Cleaning fuel injectors question

My engine has been running rough lately. One possibility I thought
could be the injectors. I know it could be a lot of other things. I've
heard that most injector cleaners that you add to the gas aren't all
that good. I started wondering what is in the stuff. I imagine it's
just a solvent based cleaner. Then I started wondering what would
happen if I put in a bottle of paint thinner into my gas. Well I'm not
just going to do this without getting some opinions first. So what do
people think. Has anyone done this before? I think paint thinner
does combust well if I'm correct.

I'm aware this could be a stupid idea that's why I'm checking first.

Thanks 8-)

Some of the cheaper additives are similar to 'paint thinner' in concept.
They may not be much better than a well formulated gasoline with additives.

There can be considerable variation between paint thinners, which are simply
solvents. You would be okay doing this as long as the particular 'thinner'
you used didn't contain something that would damage the fuel pump, lines,
injectors, gaskets, etc. For example, ketones like MIBK, MEK, acetone are
pretty rough on some elastomers and I wouldn't use a compound that contained
them.

Alcohols might be taboo in some injection systems. Alcohols usually don't
attack elastomers (but there are exceptions) but they can be quite corrosive
to certain alloys, including aluminum.

But that takes in a lot of territory.

Some of the better cleaner formulations have surfactants which have been
found to dissolve or dislodge deposits that are often found in injectors.
There are lots of different types, including oxyalkylated amines,
imidazolines, etc. Some are pretty good.

Injectors, like most everything else, depreciate with time. A chemical
cleaner can help extend their life sometimes. Mechanical cleaning can
do a good job too but is less convenient. And then sometimes you just have
to replace the offending squirter.

I got the 3M universal fuel injector cleaner kit and like it. Most auto
parts stores should be able to order it for you.

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html

The nice thing about this system is that it cleans the injectors with
100% cleaning solution like a "bench" cleaning rig, but does not require
removing the injectors.

The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and inject
pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable the regular fuel
pump and then start and idle the engine running entirely on the cleaner.
They recommend about 10min of idle time or about 1 can of cleaner for a
smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a larger 8 cyl.

Getting the setup will probably run around $100 but after that it's <$10
/ can of cleaner. You need to order three different parts, the kit (link
above) which includes hose, gauge, regulator and hanger, and adapter for
the test port on your car and a can of cleaner. There are two types of
cleaner, high pressure and low, you would usually want the high pressure
version for most current vehicles. If you have more than one car that
don't have the same type of test port you just get the extra adapters
since they are inexpensive.

When I used this system on my Chev. 7.4l v8 with about 80,000 mi I did
notice an improvement afterwards.

Pete C.

Dan Ritter wrote:
>
> My engine has been running rough lately. One possibility I thought
> could be the injectors. I know it could be a lot of other things. I've
> heard that most injector cleaners that you add to the gas aren't all
> that good. I started wondering what is in the stuff. I imagine it's
> just a solvent based cleaner. Then I started wondering what would
> happen if I put in a bottle of paint thinner into my gas. Well I'm not
> just going to do this without getting some opinions first. So what do
> people think. Has anyone done this before? I think paint thinner
> does combust well if I'm correct.
>
> I'm aware this could be a stupid idea that's why I'm checking first.
>
> Thanks 8-)

"Dan Ritter" > wrote in message
news:FqoId.136537$KO5.99064@clgrps13...
> My engine has been running rough lately. One possibility I thought could
> be the injectors. I know it could be a lot of other things. I've heard
> that most injector cleaners that you add to the gas aren't all that good.
> I started wondering what is in the stuff. I imagine it's just a solvent
> based cleaner. Then I started wondering what would happen if I put in a
> bottle of paint thinner into my gas. Well I'm not just going to do this
> without getting some opinions first. So what do people think. Has anyone
> done this before? I think paint thinner does combust well if I'm
> correct.
>
> I'm aware this could be a stupid idea that's why I'm checking first.
>
> Thanks 8-)

Get a bottle of 3M part number 08813 fuel injector cleaner and dump it in
the gas tank. It does a really good job of cleaning dirty injectors and
keeping them clean. It's about ten bucks a bottle and worth it. My 5.7 liter
Chevy used to idle a little rough. Since I started using this cleaner at
ever oil change the truck idles and runs perfect.

Brian

Pete C. wrote:

> I got the 3M universal fuel injector cleaner kit and like it. Most auto
> parts stores should be able to order it for you.
>
> http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html
>
> The nice thing about this system is that it cleans the injectors with
> 100% cleaning solution like a "bench" cleaning rig, but does not require
> removing the injectors.
>
> The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and inject
> pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable the regular fuel
> pump and then start and idle the engine running entirely on the cleaner.
> They recommend about 10min of idle time or about 1 can of cleaner for a
> smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a larger 8 cyl.
>
> Getting the setup will probably run around $100 but after that it's <$10
> / can of cleaner. You need to order three different parts, the kit (link
> above) which includes hose, gauge, regulator and hanger, and adapter for
> the test port on your car and a can of cleaner. There are two types of
> cleaner, high pressure and low, you would usually want the high pressure
> version for most current vehicles. If you have more than one car that
> don't have the same type of test port you just get the extra adapters
> since they are inexpensive.
>
> When I used this system on my Chev. 7.4l v8 with about 80,000 mi I did
> notice an improvement afterwards.
>
> Pete C.
>
That sounds pretty good. I saw another article on google on this type
of system. The article did seem to fail saying that the cost was mostly
one time though and I thought "I may as well pay someone to do it".

Pete C wrote:
>The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and
>inject pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable
>the regular fuel pump and then start and idle the engine running
>entirely on the cleaner. They recommend about 10min of idle
>time or about 1 can of cleaner for a smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a
>larger 8 cyl.

And to add to that, block off the fuel return line from the fuel
pressure regulator. Most cars currently in service return unused fuel
to the tank; newer ones with returnless systems would not require this
step. Rubber return hoses can be pinched shut; hard return pipes can
be removed and capped off.

Toyota MDT in MO

Comboverfish wrote:
>
> Pete C wrote:
> >The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and
> >inject pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable
> >the regular fuel pump and then start and idle the engine running
> >entirely on the cleaner. They recommend about 10min of idle
> >time or about 1 can of cleaner for a smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a
> >larger 8 cyl.
>
> And to add to that, block off the fuel return line from the fuel
> pressure regulator. Most cars currently in service return unused fuel
> to the tank; newer ones with returnless systems would not require this
> step. Rubber return hoses can be pinched shut; hard return pipes can
> be removed and capped off.
>
> Toyota MDT in MO


You shouldn't need to do that since the 3M system has it's own
regulator. You just use the 3M systems pressure gauge to measure the
normal pressure in the system and then set the 3M regulator a couple PSI
below that which should keep anything from being returned to the tank
while still operating the engine just fine since all you do is idle it.

Pete C.

In article >,
"Pete C." > wrote:

> Comboverfish wrote:
> >
> > Pete C wrote:
> > >The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and
> > >inject pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable
> > >the regular fuel pump and then start and idle the engine running
> > >entirely on the cleaner. They recommend about 10min of idle
> > >time or about 1 can of cleaner for a smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a
> > >larger 8 cyl.
> >
> > And to add to that, block off the fuel return line from the fuel
> > pressure regulator. Most cars currently in service return unused fuel
> > to the tank; newer ones with returnless systems would not require this
> > step. Rubber return hoses can be pinched shut; hard return pipes can
> > be removed and capped off.
> >
> > Toyota MDT in MO
>
>
> You shouldn't need to do that since the 3M system has it's own
> regulator. You just use the 3M systems pressure gauge to measure the
> normal pressure in the system and then set the 3M regulator a couple PSI
> below that which should keep anything from being returned to the tank
> while still operating the engine just fine since all you do is idle it.
>
> Pete C.

Some fuel pressure regulators have bleed orifices to facilitate
the handling of fuel vapors after a hot soak, the only sure fire
way of eliminating sending the cleaning solution back to the fuel
tank where it can cause damage is to pinch off or otherwise block
the return line as T-MDTin MO suggested.

'tis always better to be safe than sorry

Pete C. wrote:
> Comboverfish wrote:
> >
> > Pete C wrote:
> > >The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and
> > >inject pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable
> > >the regular fuel pump and then start and idle the engine running
> > >entirely on the cleaner. They recommend about 10min of idle
> > >time or about 1 can of cleaner for a smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a
> > >larger 8 cyl.
> >
> > And to add to that, block off the fuel return line from the fuel
> > pressure regulator. Most cars currently in service return unused
fuel
> > to the tank; newer ones with returnless systems would not require
this
> > step. Rubber return hoses can be pinched shut; hard return pipes
can
> > be removed and capped off.
> >
> > Toyota MDT in MO
>
>
> You shouldn't need to do that since the 3M system has it's own
> regulator. You just use the 3M systems pressure gauge to measure the
> normal pressure in the system and then set the 3M regulator a couple
PSI
> below that which should keep anything from being returned to the tank
> while still operating the engine just fine since all you do is idle
it.
>
> Pete C.

Some people do it that way with fine results, but consider 1)it doesn't
hurt anything to do it 2) you don't know if your regulator is sealing
perfectly 3)idle speed conditions will cause the _most_ return of
fuel to the tank because the least volume is needed by the injectors.
(multispeed fuel pumps can limit that somewhat)

I would like every possible drop of the cleaner I paid for to get
through the injectors!

Toyota MDT in MO

Pete C. wrote:
> Comboverfish wrote:

> > Pete C wrote:
> > >The way it works is to connect to the fuel rail test port and
> > >inject pressurized cleaning solvent at that point. You disable
> > >the regular fuel pump and then start and idle the engine running
> > >entirely on the cleaner. They recommend about 10min of idle
> > >time or about 1 can of cleaner for a smaller 4 cyl or 2 cans for a
> > >larger 8 cyl.


> > And to add to that, block off the fuel return line from the fuel
> > pressure regulator. Most cars currently in service return unused
fuel
> > to the tank; newer ones with returnless systems would not require
this
> > step. Rubber return hoses can be pinched shut; hard return pipes
can
> > be removed and capped off.

> > Toyota MDT in MO

> You shouldn't need to do that since the 3M system has it's own
> regulator. You just use the 3M systems pressure gauge to measure the
> normal pressure in the system and then set the 3M regulator a couple
PSI
> below that which should keep anything from being returned to the tank
> while still operating the engine just fine since all you do is idle
it.
> Pete C.

Some people do it that way with fine results, but consider 1)it doesn't
hurt anything to pinch off the fuel return 2) you don't know if your
regulator is sealing
perfectly 3)idle speed conditions will cause the _most_ return of
fuel to the tank because the least volume is needed by the injectors.
(multispeed fuel pumps can limit that somewhat)

I would like every possible drop of the cleaner I paid for to get
through the injectors!


Toyota MDT in MO