Fuel injector cleaner

wwaite1 · January 2002

Guess I posted this under news & views before & it should be under maintenance & repair. I would like to know what some of you knowledgeable people think about fuel injector cleaner, is it a good thing to use, is it harmful , or is it just a waste of money. I used it about 3 times a year in my 92 Accord, car always ran fine but maybe it would of run just as good without it. Bill

8u6hfd · January 2002

Use it once or twice a year. It costs a pretty penny though ($20).

armtdm · January 2002

I used Techron in one car for years every 5000 or so and never had a problem and on three cars I use the Amsoil PI in every tankful, longest lasting is 141,000 with no fuel system issues as yet. Does it matter?.

Have absolutely no idea. Probably could have gone 141,000 with no additives.

Just do not know and unless an independent lab would test them we may never know.

wain · January 2002

in boat outboards, either Mercruiser or Yamaha recommends Techtron.
Those are the only "official" recognitions I know of..

fleetwoodsimca · January 2002

Gunk fuel injector cleaner by Solder Seal is inexpensive and may well be one of the most effective at cleaning away deposits. If you've ever had an engine with "preignition" problems and you've noted the pinging reduce or disappear after using injector cleaners, it is hard to not consider those products as worthwhile.

jeprox · January 2002

some people say it doesnt work, some people say it works.

if you want the good stuff, let the pro's do it. they have the correct solution and equipment to clean your injectors.

what i did before for my sisters camry is i bought techron from chevron gas stations. they cost about C$12/bottle. feed them directly into the intake manifold and it cleans out the carbon deposits. i used about 3 bottles or so. the injectors probably saw only a few drops of the techron but in the end, her car had more power and was smoother. doing this will cause your check engine light to come on so it's not recommended if you are not technically inclined.

another way of doing it is remove your injectors and use techron to clean it. u can hook up your injector with low current, dip the injector in techron and as the injector starts to move, it get rid off any junk.

in my opinion, this stuff that you can buy and add to your gas tank are waste of money. by the time the solution reaches your injectors (along with gas), they wont be as strong anymore.

brorjace · January 2002

I advocate using a couple bottles of the really good stuff (like Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner or the concentrated form of Chevron Techron) and several bottles of isopropyl dry gas each year.

Avoid the silly octane boosters and anything with methanol in it!

In the last 2 months, 2 co-workers I know have had to have their fuel systems cleaned out due to carbon build up (both 6-cylinder SUVs). Both have decent length (30+ minutes) commutes so it wasn't because their vehicles didn't have a chance to get up to operating temperature and clear out. The vehicles simply get loaded up due to bad gas.

My Civic has 113,000+ miles on it and runs fine, gets 40+mpg ... all with the original O2 sensor. >:^D

A woman I know has a '97 'Lude that started to stall, stumble and hesitate so I added 1/2 bottle of Red Line CFSC and 2 bottles of drygas over the course of a week and the car resumed its former

Occasional use of GOOD additives saves ytou money in the long run. Yes, gasoline is all supposed to come with the proper additives but everyone gets a tankful of old or contaminated gas now and then.

--- Bror Jace

bretfraz · January 2002

Where can you get BG 44K at retail? It's my understanding that BG sells to the trade only.

I'd love to use 44K but absent of that I use Techron 2-3 times a year.

8u6hfd · January 2002

I get mine at a local retailer for the area.

go to http://www.bgprod.com/locator.html to find one remotely close, or contact them via email.

fleetwoodsimca · January 2002

...NAPA carries BG44.

mwikle · February 2002

I like Techron Concentrate, but I work for ChevronTexaco (my employer claims it is "unbeatable" or something like that --- if Lawyers let them say that then that is pretty good testimonial IMHO).

ChevronTexaco (Oronite division I think) also sells non-Techron polyetheramine (PEA) fuel additive technology to others, inlcluding some OEMs.

Secret in the trade is who uses what "juice" and how much. Some FAs are little more than drygas (methanol) or stoddard solvent (about like kerosene).

I'd buy only reputable brands from BIG companies, and let price guide me ... i.e. cheap bottle ($2) is not likely to have much active ingedients.

A lot of auto chemicals are almost frauds in MY opinion, packaged on contract by smaller "marketing" companies, but FTC enforcement is limited. People want to loose weight without dieting, and improve their vehicles better than Engineers/OEMs/Laws of physics and current technolgy make possible...

My word and time (not my employer's)

Merritt

q45man · February 2002

Most fuel system cleaners are too weak to actually clean a dirty fuel system with single or extended [every oil change] addition. They are designed to keep a clean system clean, much like the detergents in gasoline.
Even BG 44k will not clean an abused system. They make profesional grade super solvents for rail flushes. Once you get the intake track [plenum/runners,etc] and injectors CLEAN as brand new then these tank additives seem to work.
The problem most have and don't realize it is severe dirt from EGR/PCV system in intake after throtttle plate! From the injectors down it is usually pretty clean since the gasoline washes this area fairly well.

vidtech · February 2002

i find it hard to believe a twelve once bottle of cleaner is going to do much when added to 15-20 gallons of fuel.

bobistheoilguy · February 2002

about fuel additives.

http://pub27.bravenet.com/faq/show.php?usernum=2240725418&password=&catid=2285&action=showcat

of course it talks about deisels as well as gas but both are the same when how fuel additives work in an engine.

bob in jville

Lubricant Specialist

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

wwaite1 · February 2002

I posted a little question about fuel injector cleaner a short while ago ,asking what some of you thought about it, if it was just a gimmick or not. Someone answered and mentioned adding dry gas also ,being from Canada I have never heard of dry gas so what is it? Waiting for your reply.
Bill

0patience · February 2002

Dry gas is an additive that is supposed to take out any water in the fuel. Most often, it displaces the water or encapsulates the water.
Encapsulation is not what you want. It is best to read up on any of the additives before you add them. Some can do more harm than good.
Some are harmful to other parts of the system.

brorjace · February 2002

Dry Gas ... or gas drier ... is an alcohol that allows water to mix with the gasoline and get burned normally. Water building up in your fuel system can make your car stumple or hesitate in summer and freeze in winter forming an obstruction and keep it from running at all.

Use isopropyl alcohol and not the cheaper and less effective (and corrosive) methanol.

I don't know why they wouldn't have this stuff in Canada.

--- Bror Jace

paul29 · February 2002

We do, it's called gasline antifreeze here.

wwaite1 · February 2002

Now I know what you mean by dry gas, yes I lived in northern Manitoba Canada for many years and used lots of gas line anti-freeze as we call it here. Thanks from Bill

rfruth · February 2002

Over the counter fuel injector cleaners oil additives and the like are snake oil IMO so I don't use them. My last car (plain ole 4 banger) went 230,000 miles no problem. Current car ('00 Civic) owners manual says additives will do nothing (if your lucky) except increase operating costs. I do use name brand fuels though.

q45man · February 2002

it is probably too weak [dilution in gasoline] to do very much cleaning instantly. Some products when added to every tankful will help keep things clean once really clean but real injector cleaning requires at minimum rail flushes [at idle speeds] for 1 hour. 340cc [11oz] might take 15-30-45 minutes at such low flow rates.
If this doesn't work [or well enough] replacement or ultrasonic cleaning is required after injector removal.
Some injector types [pintle] are worse than others, some engine have bad cooling airflow at rear [inline 6 and V8] so the rear units run hotter.......it varies with every engine.

brorjace · February 2002

I have a number of people in my office who have just had their cars proffessionally "de-gunked" for $100 or more and both vehicles were not even at 100,000 miles. Spending $10-15 per year sounds like a prudent investment if it can prevent that ... and I'm convinced it can.

As for "drygas" I guess that's just a commonly used slang term around here for gas-line antifreeze (which is also used). Sorry for the confusion.

--- Bror Jace

al_saadallah · February 2002

I am wanting to use BG 44K and I would like to know if i should dump two bottles of it in there since you guys say that it dilutes too much, then adding more should cure that problem since there is more product, am i correct in that assumption?

fleetwoodsimca · February 2002

I was just fixin' to mention to wwaite1 and paul29 that here in the "southern" Rocky Mountains, we call that stuff gas line antifreeze. You beat me to it, but I'll post anyway for reenforcement. (:oÞ

q45man · February 2002

Have used 44k prior [1 tank before] to each oil change for the past 5 years .... roughly 129,000 miles about 30 [11 oz] cans. Additionally the dealer used 1 can every 15k for the first 100,000 miles. Changed fuel filter every 15,000 miles.
At around 180,000 miles started annual rail pressure flushes.
Never replaced an injector [8] and at 12.2 years the idle test [power balance] is smoother than new.
I became obsessive about getting the variance below 12 rpm at 1300 rpm....meaning all injectors are within 1% [actually +- 0.5%] of each other! Instead of the more typical 3-4-5%.

al_saadallah · February 2002

How can i do a power balance test on my Lexus? Mine has a slight vibration when you are stopped at a red light with your foot on the brake and the car in drive. It radiates through my seat and the whole car, I had front and upper dog bone mount replaced and have done fuel rail cleaning as well, I got the car at 92K off of a commercial lease.

al_saadallah · February 2002

how did you get the variance that low? That is simply amazing!!

Fuel injector cleaner

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