Best injector cleaner and best fuel system cleaner

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Dom

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Jun 8, 2002
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I recently got Valvoline injector cleaner. Still waiting to use up my gas so I can put it in with 15 gallons. I also saw a complete fuel system cleaner from Valvoline, but I figured my AutoRx is in the mail so I don't need it. Is there any difference between cleaners? What about complete fuel system vs just injector cleaners?
 
Dom, DONOT use Auto-Rx on the fuel side. It is not miscible with fuel. Oil only. Hopefully that was just a typo above.
 
Oh man, that was a typo.
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I'm not putting it in the fuel. What I mean is that it will clean the engine for the oil side.
 
Neighbor has had excellent results with Chevron fuel system cleaner. More power in a Dodge Mini-van and better idling and better gas mileage in a Dodge Shadow.
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A few years ago my mechanic put me onto Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner, with which I had good results. More recently I used Scheaffers #131 Neutra treatment in an '87 pickup with surprising results. Even though the manual calls for 87 octane gasoline after I had driven it several years I had to go to 89 octane to eliminate the 'ping' that came up. I did not put in the Schaeffers Neutra for in just that purpose, but as a routine matter. After running my fuel tank about dry I filled up with the cheaper 87 octane gasoline and I am tooling along just fine with it. I call that a good result.
 
Dom

Try Lucas UCL (Injector cleaner/UCL/acid neutraliser. Cheap even here in Oz so must be super cheap in US. Until I test Redline's it's the best. Helped fuel economy too.
 
Before I found Techron I had tried everything I could find to keep my wife's BMW out of the shop. Nothing was very good, and I spent $300 every 3 months at the local BMW shop. The engineer from Chevron (not a sales guy) said I would see a difference with Techron within 30 minutes. When I got the Techron the car barely ran. I nursed it to the gas station, put in one bottle and added 20 liters of gas. Within 20 minutes the car thought it was at the races. In 20 months since then, I have used about 6 bottles of Techron and NEVER returned to the shop. Chevron has a lot of info about it on their site.
 
Well, I guess I better plug one of our products. GUMOUT. Not the stuff in the white or silver bottle, but the stuff in the clear bottle, REGANE. You add a bottle every 3,000 miles. It has worked good for me for many years. I have several European Car Dealers using it regularly, and every time one of their customers gets an oil change, they get a bottle of it poured in. You can use it in gas or diesel. I believe Wal-Mart sells it along with the larger chain parts stores.

[ July 06, 2002, 03:47 PM: Message edited by: Johnny ]
 
These cleaners that say to use every 3K seems a bit excessive to me. I will just stick with Chevron gas and possibly use their cleaner upon occasion. I don't believe it should be a part of regular maintainance. We seem to need higher gas quality to prevent a lot of the build-up no?
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I am one of those people that also think adding injector cleaner every 3k is a bit too much. I typically only add a bottle once a year in my cars, and have had good luck with this technique. I used to buy Redline injector cleaner when I would travel to the US, but lately I haven't been down there, so I simply use the regular STP injector cleaner in the black bottle (the cheap $3 stuff) It seems to work well I suppose. We used to have the Techron stuff up here at Walmart but I've noticed it's not there anymore.
 
That was what my neighbor was using, the STP, but after he tried the Chevron he said he will never go back.
 
I to used to have periodic injector problems that required some magic potion or another to fix. Then about 7 years ago an auto mechanic friend suggested I try Chevron Techron instead of the cheap stuff. He said it would do a better job of cleaning thus lasting longer. It worked really well.

In a fit of logic I decided I would try Chevron gas with Techron to see if that would work long term. Until just now I had not thought of using any injector cleaner in at least 6 years.

I own a 97 Saturn SL-1 115k and a 98 F-150 V-6 125k and they have never had any thing but gasoline poured in the gas tank.

Must be the almost exclusive use of Chevron gasoline.
 
Most of the injector cleaners I've seen are Tolulene or Xylene! The one I like a lot but have trouble finding and costs a lot is the BG 44K Fuel System Cleaner.

We owned a 97 Grand Prix GTP for a while, and no matter what we tried in the fuel tank it still idled like it needed a good cleansing. We were recommended the 44K by the GM service dept, and so we bought a can. After that and a tank full of fuel it ran like new. The can was $16 however!
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I had a buddy who drove a VeeDubb Rabbit (gas). His car got a lowly 24mpg and I asked him what was wrong. he siad he didn't know but he DID expect to get more than 24mpg.

I gave him 1/3 of a bottle of Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner and he went from 24mpg to 31 mpg in one tankful.

I've been using the stuff (along with a little isopropynol alcohol) sparingly ever since. I bet I go through 4-6 bottles of the gas line anti-freeze and 1-2 bottles of the Red Line each year. I don't think that's excessive.
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If you check the Chevron web site you will see that they recommend the use of Techron for those who don't always use Chevron gas. There is also a nice graph on how things build up over time and how it cleans.
In the states I put it in my daughter's Subaru after it failed the emissions test. A week later it passed with flying colors.
Down here we can't get any decent gas, so it's every 3,000 miles or when the engine starts running rough.
 
I use Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner and have always had good results with it.

GM dealers sell Techron labled under their GM vehicle care label. According to a TSB GM put out, this stuff is the only thing that is effective in cleaning the fuel injectors on my 98 Chevy Silverado.

Wayne
 
I may try Schaeffer's in the future, but I had excellent luck with Amsoil PI and Octane booster,
about a 2 to 1 ratio of PI to Octane boost.
 
I am using BG Products MI3000 every 3,000 miles and 44K every 12,000 miles. This seems to work with the bad gasoline we have in California (all brands included). Additionally, the BG Products Fuel Induction service from the local Chevy dealer eliminated the cold start knock problem.
 
back when lead was available in fuels, that was a lubricant property in fuel and it helped, but now with unleaded fuels lubrication from fuel is minimal. many gasolines contain unstable components that can lead to deposit formation in high temperature areas in the air induction system such as carburetor, throttle body injector (TBI) or port fuel injector (PFI) or at the intake valve stem where the fuel flows through to the combustion chamber. since 95 the epa has mandated the use of detergent additives in gasoline to reduce emissions, but when you induce detergents, you reduce lubrication, so what lubricates the vavle stems and valves, and keeps the deposits from carbonizing up, on injectors and around the rings, causing sticky rings? this is where you would need a good balance from a fuel additive that can clean but yet also provide a lubricant to help reduce the wear created as mentioned above. also, without a good top end lubricant, you can experience valve recession among other things.

now in diesel fuel, you have sulfur as a primary lubricant. when epa reduced the sulfur content of diesel, alot of the engine manufactures had all sorts of leaking seals from their pumps because they were lubricated from the fuel and such as some of you may well know, that created alot of problems.

now adays, this isn\'t really a problem, but still there is the carbonization that is created due to sulfur. ever saw an injector or glow plug just carboned up with a black brittle substance? this is due to sulfur compounds burning to form acidic by products.

here is picture of a small test to show how a fuel additive reduces sulfur and neutralizes the acid by product of the fuel.

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the one on the left is without the fuel additive, and right with the additive.

what i did was to take 2 tubes, filled both half way with the same diesel fuel (note, don\'t attempt this with regular gas!), added 3 drops of sulfuric acid (byproduct of sulfur after burned) in both tubes. added additive to one on right, then shook well. then i drained them, and with a little torch, i heated them up and this is the result i got. as you can see, the one with the additive dang near eliminated the carbon that i have on the left one. this alone will affect your fuel mileage, performance, and help prevent rings from getting carbon deposits and sticking.

another problem, water content. all diesel fuels contain small amounts of water. as temperature decreases, the amount of water dissolved in the fuel will also decrease and may lead to a water layer forming on the bottom of the tanks, which in turn can cause bacterial contamination, added to water, will /can cause corrosion, filter plugging and icing in winter.

now, alot of fuel additives are subject to do one thing or another, but when looking for a good fuel additive, you want to find one that can address all these problems in one. so read the fine print, some are nothing more than an octane or cetane booster. others just a cleaner. what you want is one that clean and lubricate, the performance will increase once you address those two problems.

conclusion: yes, i use a (schaeffers) fuel additive in mine all the time and suggest the same to others for the reasons supplied above.
 
1. Is it bad to overuse them? Let's say I try one now, then 3000 miles later another one, then 3000 miles later yet another one. Will it harm anything?
2. Should I change plugs or oil after the treatment? That carbon has to go somewhere.
3. Where do I buy Shaeffers products?
 
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