fuel systems cleaning

[coconut_lover]

I am curious about the fuel systems cleaning the they offer at Walts auto in Seattle. Is there anyone with experience with this?
Thanks Greg

 

[AstroTurf]

You will get more answers/opinions if you give us more detals...

Hope it helps, Jim

 

[ahoier]

I recall a similar thread a couple days ago...there are many different services done, with different chemicals used, etc...

Best bet would be to ask the garage what service they use. When they give you a name, ask us here or google the service name yourself.


5 of the big ones I know of off the top of my head.

Berryman's Products sells an "IV Drip" type system that hooks into the intake/throttle body...to gradually induce cleaners into the intake with the fuel....

3M - same kind of concept, mail order only to my knowledge, or possibly Pep Boys/CarQuest etc...have not seen their kit at Advanced or Auto Zone...

Seafoam - they now have a new "Seafoam Spray" product out, looks similar (and cheaper price too) than the 3M kit, that hooks up between the air in take boot and the manifold throttle body plate/butterfly....start the engine, lock the can (it's got a "locking cap" sorta deal that you push down, and it locks in place....til the can is empty).

GumOut/Valvoline - advertised within Walmart TLE, was previously "Gum Out 2 Step Fuel Injection Cleaning" - now it appears Gum Out has stepped out (never did see the product anywhere on gumout.com....) and now Valvoline stepped in with a "Valvoline Smoke-less 2 Step Fuel Injection Cleaning" for $20....or $40 with an oil change....similar to the berryman "kit" it has a dose that goes in the tank, and a dose that hooks up to the intake and they adjust the drip to a steady trickle, just enough to feed through the intake, but not stall out the engine either.....until the can is empty. The solution in the tank, and the IV drip solution kind of "meet in the middle" for a real good clean, supposedly. If you can believe the marketing that is

And the last would be BG-44k service done at select garages....I've heard of people buying the chemicals themself on ebay and what not, but they seem to be marketed towards garages...a couple in my locale offer some of their services, but never had them done; but read on these forums their fuel "induction" service works pretty good....same concept though; with the IV drip dealio and the solution in the tank....

 

[beaker60]

I worked at a dealership in Yakima,in fact,it was one of the biggest dealerships in the state.The service dept was always trying to get us,,the technicians,,,,, to upsell stuff,,aka,belts,hoses,trans flush,,you know,,all the expensive stuff to up the billable hours.One of the things they wanted us to push was fuel system services.GM had their own stuff,,then BG,,,then Wynns,,,different ones depending on the percs that the service manager would get,,you know,,"Kickbacks",,,well all of the technicians would tell the managers as well as the customers,,that these services would help a little,,but not enought to justify spending $189.95,,,so,,,we,,the techs,,decided to create an experiment to see if they really did any good and I volunteered my own truck as the guinea pig.It was a 2002 S-10 extreme with a 4.3v6.I had installed a cold air system and did a little reprogram on the PCM,,anyway,,,we cleaned the entire system according to instructions,,which was a 3 part cleaning.Two cans went into the throttle body and one in the tank and it cleaned up real well,,now,,,here's the interesting part.One month later,we took the throttle body off the intake,we removed the injectors and we took a sample of the fuel from the tank,I usually ran 89 octane.The throttle body was just as gummed up as it was before the cleaning,the injectors were ok,but showing signs of re-clogging and the fuel would seperate from what ever was in it.Oh,,By the way,,,it was top tier fuel purchased from a Chevron station.I guess my point is,,I don't think you stand to gain anything from these services,that you wouldn't normally gain from making sure you run good fuel,,and,,I can guarantee that I will never spend that much money cleaning my fuel system,,knowing that the end results are only going to last,,less than a month.Remember,,this is just my opinion,,if people feel they are doing something good for the vehicle and they can afford services like these,,then by all means,,do what you feel is best

 

[[RT] ProjUltraZ]

i've sprayed Deep Creep thru the throttle body, once did seafoam thru the brake booster, shot hot water thru the throttle body while running but whatever i did, i always finished with Throttle body cleaner that evaps quickly. that combined with an Amsoil air filter has kept my throttle body pretty clean.

for in the fuel i like the Gumout regane complete fuel system cleaner