My 2011 XJ with 41k miles is in for a few minor things that I wanted fix (Including the sunroof rust I posted about here), and they suggested for my 6 year service to do a fuel injector and throttle body clean for $475. I wanted to know if this was needed, I had someone take a look at the fuel injectors a little while back and I believe cleaned them, but is this the best use of $475?

Thanks!

 

Kitsch, I would say to spend your money elsewhere. First off, if your fuel injectors need cleaning, then you are using too cheap of fuel and that is causing degradation of your fuel injectors. As for the throttlebody, you can remove the inlet yourself and with a can of throttlebody cleaner, you can spray some on to a rag and wipe out the throttlebody yourself in just a few minutes.

If you really feel that something should be run through your injectors just to make sure that they are clean, stop by the local auto parts store and get yourself a bottle of injector cleaner. Don't get the cheapest bottle that you can get. Also, go with a brand that is not by the petroleum company that you normally fill up your car with (ie, don't get the Techron injector cleaner if you normally fill up at Chevron). By going with a different manufacturer, you are getting a different detergent package. So, anything that your normal gas place is missing, this product should catch.

 

I got the throttlebody cleaned at the dealer once to try and quell a rough idel (didn't help) so try and just DIY.

All you'll have to use to clean the injectors is a can of this stuff: https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/gasol...ystem-cleaner/ . Many users on here swear by it. Do it once per year and you're golden!

 

The thing is I had this done in January and they just sprung it up as a yearly service, but didn't even have the car looked at yet. I thought it was just something to get people to spend a lot of money unnecessary.

 

A lot of shops will "recommend" various stuff to get done to your car. A lot of it is stuff that at first glance seems would do a lot for the car, yet, in reality has very little to do with the car. In this case, the throttlebody cleaning is going to be something pretty close to someone wetting a rag with a cleaner and wiping the inside of your throttlebody. Something that even the mechanically inclined can probably do. As for the injector cleaner, this is normally a bit more involved. From what I have seen, they essentially connect up a hose to your fuel system and disable your fuel pump. They then start your car and pump the cleaner through your engine as it runs. After a period of time, they turn off your car, disconnect the cleaning machine and restore your fuel system.

If you truely want your fuel injectors cleaned, you need to do something like this:

It may seem a little cheesy, but this is probably about the best cleaning that you can do. It requires removing the fuel injectors from the car, but that way you know exactly how well each injector is spraying. A dirty injector will more or less dribble the fuel out of the injector vice atomizing it and making a nice cloud. The smaller you can make the droplets of fuel, the faster it will burn and the more power you can get out of a finite amount of gas.

 

Has anybody removed their injectors on the 5.0l engine? I'm sure there is a special procedure to remove the hi pressure injectors.

 

As akmeta suggested I use BG 44K maybe once a year in a tank of gas. It works if your idle becomes rough. As for injector removing, why remove if the engine is running smooth and in any event these injectors are direct high pressure injectors that protrude into the cylinders.

 

My comment was due to the video suggestion removing and cleaning the injectors. (I was being a little Sarcastic , but I should have been clearer). The direct injection high pressure injectors shouldn't be messed with if you really don't know what you are doing. The video shows that you remove the injectors to clean them. The only reason I would ever remove a direct injection injector is if one of them failed.

On my race vehicles with normal injectors, I have removed them to be cleaned and balanced. This is usually due to the vehicle sitting for a year or two without being started......yes I forgot to add the fuel stabilizer for storage a few times.