner in the tank?

also, which brand of injector cleaner should I use?

 

[radioouman]

I believe that in extreme cases this can happen.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

The "resonator" I believe is an ultrasonic bath.

 

[ValValline]

Depends on the type of cleaner used.

If you buy a liquid cleaner and dump it in the tank, you run the risk of loosing up sludge and other crap from the tank all the way to the injectors. This could result in plugging the injectors, but it is extremely rare.

The best way to clean injectors is to remove them and use the proper tools.

Second best is to up a pressure cleaner that you attach to the fuel rail (usually with a special banjo fitting) on the high pressure feed side of the system. This type of cleaner only passes through the rail and the injectors themselves. Most dealerships and high-tech shops have the equipment to do this type of cleaning.

 

[The Stigenator]

so your telling me the b12chem total system cleanup bottle is bad for me..

 

[andylawcc]

so, should I change the fuel filter first, then dump the cleaner in the tank?

also, which brand should I use?

Originally posted by: ValValline
The best way to clean injectors is to remove them and use the proper tools.
Second best is to up a pressure cleaner that you attach to the fuel rail (usually with a special banjo fitting) on the high pressure feed side of the system. This type of cleaner only passes through the rail and the injectors themselves. Most dealerships and high-tech shops have the equipment to do this type of cleaning.

how much would that cost?

 

[farmercal]

So everyone here believes that the fuel filter that is mounted between the fuel tank and fuel injectors will NOT stop the particles from reaching the fuel injectors? Then why do we have a fuel filter there for?

 

[StageLeft]

I use it. If you can change the filter first, that may be of help, but fuel injector cleaner is not necessarily cleaning just what a filter is supposed to grab.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: farmercal
So everyone here believes that the fuel filter that is mounted between the fuel tank and fuel injectors will NOT stop the particles from reaching the fuel injectors? Then why do we have a fuel filter there for?

that is exactly what my Automechnic teacher told us.... he said all those fuel AND oil cleaners and addicitves are COMPLETELY useless because the fuel and oil filter will filter them away.
however, he is the only one who adhere to such belief, everyone else I know said the effect is not as drastic.

 

[CrispyFried]

Hit the car forums. Its use is generally discouraged.

Im here

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/

and the guy who help design engines says no. It may not hurt (it can though) but almost always doesnt help. Waste of money.

 

[scorpmatt]

A couple of my instructors reccomened me to something called Sea Foam. Says it works wonders on cleaning your engine. Well, not to long ago I replaced the wires, plugs, cap and rotor on my car, 82 honda accord. I took it out on the freeway later that week and blew a crap load of carbon out of my exhaust. I put this sea foam in my tank last night, and was just blowing regular exhaust, hasn't changed a thing. I think keeping your engine clean goes more with keeping it regularly maintained and going higher rpms every once in awhile.

 

[StageLeft]

A lot of people use seafoam. I had a thread on injector cleaners here and it was one of the few additives typically recommended. A lot of dealerships use them.

Let's get something straight: the cleaners are to clean NOT ONLY the injectors. THey also are supposed to clean out the combustion chamber and remove carbon deposits. If somebody can explain how the fuel filter does that, I'd love to hear it. The injector cleaners are not a cure-all like soap; they are not meant to literally "cleanse" the gas. That indeed is the purpose of the fuel filter. If you have a hunk of sand caught in your fuel filter the injector cleaner won't remove it. However, tinier bits of grime that, over time, get caught in the fuel system are the aim of the injector cleaner, so there may be filth on your injectors that got past the fuel filter and gets taken care of, but it doesn't mean that the cleaner is going to start cleaning out your fuel filter and sending that gunk down the fuel rail.

 

[scorpmatt]

I've never heard of injector cleaner that is supposed to clean the fuel filter too. Wouldn't that be a neat trick though? Oh well, replace the filter and keep driving right?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: scorpmatt
I've never heard of injector cleaner that is supposed to clean the fuel filter too. Wouldn't that be a neat trick though? Oh well, replace the filter and keep driving right?

Some have concern that it would, and release muck into the fuel system...

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: scorpmatt
I've never heard of injector cleaner that is supposed to clean the fuel filter too. Wouldn't that be a neat trick though? Oh well, replace the filter and keep driving right?

Some have concern that it would, and release muck into the fuel system...

No, I mean what if it would clean the muck up before it reached the engine? I wonder if thats at all possible.... I need to do some research on that

 

[CRXican]

that stuff is a gimmic

 

[Vette73]

The F/I cleaner you add to the gas is really to weak to do much of anything. And if you added to many bottles it can damage some selas in the fuel system.

The best way is either spraying some carb or throttle body cleaner down the throttle body as you will not only clean the valves and chamber but also the intake manifold.
The only thing I add to my gas twice a year is water remover and that is all. Change the fuel filter every 20,000miles and still going strong at 155k+

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: CRXican
that stuff is a gimmic

as big of a gimmic as saying that putting high octane fuel in your will make it run better.

 

[StageLeft]

My 00 max doesn't even recommend changing the fuel filter, and it's a real pain to get at

 

[BadNewsBears]

Originally posted by: scorpmatt
A couple of my instructors reccomened me to something called Sea Foam. Says it works wonders on cleaning your engine. Well, not to long ago I replaced the wires, plugs, cap and rotor on my car, 82 honda accord. I took it out on the freeway later that week and blew a crap load of carbon out of my exhaust. I put this sea foam in my tank last night, and was just blowing regular exhaust, hasn't changed a thing. I think keeping your engine clean goes more with keeping it regularly maintained and going higher rpms every once in awhile.

You pur seafoam down an open port while its running and the exhasut will smoke up. I our mine down the big vaccum line that goes to the brake booster.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Ya, seafoam is not meant to go into the tank. Pull off a vacuum line and let the motor literally suck it in while it's running. The rest of the products out there i think do little to nothing for your car. But I can vouch for seafoam. I had an old Toyota Fore-Skinner with ~ 200K on it that I used sea foam on now and then. It would billow out tons of crap from the exhaust and then purr great!
j

 

[andylawcc]

no I am not saying the Fuel Injector Cleaner can clean the fuel filter... I am saying (and think what farmercal is trying to say) is that he Fuel Filter filters out the FI cleaners substance before it can reach the FI, rendering it useless.


anyway, how do I apply the Throttle Body cleaner? do I need to spray it from the intake before the air filter?

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: BadNewsBears

Originally posted by: scorpmatt
A couple of my instructors reccomened me to something called Sea Foam. Says it works wonders on cleaning your engine. Well, not to long ago I replaced the wires, plugs, cap and rotor on my car, 82 honda accord. I took it out on the freeway later that week and blew a crap load of carbon out of my exhaust. I put this sea foam in my tank last night, and was just blowing regular exhaust, hasn't changed a thing. I think keeping your engine clean goes more with keeping it regularly maintained and going higher rpms every once in awhile.

You pur seafoam down an open port while its running and the exhasut will smoke up. I our mine down the big vaccum line that goes to the brake booster.

According to the directions on the can, it can be put either into the tank, or into the port. but honestly, I think changing the wires and stuff and running the car at a higher rpm cleaned the motor better than using a foreign substance

 

[scorpmatt]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
no I am not saying the Fuel Injector Cleaner can clean the fuel filter... I am saying (and think what farmercal is trying to say) is that he Fuel Filter filters out the FI cleaners substance before it can reach the FI, rendering it useless.


anyway, how do I apply the Throttle Body cleaner? do I need to spray it from the intake before the air filter?

First, the fuel filter filters out grudge and what not. fi cleaner sould be as thin as gas so the fuel filter shouldn't affect it.

Second, spray it directly into the throttle body, might require a little work depending on how your engine is setup

 

[myusername]

Seafoam is responsible for me laughing harder than I have in probably a decade.

I dumped it down the TB, let it sit, and prepared to fire the car up.

I noticed a neighbor walking to his car, so out of courtesy I waited on starting the car until he got to his car.

I turned the key and gave it some gas to get it going, and BAROOOM, VOOM! Smoke billowing everywhere - literally covered half the apartment complex's parking lot in smoke so thick you couldn't see through it.

I start to drive off, and looking in my mirror I realize that the guy is not in his car ..

.. He was taking out the trash, to the dumpster located right behind my vehicle.

I literally couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes.



Also, the main component of Seafoam is naptha. While I have no scientific evidence to back me up, I am pretty sure that the cleaning action is not from any solvent action, but from the increased burn temperature of the naptha (e.g. mothballs in a gas tank)