Summary

    – What are injectors

    – Solution 1: Clean the injector by adding a gasoline or diesel injector cleaner to the engine.

    – Solution 2: Call a professional with a pressurized tank cleaning system.

    – Solution 3: Ask a professional to perform an ultrasonic cleaning.

    – Solution 4: for optimal maintenance, run your injectors on the test bench.

Injectors are essential to the proper functioning of your car. They are solid but can become clogged after several tens of thousands of kilometers. Ideally, it would help if you cleaned them to avoid replacing them with new injectors, which are very expensive. Cleaning these very technical parts is not within reach of the amateur handyman. Nevertheless, this post offers you several options to consider before changing them.

Here is how to clean an injector.

What are injectors

As they allow the fuel to pass under pressure through extra-fine nozzles (micron size), the injectors create a mist of gasoline or diesel fuel that feeds the engine.

When should you clean the injectors?

Clues that can indicate dirty injectors are as follows:

    – an engine that seems less powerful;

    – a fickle idle;

    – Difficult starting;

    – very black exhaust smoke;

    – over-consumption of fuel.

How to increase the life of your injectors?

    – Use a good quality fuel that contains few impurities.

    – Change the fuel filter or diesel filter regularly.

    – Don’t leave your car too long without starting it.

Solution 1: Clean the injector by adding a gasoline or diesel injector cleaner to the engine.

You will find cleaning additives for gasoline or diesel injectors on sale for the general public. These products are not effective in the case of already clogged injectors. Reserve them for preventive maintenance if necessary. If you drive mainly in the city, depending on the brand, you can use a bottle every 4,000 to 5,000 km, quickly raising the bill.

The use of these additives is detailed and straightforward on the label of each product:

    – Pour the entire bottle into your tank. According to the product’s instructions, the tank should be empty or filled with a certain number of fuel liters. Use a funnel if the bottle is not equipped with one.

    – Top up the fuel if necessary.

    – Drive normally until the treated fuel is used up.

Solution 2: Call a professional with a pressurized tank cleaning system

At the garage, they can offer you cleaning of the injectors under pressure. Professionals have cleaning systems with pressurized tanks for this purpose. The system is connected directly to the injectors’ supply rail, then the cleaning product is sent under pressure, without being mixed with petrol, by running the engine for a few minutes.

This system can be more effective than merely adding an additive to the fuel, but without achieving full performance: the pressure sent to the injectors can reach up to 200 bars in gasoline engines and 2,500 bars in diesel cars. However, this is impossible to reproduce with a pressurized tank.

Solution 3: Ask a professional to perform ultrasonic cleaning

Another solution consists of cleaning the injectors with ultrasound, again to be done by a professional.

This time, the injectors are cleaned in an ultrasonic tank, which sends the cleaning solution through the injector using an electric current.

To dismantle your injectors yourself before sending them to a garage :

    – Start by disassembling everything that prevents you from accessing the injectors (intake pipe, air filter housing, for example, different according to models and brands).

    – You will then need a specific bushing to loosen the injectors. Remember to remove the injector gasket at the same time.

    – Once the injectors are removed, plug the fuel inlet and outlet parts and protect the tip before sending them to a garage.

    – Remember to tighten them to the torque recommended by the automotive technical journal upon reassembly.

Solution 4: for optimal maintenance, run your injectors on a test bench.

To guarantee complete maintenance and testing of your injectors, send them to a garage equipped with specific equipment: an injector test bench. This machine makes it possible to reproduce the pressure sent into the injectors and to test their correct operation, the shape of the fuel jets produced, etc…

You can read further here: 

What Is Ultrasonic Car Injector Cleaning?