Fuel injector cleaner *after* oil change

Chalk it up to poor planning, but I just got my oil changed yesterday
and would still like to throw in some fuel injector cleaner (Techron,
from what I read) before I fill up again. Is this a bad idea... should
I just wait for my next oil change? btw... '92 240 w/ 135k...

 

It's fine, but just to clarify: the cleaner goes in the fuel tank rather
than in the oil.

Mike

 

When I failed my emission test, I first used a liquid cleaner strictly
for fuel injectors and the result was marginal. I would say the car
drove marginally better. A 5-10% improvement at best.

I then used a liquid cleaner for injectors, valves, fuel system, etc.
and this has made a NEW car out of my 93 240. I'm telling you, it's
NOT the same car. Acceleration is smooth and can be extremely
aggressive if needed.

Btw, I did pass the emission test after using the cleaner.

My $0.02.

 

What was the cleaner? I've tried various concoctions in different cars and
have never actually noticed a difference.

 

Go to Canadian Tire web site and do a search on "ultra fuel system
treatment". Sells for $14 and is Candian Tire's brand, Motormaster.
It is a red liquid in a transparent plastic bottle.

Like I wrote in the other thread;

"In the first emissions test, HC was at 83 (linit is 66), CO was at
0.40 (limit is 0.37) and NO was at 903 (limit is 505).

After using the "Ultra Fuel System Treatment",

I got 66 for HC ( a 20.4% reduction from last test),
CO at 0.23 (a 42.5% reduction) and NO at 451 (a 50% reduction)."

The car was driving half city, half highway. I bought a house and my
daily weekly travel involves both highway and city driving.

I could feel the difference way before I took the last test. I guess
HC is still high cause of all the crud that ended up in the oil.

I'm running a second bottle right now. And I intend to run a third
bottle later in the fall before I do my next oil change.

 

After reading NoOne's earlier post about this Fuel Treatment I too went to
Canadian Tire, found the product and tried a bottle (in my gas tank, of
course)

I am quite sceptical about these sort of products but I must admit that the
engine does seem to be running a little smother that it was.

If one can notice a slight difference without measuring with any
technological equipment then the product could be worth it's cost but I will
say that $14 CND is fairly steep.

Not sure which part of the Great White North NoOne is from but the sale for
this product ($9 CND) came about two weeks after NoOne first mentioned it.
I wonder if CTC sales travel from West to East?

My worry is, I had asked a mechanic about using this sort of thing and his
advice was that it was ok if you didn't use it too much (just once and a
while). Couldn't get him to elaborate on this other that to indicate that
using this type of product too much may cause some sort of damage or
troubles.

The bottle says that the product is good for 6000 Km but adding a bottle
every 6000 Km is going to make the price of High-Test Gasoline a little too
high for me.

Anybody have any thoughts on the continuous use of this sort of product?

Only listed ingredient is Mineral Sprits. (varsol?)

 

I am a proponent of using injector cleaner a few times a year unless the
engine is getting "top tier" gasoline regularly. I've also heard happy users
of a product called "Seafoam" but mostly I think those products should be
reserved for when there is a specific complaint.

Mike

 

I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (for better or for worst).

I've never used any such products. Never! I never believed in them.

Like I wrote in another post, I followed the advice of James Sweet
who suggested to use Techron. Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know
what Techron is exactly. A brand name or the a product itself.

In any case, I understood what James suggested and went to CT to have
a look at the products being sold.

I do NOT particularly like the Canadian Tire's brand, Motormaster. I
feel that more often than not, you'll end up with an inferior product.
In particular when it comes to rechargeable batteries for tools. So I
basically never, ever buy a Motormaster product.

I figured that since it is impossible for me to know if brand X of
cleaner is better than brand Y, then I might as well take the least
expensive one. And fortunately for me, the $14 bottle was on sale for
$9. That's how I ended up buying the Motormaster brand.

Actually, I also bough the fuel injectors cleaner, also by
Motormaster. It was also on sale.

Like I said in another post, I first tried the fuel injectors cleaner
and the improvement was negligeable.

Also, I suspect that the suggestion made by another poster, Clay, as
to use the car in situations were the engine will warm up and cool
often is preferable to long highway drive. As Clay pointed out and I
suspect that he might be right, that situations where the crud heats
up and then cools down is preferable in order to get rid of it. IOW,
it is the action of the liquid in combination with the process of
heating and cooling that eventually breaks it up.

As for me, my only regret is that I cannot have my car tested again to
see if further treatment will have further impact on the emissions
test. Guess I'll find out in two years :-(

I do not intend to use such a product on a regular basis. I used it
once. I'm doing a second treatment right now and I'll do a third
treatment prior to my oil change. That's it, that's all.

 

I'm not disputing your claims, I just haven't seen results like that on my
own car, but I'm willing to give it a try. The nearest Canadian Tire is
about 2.5 hours from me up across the border so that doesn't do me much
good, must be something comparable available down here though.

 

Your mechanic might be concerned that the solvent (which is what all these
fuel system/injector cleaners are) might damage rubber or plastic parts
which weren't designed for frequent/constant contact with them.

AKA paint thinner. Buy by the gallon at a paint/hardware store for about
what you paid for your bottle.


Gary

 

Why do you want to all of a sudden throw in some fuel injector
cleaner? Gasolines are complex products that include several
additives including an injector cleaner. If your car is running rough
it would be much better to find out the reason why and fix the cause.

Most of these bottled automotive elixirs can be said to do no harm,
but that's about it.