How to clean fuel injectors ?

[corvettetim]

just take it to a shop that offers a injector service they "should" have a machine that connects to the fuel rail and they run the cleaner right into the fuel rail with a adapter, usually runs about $80-100
this is one of the machines out there

MotorVac CarbonClean 245 Gas/Petrol Fuel Service (500-0245)

Optimize your engine with the MotorVac CarbonClean 245 Gas/Petrol Service. Includes ICS Kit #200-8667. Advanced cleaning for peak fuel system performance. Shop now at JB Tools!

www.jbtools.com

That is what I will do if the code keeps coming up. Thanks

 

[Fless]

Before you start spending money on whatever, get the code. Or did I miss it?

 

[OR VietVet]

Before you start spending money on whatever, get the code. Or did I miss it?

He had codes pulled 2 times. Was told the codes meant fuel injector flow problems. He has no codes to share because did not write down. Code numbers have been asked for.

Hopefully, anyone who has codes pulled at a parts store will get the exact code because parts sellers will tell you, lots of times, that a code means you need to buy something from them.

 

[Doubeleive]

Before you start spending money on whatever, get the code. Or did I miss it?

he had it read at autozone and autozone likes to print out a piece of paper that says these are the likely causes for "xx" code which from what I have seen in the past are way off base

 

[OR VietVet]

he had it read at autozone and autozone likes to print out a piece of paper that says these are the likely causes for "xx" code which from what I have seen in the past are way off base

Did not know that. Of course, I haven't ever had codes pulled at a parts store and anyone I am trying to help and is not close to me, I tell them to get a list of the actual code(s).

 

[Doubeleive]

Did not know that. Of course, I haven't ever had codes pulled at a parts store and anyone I am trying to help and is not close to me, I tell them to get a list of the actual code(s).

ya i think they do that just so you will go in buy stuff, the print outs I have seen posted before are like WTF? no.... i don't know what kind of algorithm they use but it's off base, possibly related but still not the first thing you might look at for a cause.

 

[MWD_CTSV]

The fuel rail attachment cleaning for $100 is a really great option if that is truly available.

Just as an aside, I did the diy hack fuel injector cleaning with a valve stem over the injector, a can of Berryman B12 and a 9V battery to open the injector. Since I have the intake off to deal with the VLOM (and a stuck lifter), I decided to clean the injectors or at least to try since the engine is at 214K miles. I was pleasantly surprised by the near perfect spray pattern by at least 5 of the injectors. The others weren't terrible, but some of the streams were a little more of a narrow stream than a nicer misty one. I haven't rechecked them since I let them soak, but many people have had good success with that cleaning method.

I did consider replacing the injectors, but after seeing perfect performance on the majority, I reconsidered. Injectors (particularly these nice EV6 pencil style) are supposed to be good for 1B cycles. Doing the math my engine says 6400 hrs which is 384K minutes. So if the average minute is 2K RPM (which I think is a high average), and 1 pulse every 2 revolutions, they are only about 38% of the expected life.

 

[salisburyv]

Don't mean to be a Karen...but, Shell is a top tier gasoline. that means it has cleaning additives that actually work. this is decided by auto manufacturers. i'm sure we all have our stories of "suspected" bad gas. I was a Service writer at a New car stealership for 25 years . I have only used shell in all my cars. including my STi {which was very fussy} and fully built. Pistons looked great upon multiple tear downs (subaru, ugh). OP, at your mileage, i would have the injectors removed and professionally cleaned. the only other option to try, i think it has been mentioned, is to do a top engine clean. It introduces detergent directly into the fuel rail, while the vehicle is running. Make sure you do it outside. tailpipes will be blowing a lot of smoke. Hope this helps!!

 

[iamdub]

Don't mean to be a Karen...but, Shell is a top tier gasoline. that means it has cleaning additives that actually work. this is decided by auto manufacturers. i'm sure we all have our stories of "suspected" bad gas. I was a Service writer at a New car stealership for 25 years . I have only used shell in all my cars. including my STi {which was very fussy} and fully built. Pistons looked great upon multiple tear downs (subaru, ugh).

Sharing your experience, however opposing, doesn't make you a Karen and I don't think anyone said Shell wasn't a Top Tier gasoline. What I can say is that it's different than the others I've run. It has been consistently worse for me for multiple vehicles over 20+ years. I believe this was a short subject here a while back and others mentioned how Shell was among the best for them. IIRC, the majority of those saying so were in the northeast and/or midwest. Maybe it's my local refinery at fault?

 

[avalonandl]

Techron injector cleaner is great. Run 2 bottle with each tank full.

BTW its the same a GM injector cleaner.

 

[donjetman]

BG Products are great too. Take it to one of those shops.
https://www.bgprod.com/

 

[swathdiver]

Hey group, the other night I got the check engine light come on. I was close to an Autozone so I stopped and had them read the codes. Came back as "dirty fuel injector/injectors". Put some Lucas injector cleaner in the tank and went on my way. Light went out a while later that night. That was 2 days ago and then today it came back on again, ran codes at home and came back with "bank 1 running lean". So I am thinking that the injectors need a good cleaning. Truck is running great and getting 14 to 15.5 mpg according to the DIC. Put a can of Seafoam in the tank this afternoon but I know that is just a band-aid. What is a good way to clean the injectors without a complete tear down of the fuel system It is a 2007 Yukon Denali with 213,000 on the clock on a 6.2. Thanks.

Get a code reader delivered from Amazon for $12-30 and then you can download an app on your phone to look at the codes.

GM has been using Echlin to clean injectors for over forty years and so have I. You attach the can directly to your fuel rail (with adapter) and run the motor on the can until it stalls. Of course you'll need to disable your fuel pump by pulling the fuse first.

There is a guy on youtube offering his services on cleaning injectors too. I don't usually have injector problems because all of our motors run on E85 or Chevron 93 and rarely anything else.

You get what you pay for with cheap, low octane and non-top tier fuel.

 

[5StarCustmSolutns]

Will have to look that up on line. I remember a long time ago I remember that you could run cleaner through the fuel rails. Seems like that would work the best.

Did this about 18mos ago... Seemed to work great. 9v with alligator clip jumpers causes an audible "click" as the injector opens and spraying cleaner through showed 4 distinct nozzle fan type spray patterns. Two of mine were not playing nice on first spray but straightened right up on second. CHanged o-rings same time also...

from my experiences:
Techron= A
B-12= A
Seafoam tank and whole can through vacuum hose at 2000rpm= A
Royal Purp= A+
Cataclean= A+

edit: used brake cleaner to spray out my injectors...

 

[B520044]

Did this about 18mos ago... Seemed to work great. 9v with alligator clip jumpers causes an audible "click" as the injector opens and spraying cleaner through showed 4 distinct nozzle fan type spray patterns. Two of mine were not playing nice on first spray but straightened right up on second. CHanged o-rings same time also...

from my experiences:
Techron= A
B-12= A
Seafoam tank and whole can through vacuum hose at 2000rpm= A
Royal Purp= A+
Cataclean= A+

edit: used brake cleaner to spray out my injectors...

Is it OK to use these products on the new generations 21-23? I have 30k miles and want to try one. The manual recommends the AC Delco version, but I assume the ones you mentioned should also do the trick?

 

[Geotrash]

Is it OK to use these products on the new generations 21-23? I have 30k miles and want to try one. The manual recommends the AC Delco version, but I assume the ones you mentioned should also do the trick?

Yes, as long as it's a gasser and not a diesel. Chevron/Techron would be my choice.

 

[5StarCustmSolutns]

Yes

With 30k miles I doubt you need Cataclean but wouldn't hurt to read bottle/website, learn what is, then decide. I've only used it because both of our vehicles have been running rich for too long and trying to prevent catalytic converters from plugging up

 

[Foggy]

Is it OK to use these products on the new generations 21-23? I have 30k miles and want to try one. The manual recommends the AC Delco version, but I assume the ones you mentioned should also do the trick?

Thats direct injection.. Techron will always help the entire fuel system.
But there are some specific cleaners that work better for DI systems
Those injectors live a totally diff life than older port injectors.. They are right in the
combustion chambers

 

[Nashoba]

+1 for the code(s). There are no monitors specifically to tell if the injectors are dirty. Yes, clogged fuel injectors could cause a lean condition. But, there might not be an actual failure with the injectors and the DTC could be a failing O2 sensor erroneously reporting Bank 1 being lean. A failing O2 sensor could also cause a lean (or rich) condition.

The DTC for the engine running rich or lean is determined by the O2 sensors. If the problem is isolated to one bank, a quick at-home test for the sensor is to swap it with the one on the other bank and seeing if the code changes to Bank 2 running lean. If your undercarriage is rusted, don't even try this unless you plan to replace the sensors. Other common causes for a lean condition (perceived or actual) are exhaust leak ahead of the sensor and intake manifold leak, although this one usually causes a rich condition.

As for additives, I'm a fan of Berryman B-12. It's about half the price of Seafoam and more potent. I run my tank to around 1/4 tank or less and add a can. I run it until really low then fill up. Unless running E85, I stick to Chevron/Texaco or Exxon. NEVER Shell. I use the B-12 every 3-4 refuelings.

Berryman's B-12 is my favorite of all time. Have used it almost all my adult it seems. But you should never mix these different additives in a tank of gas. Run a tank with just gas between Seafoam and B-12 before you switch to B-12 or back to Seafoam. I have never used Seafoam for anything, not even a solvent cleaner for the carb or throttle body. Just do not care for it. My Dad was a Marvel Mystery Oil user and swore by it. I did use it because he did until I got married and then I ventured out to others till I began to use B-12. I used Hot Shot's Secret a couple of times last year and the results were inconclusive. May give it another try later this year but it is rather pricey for me. I have also tried the Hot Shot's Secret friction reducer but could not really tell any difference. I just don't put enough miles on my Frontier to have much faith in anything but B-12.

 

[iamdub]

Berryman's B-12 is my favorite of all time. Have used it almost all my adult it seems. But you should never mix these different additives in a tank of gas. Run a tank with just gas between Seafoam and B-12 before you switch to B-12 or back to Seafoam. I have never used Seafoam for anything, not even a solvent cleaner for the carb or throttle body. Just do not care for it. My Dad was a Marvel Mystery Oil user and swore by it. I did use it because he did until I got married and then I ventured out to others till I began to use B-12. I used Hot Shot's Secret a couple of times last year and the results were inconclusive. May give it another try later this year but it is rather pricey for me. I have also tried the Hot Shot's Secret friction reducer but could not really tell any difference. I just don't put enough miles on my Frontier to have much faith in anything but B-12.

I don't use Sea Foam so this wouldn't happen with me. But, now I'm curious. I've never thought about someone combining (intentionally or not) Sea Foam and B-12. Are you leading on that you know what would happen, like an undesired chemical reaction of some sort?

 

[Nashoba]

They are just products that do not seem compatible to me. Let me go through my accumulated data to see what the differences are. May take me a couple days to find it again.