Hi Guys

Seeing as the professional cost of Cleaning Injectors is around £200+ for 12, I thought that I might have a go myself.

Can you clean Injectors in Acetone, or can that damage them in any way.

 

I'm not sure if exposing the entire injector to solvents is problematic or not, but soaking them will not likely help them. Best bet for a thorough cleaning would be fitting a fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator and a tank to hold injector cleaner and one injector. Run the system and activate the injector repeatedly for short durations. Attention should be paid to the explosive potential of such a setup. Ventilation, physically isolated spark-free actuating circuit and a handy fire extinguisher at a minimum. But it can all be rigged from parts borrowed off the car.

 

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172192078276

I believe acetone can be used with caution about volatile and flammable vapours.
Commercial cleaning seems to use a combination of solvents with ultrasonic agitation of solvent bath.

I have been considering buying the above for £390 however there would be additional customs charge (import from China)
Useful part is examination of spray pattern and flow rates before and after cleaning.

You also require a seal kit

 

Visit You Tube and search "Fuel Injector Cleaning"....you'll see lots of home-brewed ideas.

The DIY methods can be successful in reviving totally clogged injectors or improving dirty ones....but not quite the same as a professional service when flow rates are measured, inlet screens replaced, and such.

Cheers
DD

 

Hi Paul_59

The 'ball park' figure for cleaning 12 Injectors seems to be around £200 although there could be an additional charge for taking the Injectors off the Fuel Rail and then replacing the hoses and putting it all back together.

So I could easily see those prices jumping to over £300 which seems to be making my new radiator (re-cored) look like a bit of a bargain in comparison.

As such I decided I'd nothing to lose by having a go myself and made a Semi-Pro Rig in just under an hour and connected the Fuel Rail direct to my Air Compressor, after having filled the Rail with Carburettor Cleaner.

Then having made myself a lead from a Spare Injection Plug from my 'Scrapper' I gave each of those Injectors a very quick 'dab' of power from a 9 volt radio battery.

And found 6 of my Injectors were 'gummed up' 3 on 'A' Bank and 3 on 'B' Bank, so maybe not surprising that my Car wouldn't Start.

Although I didn't manage to un-gum those Injectors, the good news is I know what's wrong with my Car, so with that I can rule out problems with things like the ECU.

Then I turned the Fuel Rail over, so that the Injectors were pointing up in the Air and then with the Compressor disconnected from the Rail, I then gave the Injector 'Tips' an external 'Blast' from a Spray Can of Carb Cleaner.

Which then caused something to happen that I was not expecting, as every time I sprayed one of those 'Tips' from the 'Outside' I could hear the Injector 'Click' on the 'Inside'

At first I thought I was hearing things and so I did it again and heard all 12 Injectors Click every time I gave them a Blast of Carb Cleaner on their 'Tips'

But as the nights were drawing in and it was getting much too dark to see what I was doing, I didn't have enough time to Test them again.

So I refilled the Rail with Carb Cleaner and left them to soak overnight and then in the Morning I'll Test them again to see if I got lucky!

Thanks for the link but its not worth me buying a Kit as what I managed to make up myself should be good enough to do the job.

 

Hi Jig Jag

I decided to use Carburettor Cleaner, as it sounds safer to use.

 

Hi Doug

Cheers, I've been checking those out but decided to make my own Rig, as I don't want to take the Injectors off the Rail if I don't have to.

So I'll have to see how it goes and then report back.

 

Do yours actually need cleaning? What symptoms do they exhibit?

 

Hi Mikey

The ones that don't Squirt don't Click, there is no sound at all when you give them a quick 'dab' with a 9 volt radio battery PP9.

Maybe I'll try a 12 volt battery and see if that makes any difference but when I turned the rail upside down and squirted the Tips with Carb Cleaner, it did sound as if something was being pushed back.

So who knows what might happen when I retest them later on.

 

Orangeblossom, only down side to keeping the entire rail intact is you won't be able to flush out the injector inlets. Some have tiny filters and these can become clogged. Since your questionable injectors were not clicking rather that not spraying when they click it's not likely the cause of your issue.

You could try blowing them out from the tips while firing them but as long as you find they eventually flow it's not something I'd fret over.

 

Depending on the running condition of your vehicle, I would try BG44K and see if that improves the running of your car. Obviously if the injectors are out of the car, I would follow what Doug stated above...

 

If the volume and quality of the additives already in today's fuel is not enough to keep injectors clean, a can of additive is not likely to do anything.

I'm still not clear as to why the OP thinks they need cleaning. Is the engine running poorly?

 

Mikey. The OP's car has been standing for 16 years and the injectors are jammed shut with fuel gum, varnish etc.
Greg

 

Ah! That changes everything.

I'd remove them for proper shop service then.

 

i have been over this subject a few times!!

just say you actually get some injectors to flow some fuel,thats fine, the engine will start and run.

now if you are out on the hiway, and cruising at 60/70mph, what do you think could happen if one or two where NOT flowing as much fuel as the others??

could those cylinders run lean and possibly blow a gasket, or melt a piston?

and like said here, they each have small filter, and flow would not be a balance between them all.

most good cleaning shops give around 3% balance for a set!

but engine would run and at idle no problems would show up, because of small fuel flow, but may show up on hiway!

but if you are only trying to get it to run ,,HAVE AT IT!!

it is a learning experience. i owned one of those injector cleaning machines(pictured), you learn a lot when you can measure injectors,like fuel volume at different RPMs, and spray shapes, at different load and rpm!

oh yeah, if injectors are garbaged up, you would be surprised at whats in the whole fuel system!

 

Hi Ron

That's not only interesting but frightening as well!

As running lean and 'melting a piston' had never occurred to me.

But this Car has been standing and has never been run or turned over since the Year 2000 with only 24,000 Miles on the clock.

When I tried to Start her up, she didn't want to go but Greg and Grant both nailed it, as having gummed up Injectors.

So taking note of what they advised, I tested the Fuel Pressure and the FPR and Changed the Filter.

Then removed the Fuel Rail together with the Injectors still attached.

After which I changed all 12 Spark Plugs, then Tested the Injectors on a home made rig with a 9 Volt Battery.

Six injectors were gummed up and wouldn't 'Click' or Squirt.

3 on 'A' Bank and 3 on 'B' Bank

So I filled the Fuel Rail up with Wynns Carb Cleaner and let it soak, then tried again, this time using a 12 volt Aux Battery (just giving them a dab of power) while I pressurised the rail with a small compressor.

And also squirted Carb Cleaner on the Tips, which seemed to un-gum them and make them Click but that was all, so I left them overnight to soak in Carb Cleaner.

When I tested them this morning (using a 12 Volt Battery) 11 of them were squirting really well, except for Number 6 on 'B' Bank which was still stuck.

Then after a bit of Tapping with a Small Hammer, Number 6 on 'B' Bank started working just as well as the others (which all 'seemed good')

So I'm planning to put the Rail back and see if She runs.

 

Hi Greg

Thanks to you and Grant, all the Injectors are Spraying, so I'll try and get her running and see how she goes.

 

You still need to change all of the olde rubber hose on each of those injectors along with everything else forward of the firewall.............they should have date tags that show when they were (last changed,,,,,,,many engine fires as a result of leaking olde fuel lines...............easy enough job (cheap[ insurance)..swedged hoses can be rebuilt by you local hydraulic hose service shop or you can spend a small fortune with ????SnG, etc. Think of yo machine as an aircraft...........highly capable but dependent on excellent maintenance. Best, JW

 

Ye typo? Nae. Methinks not.

 

Actually those can be DIY remade as well.

Cut off the swedge collars and remove the hose. New hose pressed on by hand just like the injector hoses....using the same little cups or 'ferrules' at the end of the hose. Works perfectly well; I've done so on both my V12s.

Cheers
DD