injector cleaner in turbo engine??

I have an s80 T6 . Can I use fuel injector cleaner in the gas tank with a
turbo engine? Jst thought I'd ask first

John

 

Yes. Techron is a popular brand, but I've used inexpensive brands
successfuly in my '85 765T and other cars.

If you habitually use "top tier" gasoline brands (see
http://autorepair.about.com/od/generalinfo/a/110305.htm) injector cleaner
isn't useful. Otherwise I recommend about as often as the oil is changed.

Mike

 

Thanks for the info,ike.

John

 

I'm looking more into this recently and I'm really tipping toward using "top
tier" gasoline regularly. It was sparked by a couple of people who had
trouble with 'pinging' in their 2001 Toyota Prius cars. In each case the
mileage was over 100K miles. The prime suspect is carbon deposits, one of
the bad things top tier fuel is designed to prevent. A couple of links I
found interesting:
http://autorepair.about.com/od/generalinfo/a/110305.htm
http://www.enertechlabs.com/gasoline_problems.htm
Although the second link does have something to sell, the background sounds
right and the claims make sense in terms of my experience as a DIYer. Every
cylinder head I've ever had off had carbon deposits and every piston head
has also had deposits. In another forum another regular echoed that, except
that the few that had used top tier gasoline exclusively did not have carbon
deposits. Hmm.

The same contributor mentioned he has a Shell credit card that gives him a
5% discount on gasoline, which would put it on a par with the very cheapest
gasolines. I have to look into that. Carbon deposits can be bad news,
especially in a turbocharged engine.

Mike

 

I might be cheaper to buy the cheapest fuel and use a liquid to clean
valves, injectors, etc. .

Before using the "ultra fuel treatment", I used a cleaner only for the
injectors and the result was marginal improvement.

Using a bottle of cleaner every 2-4 years shouldn't do too much harm?

Here in Canada, a litre of premium is about 10 cents more than the
cheapest fuel. Since there are 4.5 litres in a (Canadian) gallon,
that's 45 cents more per gallon. 45 cents out of $4.50 means about
10% more for premium fuel. If you spend $3,000/year on gas, you pay
$300 more. It might be better to simply pay someone to open the
engine and have him properly cleans the valves, injectors, etc. .

My $0.02.

 

Or not - here in Flagstaff the price difference between Chevron or Shell and
the very cheapest gas is less than 15 cents per gallon, amounting to only a
three dollar difference on a twenty gallon tank. More often the margin is
closer to 7 or 8 cents (sometimes they are the same), which would cut the
difference to about a dollar and a half, about the price of the cheapest
additive. In http://www.enertechlabs.com/gasoline_problems.htm it says,
"Deposit control additives such as polybutene amine (PBA) were introduced in
1970 to help keep injectors and intake valves clean. The only drawback with
PBA is that too much of it can increase combustion chamber deposits.
Polyether amine (PEA), by comparison, cleans fuel injectors and valves, and
does not increase combustion chamber deposits. In fact, it helps remove
accumulated deposits inside the combustion chamber..." It is crucial to know
just what is in the additive, and the cheap ones are typically just
petroleum distillates.

Mike

 

In the old days higher detergency was related to fuel grade, but the Top
Tier designation does not allow for that. The Top Tier designation is not
related to fuel grade; all grades at all outlets of a top tier brand must
meet the standards for detergency for the brand to be certified "top tier."
If the car is spec'd to use regular, use regular at a top tier station.

It really isn't an option to plan to have the deposits removed by a
mechanic; the procedure is essentially the same as replacement of the head
gasket(s). Removing the deposits manually is the expensive emergency surgery
the improved gasoline is supposed to avoid.

Mike