How to Use Fuel Injector Cleaner – Easy Complete Guide
Maintaining your vehicle is a daunting task, doesn’t matter if you own a truck, a car, or an RV. You have to take care of really simple things, like cleaning fuel lines too.
You will deprive your car of reaching its maximum efficiency if you do not clean your fuel system regularly. That fuel is as important as the oil in your motor.
If there are any contaminations in your fuel line, your mileage will be limited, and the potential of your car will be decreased.
And if you neglect this matter for a longer period of time, you will have to deal with long term damage that will require expensive repairs.
Use Fuel Injector Cleaner
If you want what’s best for your car, you should know how to use the fuel injector cleaner on your car every now and then. Don’t you worry, this is a lot easier than you reckon!
Why do you need to use fuel injector cleaners?
Gasoline leaves contaminants in your fuel system. The contamination tends to settle at your fuel tank’s bottom, around the fuel pressure regulator of the car, or in the fuel lines.
The real deal is when the contamination begins to deposit in your fuel injector. What is the cause of this? There are two main reasons for deposit buildup.
1. Carbon
The number one culprit when you talk about the harmful kind of deposits in the engine is carbon. How is that so?
Our engines are not capable of extracting all of the energy our fuel has to offer. Some portions of the fuel are left out during the combustion process; i.e., they do not combust properly.
The carbon deposits that are harmful to your engine are made from the fuel that does not combust. Later on, these leftovers become settled in the fuel injectors.
This is not a very good sign. It is not possible to stop all that from happening. It isn’t very harmful if the cleaning process happens every now and then, though.
However, if you leave it like that for years, you will end up with a very sticky situation.
2. Ethanol
Ethanol is a renewable source of energy, derived from plants. It was used, back in the day, to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide emissions.
This made the vehicles comply with the terms of air-quality. It was also used as an ingredient responsible for octane boosting.
Modern engines do not use ethanol for the sake of lowering fuel emissions. Instead, it is a filler material, to lower gas prices.
The newer engines are designed in such a way that they can run on this ethanol/gasoline mixture. But the older vehicles are not accustomed to it.
Alcohol is corrosive, so it is harsh on the parts of the engine. Furthermore, if your car uses an old engine, it will cause the dislodge of the carbon deposit.
It will also oxidize and emulsify to form by-products that are non-combustible, which will result in a buildup within the fuel injector.
Do fuel injector cleaners work?
These products that you use to clean your fuel injector systems are made up of concentrated detergents. These detergents are capable of breaking up those minerals that form a clog.
Do fuel injector cleaner work
This causes the flow of fuel to the engine to reduce. Which, in turn, results in difficult starts, knocks, and sputtering.
Even though injector designs have been improved to avoid any clogs, the gasoline quality has dropped.
Many petrol companies make the use of detergents to avoid deposits as much as possible; injectors still tend to get clogged.
The fuel injector cleaners are not only beneficial, but they are also extremely necessary for the proper functioning of your vehicle.
These cleaners are made up of chemicals that are capable of successfully breaking down the contaminants that build up inside your injector.
These chemicals are polybutene or PBA. They unclog the fuel injectors and clean them. Thus, they restore your vehicle’s performance.
Not only that, but they will also help in the reduction of emissions by your car. So basically, they are used everywhere, and by everyone.
They are very simple to use and do not even require a heavy capital investment. Cleaning your fuel injector is something you can do at home!
How to use these cleaners?
The first step towards cleaning your fuel injector is to get the fuel injector cleaner that is meant for your engine. Not every engine can support any cleaner.
In this regard, you can do your research, or consult an expert in this matter. After you have bought the cleaner that is appropriate for you, follow these steps.
- The instruction manual is extremely important. Keep that with you during all steps.
- Check your engine to determine the location of fuel injectors in your car.
- Remove the fuel pump from the fuel injectors. Refer to the manual for knowing the exact way of disconnecting the pump and inserting the U tube.
- You have to connect the cleaning kit to the fuel pressure test p[ort. The fuel pressure test port is located inside the fuel rail. Your kit will tell you exactly how you need to attach the hose.
- Remove the fuel tank’s cover. You need to do that for the sake of avoiding the excessive pressure that might be created due to the debris cleaning.
- Now check to see if the fuel pump has turned off. If it is not turned off, turn it off before going to the next step.
- Turn the car on after you have turned the fuel pump off and let the engine run. Usually, the time required for it to cycle through the entire system is 5-10 minutes. So that is how long you need to keep the engine running.
- The cleaner will stop on its own once it is used fully.
- Now the fuel injector is clean. Detach all the kits and remove your cleaner.
- Close the fuel tank’s cover. Switch the engine on to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Warning
Always use the fuel injector cleaner when your tank is low on fuel.
If your tank is low on fuel, do not use a fuel injector cleaner at any cost. The detergent will, in this case, loosen the sediment that is present in the gas tank, and the fuel system.
This will result in a clog in the fuel injectors.
Tips when using fuel injector cleaners
Now that we are convinced that they do actually work let’s proceed to a few tips that you should be wary of before cleaning your fuel injection system.
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- How much fuel cleaner should I use?
When it comes to the amount of fuel cleaner you are supposed to be using, you need to consult the manufacturer’s instructions.
Every manufacturer has designed its product o have different strengths. You need to check the size of your tank and follow the instructions that your cleaner has provided you with.
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- When should I use my fuel injector?
The frequency of you using your fuel injector depends on your mileage.
Generally speaking, it is considered appropriate to use any maintenance product almost every 10,000 miles.
Should you use them when you aren’t using your car for longer periods?
Yes! You must clean your fuel injector system, even when you are not going to use your car. In fact, a standing car is more prone to buildup than a running one.
When you restart the car after long periods of leaving it be, you will notice more problems. So if you want to avoid these problems, here is what you should do.
You can use the special storage cleaner on your car. This kind of cleaners is designed so that you can add them to the gasoline of a tank that is to be stored for more than 30 days.
It will help your fuel stay fresh for up to two years. These also work with all kinds of gasoline blends.
As this product has to do two years worth of work, you need to keep the engine running for at least 30 minutes after you inject your systems with it.
This will ensure that the cleaner has reached every part of the system. If you have a car that you use only on certain occasions, then using this kind of cleaner will ensure efficient maintenance of your car.
What other methods you can use to clean your fuel injectors?
Yes, there are other ways to clean the fuel injector systems of your car. However, they are not as convenient as the fuel injector cleaners.
Also, they are more appropriate to be used when the system is impacted heavily by the buildup.
You can get the injectors removed completely by forcing the solvents through the systems at high pressures. However, this is not something that you can do at home.
You would have to have a specialist company check your injectors, or you will need to check in with your mechanic.
