Fuel injector cleaning?

[George Brown]

Hello all,

I want to clean my four fuel injectors. Where can I go to get this done? How much is the usual cost to have this service done? And does it give you a lot better performance? Can I get it done at like a auto zone or major auto store?

Thanks a lot,
George

[Nick McKees37]

George,

With the 3M Do-It-Yourself Fuel System Tune-Up Kit (http://www.autogeek.net/3m-fuel-system-kit-08963.html), you can do all of the above yourself, at home!

When we first started carrying this kit I tested it out on my daily driver, which at the time had about 185,000 miles on it. It definitely made a difference and it took me less than half hour. :dblthumb2:

[Tundra_10]

George, I have to ask, why do you want to clean your injectors? Does your vehicle have high mileage, poor gas mileage, ill performance, or overall not running properly, or are you assuming they should be cleaned? Modern gasoline has detergents that clean your injectors so any sort of additive will aid in very minimal results. Any sort of gains you think you are achieving are going to be mostly effected by your driving habits and being aware of your mileage, conditions, etc. Unfortunately I cannot help out with the actual cleaning of the injectors, but I can tell you they can be easily removed by yourself if they are accessible and you have a minimal mechanical aptitude. If you are having problems there are many variables you can address before pulling the injectors or singling them out to be the source of the problem. After all, in essence, they are electrical sprinkler heads and its not too common for them to go bad vs other possible parts pertaining to a vehicle operating properly.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[TimmyG]

George, I have to ask, why do you want to clean your injectors? Does your vehicle have high mileage, poor gas mileage, ill performance, or overall not running properly, or are you assuming they should be cleaned? Modern gasoline has detergents that clean your injectors so any sort of additive will aid in very minimal results. Any sort of gains you think you are achieving are going to be mostly effected by your driving habits and being aware of your mileage, conditions, etc. Unfortunately I cannot help out with the actual cleaning of the injectors, but I can tell you they can be easily removed by yourself if they are accessible and you have a minimal mechanical aptitude. If you are having problems there are many variables you can address before pulling the injectors or singling them out to be the source of the problem. After all, in essence, they are electrical sprinkler heads and its not too common for them to go bad vs other possible parts pertaining to a vehicle operating properly.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2


Also curious as to why you think you need to clean your injectors. What brand and octane of fuel are you typically using?

I typically run a bottle of Chevron Techron in my fuel tank before every other synthetic oil change. I'm probably wasting my money though as I've pulled the injectors 3K miles ago and they look brand new. Nothing against Nick or AG, but I wouldn't waste my money on a $45 fuel system cleaner. An $8 can of seafoam/techron will complete the same process. If you really want to clean your throttle body blade go buy a $3 can of carb cleaner and that'll also work. No sense in spending money that doesn't need to be spent.

Marvel Mystery Oil is another fantastic additive that has been around FOREVER. If you get an intake/fuel system cleanup service at a dealer or shop you're looking ay anywhere from $100+ (at least in my area)

Buy an $8 can of seafoam and be done with it, imo.

[Klasse Act]

I agree, go to your local autoparts store and buy a good fuel injection cleaner (I use Chevron myself) and I put in a bottle every 10k (every oil change) and even though my car is new and I use Shell/BP premium, its cheap insurance for sure. Now, if you really need a professional cleaning, well, you can take Nick's advice or look into BP services (not the gas station), just google it and I'm sure you'll find a repair shop that does this, not every repair shop is authorized to do this service either.

Good luck to you but do yourself a favor and try some pour in FI cleaner and run some premium through it a couple times. I know this isn't what the topic is about but my car (Honda CR-Z) calls for atleast 87 octane but I've been running premium since day one and my mileage and performance is better than normal, just sayin'.

[mbkite]

Pull out the spark plugs and look at them
White means lean
Light brown is good
Dark brown to black running rich
Is their any oil deposits on the plugs. Change plugs and oil
Best way to clean is to replace. Injectors have a spray pattern for
Optimum performance and fuel mileage
Don't forget to replace fuel filter
Some cars don't have fuel filters but they do have screens in the tank
Ck fuel psi and volume
Note a mass air flow will feel like injectors are clogged

[RZJZA80]

There's two products that work, I've tried both. Seafoam, and Lucas.

[pickles]

I use STP complete fuel system cleaner(gray bottle) for $5 with every oil change which is no different than what the service dept will do for $30.I'm more obsessive about the air filter which I swap out every year.

[Lasthope05]

None of those additives really work. Gas already has detergents in it and being a natural solvent would clean most every thing. Also all cars have an inline fuel filter that traps all sediment/debris from the tank. If something were to get past the fuel filter no magic liquid is going to clean it. If you want the cleaned send them out to be ultrasonic cleaned, back flushed and reflowed/ or buy new ones.

[4AudiQ]

Hello all,

I want to clean my four fuel injectors. Where can I go to get this done? How much is the usual cost to have this service done? And does it give you a lot better performance? Can I get it done at like a auto zone or major auto store?

Thanks a lot,
George

If you really want to clean them, these guys in Los Angeles are some of the best in the business: Fuel Injector Cleaning (http://www.rceng.com/Fuel-Injector-Cleaning-P43C0.aspx)

[ScottB]

1 can of BG 44k http://www.rmsautoparts.com/prodimages/44k.jpg

[timaishu]

I only get gas at chevron. So would it be safe to assume my injectors are fine?

[jsgntulok]

Check out this website for valuable information on gasolines that keep your engine clean: Top Tier Gasoline (http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html)

[timaishu]

Just my luck. My mom bought one of those coupon book things that have a ton of coupons for various places, and one of them is from a shop offering a free fuel injection cleaning service. May as well use it.

[SalRS]

1 can of BG 44k


Agreed, or suck some b12 chemtool or safoam into the vacoom booster and drive it a while then change the oil.