Does Techron work?

[Hsnberg]

Ok, I know that I may get hammered for this, but I have searched the forum, as well as the internet, and can't find a good answer. Also, I am a noob and not a chemical expert.

Do fuel additives like Techron concentrate really work? Or are they snake oil? If some of them work, which is the best? If you are citing a study or comparison article, please say so.

Thanks in advance!

 

[RF Overlord]

If you're asking "does Techron work?", the answer is yes. If you're asking "do other additives work like Techron?" the answer is "maybe", but mostly "no".

Techron and Regane are two that have been demonstrated to perform as claimed. Red Line SL-1 and SeaFoam are also supposed to be the real deal, but most of the other so-called fuel-system cleaners are only good at cleaning your wallet.

 

[mcrn]

Yes it works

 

[bepperb]

I think "do I need it" is a more important question than "would it work if I did".

 

[Donald]

Techron is used by dealers and others in the trade.

But if your injectors need to be removed and rebuilt it will probably not fix the problem.

So to the extent that something in the fuel can help with injectors and cylinder deposits, its the best available.

Also follow directions and use it at the specified frequency. Not every fill-up.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: Hsnberg
If you are citing a study or comparison article, please say so.


White paper from Redline (their SI-1 product is formulated with PEA): http://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/S1-1 Tech Info.pdf

"Most truly effective fuel system cleaners utilize PEA based detergents and offer the best cleaning power of any of the fuel additives on the market. Not only do they clean better than PIB or PIBA, they can clean more fuel system parts. It takes an extremely powerful detergent to remove the pressure cooked deposits found on cylinder heads, piston tops and combustion chamber walls, and PEA can do this. In direct injection systems it will also clean up the injectors and keep them clean. Gumout has a few items in their portfolio including Regane, High Mileage Regane and All in One Complete Fuel treatments. Chevron Techron pour in fuel additives also have this type of detergent."

http://www.gumoutprojectmotorhead.com/?p=606

 

[Nyati]

Yes, Techron works. I pour a bottle in each car once a year.

The way I found out about it was I had a "sticking" gas gauge on my F150. It would go to empty and would not go back to full when you filled it up. Drove me crazy. Then it would show ¼ tank a day later, and so on. I was told to put a bottle of Techron in the tank. It immediately fixed the problem and it hasn't returned. I figured it might to the same to the engine. So I've been using ever since.

 

[SatinSilver]

Someone pass me my sunglasses please.

 

[Barkleymut]

In my Ion it the engine would let me know when it needed a bottle of Techron. It would feel like a miss. I even asked my son one day if he was kicking the back of my seat. Once I would add the Techron the poor performance would go away in 10 miles and be good for another 10-15k till the exact same symptoms started up again.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

WORK FOR WHAT PROBLEM? TYPICALLY AMERICANS NEED TO RUN THEIR CARS HARDER To KEEP THEN CARBON FREE. Ive been running Irving and Mobil to keep my rig running good. Nothing else seems to work. My wifes subaru is missing so bad the hood amost shook off when i was checking under the hood yesterday. I dont know whts up with that - stuck PCV or coold plugs and carbon from her lugging the poor thing everywhere.

 

[KCJeep]

I can count the additives that I know to "work" on the fingers of one hand with fingers left over, but Techron is one of them. Great stuff! Like mentioned above, Techron also permanently fixed a fuel sending unit issue for me as well.

 

[GaleHawkins]

It works well. Use it as labeled. I used it double dose back to back tanks on a trip and lost the head gasket before I got back home on a low mileage Nissan.

It is death on carbon if it is within firing range for sure.

 

[y_p_w]

It's probably not going to fix any issues that regular use of a high detergent fuel would prevent. However, if you've got the issues, it's one of the better products on the market. It's not that difficult for a marketer to buy polyether amines from a large chemical company and formulate something that works to a degree. However, most of the formulations are "trade secrets" other than the carrier solvent ingredients that are required to go in the MSDS.

The question shouldn't be if some product would work. There's already enough info out there that a large (or even small one like Red Line) company could hire chemists to formulate something that works based what's been reported in trade publications. The question should be how concentrated they are and how much do they cost.

 

[buck91]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
I think "do I need it" is a more important question than "would it work if I did".


I think this is a fairly under spoken for truth.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
I think "do I need it" is a more important question than "would it work if I did".


Do you use soap in your household ?

 

[Vikas]

But I don't put in my water heater

 

[accent2012]

Originally Posted By: Nyati
Yes, Techron works. I pour a bottle in each car once a year.

The way I found out about it was I had a "sticking" gas gauge on my F150. It would go to empty and would not go back to full when you filled it up. Drove me crazy. Then it would show ¼ tank a day later, and so on. I was told to put a bottle of Techron in the tank. It immediately fixed the problem and it hasn't returned. I figured it might to the same to the engine. So I've been using ever since.


It says right on the bottle that it helps with sulfur deposits in gasoline, which results in sticky gauges like what you are talking about.

Hyundai recommends it every oil change if you do not use top-tier gasoline (gasoline with techron or PEA based detergent) ALL the time.

I stock up on the stuff whenever its on sale. These newer cars with direct injectors that spray a super fine mist can foul up quickly resulting in a loss of power compared to older cars, so detergents are going to be the norm eventually.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: accent2012
Originally Posted By: Nyati
Yes, Techron works. I pour a bottle in each car once a year.

The way I found out about it was I had a "sticking" gas gauge on my F150. It would go to empty and would not go back to full when you filled it up. Drove me crazy. Then it would show ¼ tank a day later, and so on. I was told to put a bottle of Techron in the tank. It immediately fixed the problem and it hasn't returned. I figured it might to the same to the engine. So I've been using ever since.


It says right on the bottle that it helps with sulfur deposits in gasoline, which results in sticky gauges like what you are talking about.

Hyundai recommends it every oil change if you do not use top-tier gasoline (gasoline with techron or PEA based detergent) ALL the time.

I stock up on the stuff whenever its on sale. These newer cars with direct injectors that spray a super fine mist can foul up quickly resulting in a loss of power compared to older cars, so detergents are going to be the norm eventually.

The biggest problem regarding the valves of direct injection engines is that the fuel mist is being sprayed directly into the combustion chamber instead of into the valves as with port fuel injection. The mist itself doesn't cause any fouling per se, but when the intake valves doesn't get an adequate amount of detergent fuel, the deposits that do form from the combustion don't get removed.

 

[Hsnberg]

Interesting responses. And sorry that i didn't see the "Fuel and Fuel Additives" section scrolling a little further down. Probably should have posted it there.

The reason why I asked is that my newly acquired 1995 Mazda Protege 1.5 DX, with 158k miles, only gets about 22 MPG, albeit I drive mostly city. It is supposed to get about 30 originally, so I was wondering whether some "cleaning" of the fuel injection system was worth it. Other that that, I don't get the "shimmies" and weird symptoms that some of your testimonials describe.

The pictures on the bottle are pretty dramatic, and I wasn't sure whether to believe it. The entire "fluids and chemicals" section at Autozone totally reeks of "snake oil."

 

[AP9]

Originally Posted By: Hsnberg
Interesting responses. And sorry that i didn't see the "Fuel and Fuel Additives" section scrolling a little further down. Probably should have posted it there.


I'm surprised nobody pointed that out. You beat me to it -- I was going to tell you that it works great as a fuel additive, not that well as a penetrating oil

Techron is one of the additives that actually isn't snake oil. And even if it doesn't restore your MPG like you hope, it certainly won't HURT anything.