Diesel Fuel Injector cleaning?

[archaeology_student]

Hi,

I was wondering about using something to clean diesel fuel injectors internally. I have heard that adding a little bit of gas (petrol) to the fuel tank will help clean the injectors.

I also came across some cleaners for sale like Valvoline Diesel Injector Cleaner. Will products like these help to clean the injectors a little?

Does anyone have any experience with these products?

Thank you

[Muddy Oval]

Be careful here- you don't want to wreck the injetion pump to clean the injectors. I'll pick the brain of our diesel guy at work and see what he uses- it's an excellent question. One thing I know is that you have to be careful with those silly expensive injection pumps- we've had several people kill theirs playing with alternative fuels... makes me wonder if cleaners etc might be dangerous to play with.

[TerryS]

There are injector cleaners, especially formulated for diesels, and using them is a good thing. Carquest brand is made by Valvoline, if I remember correctly, and I have been using it for years with no adverse effects. The benefits are not the things that jump out at you, but the smoke after startup dissappeared in an older John Deere tractor I had.
There are injector cleaners made for EFI gas cars. DO NOT USE THEM.
Make sure whatever you use is specifically for Diesel injectors. One of the Anti-Gel additives has an injector cleaner and biocide in it.

[Muddy Oval]

According to our guy here- don't bother with the cleaners you put in the fuel. If there's a problem, grab a manual and go through the injector cleaning section. The injectors come apart easily to be manually cleaned. They were designed to run all kinds of crappy quality fuels around the world, so they made them easy to remove and clean. The cleaners you put in the fuel can be too harsh or change the viscosity of the fuel if you use too much.

[archaeology_student]

Thank you both for your insight and recomendations The one cleaner I was thinking was from Stanadyne and it seems to have some good qualities.

For the temporary solution I think I will go with the diesel injector cleaner, and in the not too distant future I will dissassemble the fuel injectors for a cleaning/rebuild if necessary... or get some replacement parts if I can find them *lol*.

Cheers

[Muddy Oval]

Replacement parts aren't hard at all- I have a 65 diesel 109 and I've always been able to get parts. Just use the cleaner stuff sparingly- using more than recommended isn't better. I wouldn't even use it unless you suspect there's some crud on there.

[Funrover]

I have a 71 Mercedes Diesel....Every oil change I run a bottle of Lucas through it..... Car still runs great... But it only has 500,000 miles on it....

[TerryS]

Originally Posted by Muddy Oval

According to our guy here- don't bother with the cleaners you put in the fuel. If there's a problem, grab a manual and go through the injector cleaning section. The injectors come apart easily to be manually cleaned. They were designed to run all kinds of crappy quality fuels around the world, so they made them easy to remove and clean. The cleaners you put in the fuel can be too harsh or change the viscosity of the fuel if you use too much.

I got a chuckle out of that, but apart from some historical insight into the origin of Land Rover (Lucas) injectors, I certainly hope you're not suggesting that simply because the the guy drives a truck with old technology injectors, he employ the reccomended procedures in use at the time. I realize Springfield isn't exactly Gotham City, but you're not out in the Kalihari either. These are no longer the gold rush days of covered wagons and snake oil salesmen. When Lucas designed that injector, JP5 was considered to be the hottest burning fluid under the sun. Every Kero-Sun heater in Springfield is using a cleaner fuel than the jet fuel commonly available back then. Injectors get crudded up from the byproducts of combustion, but even the highest tech Detroits, MANN and Asian engine manufacturers suggest using injector cleaners in fuel. Hell, you ought to know the Air Force has additives to keep burner cans cleaner. Not coincidently, those additives are the same chemicals used in consumer injector products, and that ain't snake oil.
My old John Deere was 20 years newer than this guys Land Rover, and when I got it, it smoked pretty badly under load, but a month later it never smoked after startup. I doubt the guy is dumb enough to use more than one bottle per tank, which is less than 1% by volume, so unless the seals are already totally shot in his pump, no harm will come from using it in every tankfull.

By the way, Stanadyne is the largest manufacturer of injectors in the US, and despite the technology being lightyears from the old lucas injectors, the basic idea of a needle and seat, and the fluid that passes through them is still the same. Somehow, I get the sense they know which end of the gun the bullet comes out.

Ignore all I have said if you would rather spend many hours dissassembling your injectors, honing needles, replacing crush washers, bleeding the system, and fixing all the leaks, not to mention smelling like the oil burner repairman for the next month and not seeing your hands clean for another month. Eight out of ten truckers will swear by using injector cleaners, the other two will tell you about the UFO they saw over Lake Fairlee.

Funrover, my 300TD only has 245K on it, but I'll still run injector cleaner in the fuel.