Thoughts on this...???

54warrior · 06-11-2008, 08:45 AM

I was speaking with a co-worker yesterday about fuel consumption and he mentioned that he just had his wife's Corolla into the garage and the dealership mentioned to him that they'd like to clean the fuel injectors and fuel system. They explained that the new 10% ethanol blend of fuel is not burning as efficiently as 'regular', non-ethanol fuel, and in return, it is leaving more carbon deposits inside the engine and injectors.

They went on to show him their injector cleaning device, which uses THREE chemicals, and explained the entire process to him. They also noted that the Fuel Injector cleaner that you would purchase from an auto parts store/gas station is only ONE chemical and is not as effective at cleaning the system, that they would remove each injector clean and clean it by hand, etc.

He had them perform the service and claims to have noticed a significant improvement in throttle response. He also noted that his car has the "Instantaneous MPG" and "Average MPG" readouts on the display, and both were reading higher now than previously.

So here's my take:

There is no doubt in my mind regarding their claims about the ethanol, personally, I've noticed a 1.5+mpg DROP in my fuel economy since they have implemented this 10% crap
I also have no problem believing that the car is performing better after having the FI system cleaned (it has like 25-30k on the odometer)
What I do question though, is whether the dealership's system/process/chemicals are better than store bought stuff

Thoughts/opinions/links to credible supporting documentation???

BK19702 · 06-11-2008, 08:54 AM

The whole dirty injector thing does hold water for sure. I ended up getting that service performed on my old truck (performed while in for an extended warranty service), and the throttle response was immediately noticeable. I agree with you about not being so sure if the dealer's bug juice is any better than what you can buy in the store. To be honest, I think a good quality cleaner like BG would do the trick. One other thing to note, when I got this service done on my last truck the tech I was talking to said that running a few tanks of V-Power (Shell Premium) or similar would have almost the same effect on the system. Of course, with the prices now, the store bought chemicals will be cheaper!

**ArmyAviation** · 06-11-2008, 08:54 AM

I can see using the dealer cleaning meathod if you use crappy cheap gas. If you use good quality fuel you shouldnt have to use this system. I use the B&G 44K every 20k in my vehicles and nver have any issues. I do pull the spark plugs out and they're nice and clean

DRTYAZN · 06-11-2008, 08:55 AM

I do believe that you do get better performance with a cleaning... however, I don't believe that the dealership's "3 chemical blend" is better than some of the aftermarket store stuff... it's their process that's better in cleaning, not their product. I have a local drive-thru oil place that provides the injector/engine cleaning deal. I took my 02 Tundra through it before handing it down to my father-in-law for his ranch work. The process is pretty interesting, tubes here and there, running engine while they flush, inject, and do other stuff that I'm sure allows the engine to dissolve, break, and blow out deposits. After a half hr. and $99, I drove off and it felt like a brand new truck off the lot again. The throttle response was revived and the butt dyno feel was very noticeable. As for gas mileage, I'm sure it's better but I have a heavy foot so mine sucks all the time anyways. I don't know what the magic mileage is to get the service done, but I'm imagining that around the 50k mark, I'm gonna have my Titan done as well. Just my own thoughts and experience...

Steamguy · 06-11-2008, 01:49 PM

Couple things here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54warrior

carbon deposits inside the engine and injectors.

You get carbon in the combustion chambers, not the injectors. You'd only have a situation like that if they were really horribly clogged and you were getting backpressure into them. At that point the car would be running so awful that you'd have it in for service anyway. At this point, you'd yank them all and clean them on the bench.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54warrior

...their injector cleaning device, which uses THREE chemicals... the Fuel Injector cleaner that you would purchase from an auto parts store/gas station is only ONE chemical and is not as effective at cleaning the system, that they would remove each injector clean and clean it by hand, etc.

That's correct. The fuel injector cleaners you can use directly in the injection system are very corrosive, and can't pass through the rest of the fuel system. There are also some types of aftermarket FI cleaners that will do damage to the injectors. Check your book: Nissan doesn't recommend any aftermarket cleaners for this reason.

Here's a pretty good link, this echoes all the stuff I was taught.

Hope this helps.

And yes, I also hate this 10% ethanol stuff. Goodbye to 2MPG...

Bama334 · 06-11-2008, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 54warrior

I was speaking with a co-worker yesterday about fuel consumption and he mentioned that he just had his wife's Corolla into the garage and the dealership mentioned to him that they'd like to clean the fuel injectors and fuel system. They explained that the new 10% ethanol blend of fuel is not burning as efficiently as 'regular', non-ethanol fuel, and in return, it is leaving more carbon deposits inside the engine and injectors.
:

Nothing new about ethanol, it has been around since the later 80's when I worked for a fuel distributor, so I can't say when it was introduced. Ethanol is really just alcohol, clean and pure. Cars have been upgraded for years to handle this type fuel that so many have been using already just unknowing using it. It has always provided a tax break for oil companies and that continues today. If you question alcohol's cleaning ability used it to clean up some spilled oil or diesel fuel, it works wonders. Think what everclear does to your insides.

AF-Medic · 06-12-2008, 12:50 AM

It's a good ideal to get your oil changed after using chemical or any injector cleaner. You dont want that stuff hanging out in the crankcase. It will allow more wear.

todd92 · 06-12-2008, 06:24 PM

While mandated ethanol is bad economic policy (look at grain prices), it happens to burn much cleaner than gasoline. The guy at the dealer that was feeding you this BS was either selling overpriced service or stupid or both...