Fuel injector cleaner recommendations?

[liyi_92 37]

Hello people,

What is a good fuel injector cleaner people have used and works?

I see the Valvoline Fuel Injector & Carby Cleaner - 2 x 350mL sells at $13.26 at SCA almost twice as cheap as others.

Also, could I ask how these work, in the way do I have to use the additive each time I fuel up to maintain it running smoother or do I just use it a certain number of times which when the injectors are clean then I do not need to use the product anymore.

Sorry for the noob post, please don't flame me

[kiwi535 538]

afaik they are a detergent.I used to throw in a bottle just before the car was due for a service or i was going to do a oil change.The theory of that is you dont want any stray detergent contaminating your new oil.I cant say i noticed any difference.

Use the full bottle withthe recomended ammount of fuel.I cant remeber if i used to put it in a full tank or what

Edited October 22, 2012 by kiwi535

[cliffdunedin 8]

I don't really use additives often and would rather change the fuel filter and run a decent octane gas!

When i have used one I would of used Nulon but TBH don't really notice a hell of a lot of change when i have used them before.

[liyi_92 37]

Main point of using is because I guess previous owner hasn't been using higher octane gas (for me its 98). Car has a small misfire and hard to start when warm so trying to see if this improves the problem.

[hotwire 352]

Have you had the car properly scanned by someone who knows what they are up to? This is first port of call.

Only real way to clean injectors is to remove them & run in an injector machine where you can flush, monitor flow rate, spray pattern & check for leak down. Then an ultra sonic bath to dissolve any build up, rekit with new seals & filter baskets & refit.

[dubman 39]

Have you had the car properly scanned by someone who knows what they are up to? This is first port of call.

Only real way to clean injectors is to remove them & run in an injector machine where you can flush, monitor flow rate, spray pattern & check for leak down. Then an ultra sonic bath to dissolve any build up, rekit with new seals & filter baskets & refit.

^ This. When I got my injectors cleaned, they said, "a sh*t load of crap just came outta your injector". This was after I used fuel tank additives lol

edit: not suggesting fuel additives was the cause of the crap, just that they don't work as suggested

Edited October 22, 2012 by dubman

[huff3r 347]

I don't really use additives often and would rather change the fuel filter and run a decent octane gas!

When i have used one I would of used Nulon but TBH don't really notice a hell of a lot of change when i have used them before.

Except octane has nothing to do with fuel quality, only anti-knock properties. High octane fuels can be just as filthy!

As mentioned above, the additives have a very good placebo affect but generally thats the only affect you will see. Better to get them cleaned properly! But only if that is confirmed as the problem.

[liyi_92 37]

Thanks for the input guys, will give it the additives a try anyway. On a slightly off topic question, how would I be able to tell if I have leaking injectors?

Have you had the car properly scanned by someone who knows what they are up to? This is first port of call.

Only real way to clean injectors is to remove them & run in an injector machine where you can flush, monitor flow rate, spray pattern & check for leak down. Then an ultra sonic bath to dissolve any build up, rekit with new seals & filter baskets & refit.

I went to these guys Link Here. They are quite reputable here, found oil in spark plugs recess from leaking rocker cover gaskets, fixed both sides, changed all spark plugs, cleaned out oil but to no avail.

Edit: No fault codes either

Edited October 22, 2012 by andy_e39

[DoorMan 0]

I went to these guys Link Here. They are quite reputable here, found oil in spark plugs recess from leaking rocker cover gaskets, fixed both sides, changed all spark plugs, cleaned out oil but to no avail.

Edit: No fault codes either

What were they like, price & helpfullness etc? I've got a wee miss when my car is warm. Only intermittent though.

[liyi_92 37]

What were they like, price & helpfullness etc? I've got a wee miss when my car is warm. Only intermittent though.

Total cost (labour + parts + diagnosis) for what I just listed was done for just over $1100.

My car miss and takes very long to start up only mostly when warm. =/

[hotwire 352]

Thanks for the input guys, will give it the additives a try anyway. On a slightly off topic question, how would I be able to tell if I have leaking injectors?

I went to these guys Link Here. They are quite reputable here, found oil in spark plugs recess from leaking rocker cover gaskets, fixed both sides, changed all spark plugs, cleaned out oil but to no avail.

Edit: No fault codes either

Have they checked it on live data?

Leaking injectors - only real way - as I mentioned above

& Yes, leaking injectors can cause a starting issue by flooding the engine while stationary - not saying this is your issue though. Ign coils possibly.

Can they - above, not fix the issue?

[liyi_92 37]

I am not entirely sure what you mean by live data. All they said was they used their computer to scan it and found no codes. I am sure they could find whats wrong but I do not have or want to keep dishing out money in HOPE they find the actual cause. So I'll off to do the basics first, fuel filter, etc and then I guess will be taking the car to manually clean out the injectors.

[tobester 9]

Have you had the car properly scanned by someone who knows what they are up to? This is first port of call.

Only real way to clean injectors is to remove them & run in an injector machine where you can flush, monitor flow rate, spray pattern & check for leak down. Then an ultra sonic bath to dissolve any build up, rekit with new seals & filter baskets & refit.

Any idea where the best place is to get this done around Auckland? I suspect the injectors in my M30 could do with some attention, then I might think about getting it remapped by Gavin.

[dubman 39]

edgell motors on the north shore. Helpful, patient and good guys to deal with. Just give them a call

Edited October 23, 2012 by dubman