How To Clean Fuel Injectors Yourself At Home

The fuel injectors play a vital role in the vehicle engine they are used in, especially some of the makes of engines.

It works to spray fuel to the engine’s combustion chamber and it is responsible for spraying regulated amounts of fuel; neither too much nor too less.

However, they get affected with clogging which interferes with the optimal working.

You could always clean your vehicle fuel injectors by yourself. The following steps below will make the cleaning simple for you and you should be able to realize change after the cleaning has been completed.

Here’s how to clean your fuel injectors by following the process:

1. Add a dosage of cleaning seafoam to the fuel tank of the vehicle, a whole can would do (seafoam does not harm the vehicle in any way).
2. Let the engine to warm up and have the other accessories turned off.
3. Loosen the screws of the throttle body, and have access to the throttle plate.
4. Seafoam works to clean deposits of unburnt carbon.
5. Adjust and have the hook guide or the cleaning tube placed on the throttle body.
6. Fix the tube to the spray bottle of the sea foam.
7. Have someone start the vehicle and step on the accelerator at 1000 RPM as the vehicle idles for the appropriate working of the cleaner.
8. Spray the contents of the can into the intake.
9. Turn off the engine when the can is emptied, take out the hook guide.
10. Take the vehicle for a drive so that the dissolved residues are burnt away.

You should be able to notice that your fuel injectors need cleaning if you notice the poor performance of the vehicle’s engine.

Such complications include poor starting of the vehicle or misfiring when the vehicle tries to accelerate. Proper cleaning will help you steer away from such complications.

How Often Do You Need To Clean Your Fuel Injectors?

The time interval that you would have to clean your vehicle fuel injectors depend on several factors.

For the fresher vehicles that have a lower mileage rate, you do not have to clean their fuel injectors frequently.

On the other hand, older vehicles with greater mileage need to be cleaned regularly. Therefore, newer cars have an efficient fuel injection technology and are also resistant to clogging.

Similarly, the year, model and the mileage type are factors that will make the time interval from one fuel injector cleaning to another vary.

If you also drive the vehicle for fairly short trips in the city, you will have to get the fuel injectors cleaned more frequently.

This is because more gunk builds up due to incomplete combustion of carbon in the gasoline.

How Long Does It Take To Clean Fuel Injectors?

Cleaning of your vehicle’s fuel injectors would not take you more than an hour. This should be the case if you use the simplest cleaning method you can work with.

Some of the cleaning methods do not need you to take out the fuel injectors and thus are not time-consuming, neither are they complex to work with.

The thing is that these cleaning methods are effective in cleaning the fuel injectors even though they are not so complex.

However, some of the cleaning methods will take too much of your time as they would need you to take out some components from the vehicle engine.

The fuel injectors might need to be taken out and this can be time-consuming and may also require too much effort to get done.

8 Benefits Of Cleaning Fuel Injectors?

There might be several ways of cleaning fuel injectors, but all of them are geared towards one specific target; getting the fuel injectors clog-free.

Some of the benefits of cleaning your vehicle fuel injectors are listed below, they help you enjoy optimal performance from the vehicle that you are driving:

1. They improve and restore the normal condition of the throttle for the proper performance.
2. The get rid of black smoke that may form as the engine is working.
3. They do away with the cold starting of your vehicle’s engine.
4. Cleaning the fuel injectors works to do away with the knocking of the engine of the vehicle that may be noticed as misfiring and also pinging.
5. Doing away with instances of engine stutter and also the hesitation of the engine and stumbling when you are driving.
6. Preventing the occurrence of corrosion from the components of the engine.
7. Making sure that the emissions from the engine do not have too much unburnt carbon that may be harmful to the immediate environment.
8. Making sure that there is the neutralization of low sulfur fuel complications.

The Most Important Factors To Check When Cleaning Fuel Injectors

Some of the homemade solutions that you can use to get your fuel injectors cleaned might pose danger to their normal working. They may also lead to issues like fires or other types of hazards.

This is usually because the homemade solutions are not appropriately tested or analyzed if they are even effective or safe.

To be on the safe side, you should use solutions that are recommended by experts or even mechanics that are experienced on the matter at hand.

All in all, you will have to check the following factors when you are going through the process of cleaning your fuel injectors:

1. Check for the leaking of the fuel injectors: The seals, the disc, ball and other mechanisms should be in proper condition to prevent the occurrence of leaking of the fuel injectors.
2. The volume of fuel flowing: You should check if the amount of fuel flowing past the fuel injection is just at the appropriate capacity.
3. Check for atomization: Check for the condition whether the fuel that is being delivered to be atomized at different rates of the rpm.
4. The distribution which is used to describe the nature of the spray pattern of the fuel injector, for properties of how long and how deep they spray fuel.

Knowing When To Clean Your Fuel Injectors

You would know that the fuel injectors in your vehicle are clogged if you notice any irregularities from the performance of the engine.

You might also know that the engine is not able to respond as it normally would. The vehicle might not run as normally as it would when you drove it on the road.

This would be the case if you are sure that the other components of the engine are in excellent condition and might not be what is causing the complications as you drive.

Some basic signs that will surely indicate that your fuel injectors need cleaning include:

• Difficult time starting the vehicle.
• Irregular, rough or violent idling nature of the vehicle.
• The hesitation of the throttle capacity of the vehicle.
• Poor fuel economy where you would have to refill your tank more often even if you have not been driving for long.
• Increased carbon emissions from the vehicle.
• Pre-ignition of your vehicle’s engine that may be noticed through a ‘pinging’ sound.
• Irregular and poor performance from the vehicle when you are on the road.

What Causes The Clogging Of Fuel Injectors?

Fuel injectors are responsible for spraying fuel directly to the engine’s combustion chamber. As this happens, carbon piles up in the fuel injectors and leaves them in the clogged state.

The carbon deposits here are caused by the inability of the hydrocarbon like gasoline to undergo complete combustion.

This then leads to complications as fuel is unable to get to the combustion chambers in regulated amounts; it gets there either in too many amounts or too less.

A Simple And Easy Way To Clean Your Fuel Injectors

The following procedure shows a simple and inexpensive way to clean your fuel injectors.

Mastering this cleaning method would help you prevent spending too much for a professional to clean your fuel injectors.

1. You will need a fuel injector cleaner.
2. Empty the contents into the gas tank.
3. Fill the tank with gas.
4. You can then use a second cleaner if you refill the tank, and repeat the process after approximately 7000miles.

How To Maintain Your Clean Fuel Injectors

If you own a vehicle, you will need to tender for the fuel injectors to have them in well-maintained condition.

This will guarantee their optimal performance and that you will also not need to spend too much fuel; as the fuel economy would be improved for efficiency.

You will also not have to incur expenses for the repair and replacement of associated components of the engine that may be damaged from the poor performance of the fuel injectors.

Proper maintenance of the fuel injectors can be achieved through:

• Using the best detergent fuels, especially the ones that are classified as TOP TIER fuels.
  They can prevent EFI systems from getting dirty and encourage such systems to work in a clean environment whenever you refill your vehicle. This is thanks to their detergents.
• If you are unable to access TOP TIER fuels as indicated above, you should ensure that you get the best in-tank fuel injector cleaners and use them for every 7000 miles that the vehicle covers.
• Take your vehicle out for regular and longer trips. If you leave your car in the garage for long, the fuel in the tank might age which leads to it separating and evaporating. What this leads to is the formation of deposits that clog the fuel injectors.
  On the other hand, if you are forced to leave the car in the garage for long, you should empty a fuel stabilizer and run the vehicle for close to quarter and hour so that the stabilized fuel gets to the fuel injectors.

Homemade Fuel Injectors Cleaners That Will Clean Your Clogged Fuel Injectors

Homemade DIY solutions for cleaning your fuel injectors work to provide you with an inexpensive way to free your fuel injectors from the clog.

The following steps should help you get the job done:

1. Remove the seal rings from the fuel injector.
2. Get a rubber hose that is the same size as the holes of the fuel injector.
3. Connect the hoes with rubber tubing or appropriate sizes.
4. Connect the tubing and the hoes to the carb cleaner.
5. Connect the fuel injector to a car battery using clamps.
6. Activate the fuel injector by completing the electric circuit on the fuel injector.
7. Repeat the process until the fuel comes out evenly.

Using Sea Foam To Clean Your Fuel Injectors

You could always clean your fuel injectors using seafoam or any other type of cleaner. You can do this by following this cleaning procedure.

It will work to effectively clear your fuel injectors from impurities and particles that clog the fuel injectors.

1. Add a dosage of cleaning seafoam to the fuel tank of the vehicle, a whole can would do (seafoam does not harm the vehicle in any way).
2. Let the engine to warm up and have the other accessories turned off.
3. Loosen the screws of the throttle body, and have access to the throttle plate.
4. Seafoam works to clean deposits of unburnt carbon.
5. Adjust and have the hook guide or the cleaning tube placed on the throttle body.
6. Fix the tube to the spray bottle of the sea foam.
7. Have someone start the vehicle and step on the accelerator at 1000 RPM as the vehicle idles for the appropriate working of the cleaner.
8. Spray the contents of the can into the intake.
9. Turn off the engine when the can is emptied, take out the hook guide.
10. Take the vehicle for a drive so that the dissolved residues are burnt away.

For more details, watch this video:

How To Unclog A Fuel Injector

For this, you can use Rislone fuel system products since they are simple to work with. You can make use of them using the following steps:

1. Add a can to the fuel tank of your vehicle.
2. Fill the vehicle with fuel.
3. Take the vehicle for a drive and let the cleaner mix with the fuel.
4. You may have to buy a second cleaner and repeat the process if the first didn’t work.

FAQs

Q1. Is It Easy To Clean Fuel Injectors?

Cleaning fuel injectors is not a difficult task to get through if you know the best way of how to go about it.

If you want to have an easy time you can clean the fuel injectors when they are still in position in the vehicle.

You can do the cleaning when the engine is off; which is sufficient to get fuel injectors back in great shape, or you could clean when the engine is running.

If you want to leave the engine running, you should run a cleaner through the injectors.

The second process above works to get rid of any deposits of dirt on the injectors. It also makes the next time you have to clean your fuel injectors to be quite a simple task for you.

Another way, though a difficult one, is to remove the fuel injectors from the vehicle and clean them. This proves to be a complex process and will take too much of your time.

Q2. Can I Soak Fuel Injectors To Clean Them?

No, soaking fuel injectors does not work to have them well cleaned.

Soaking is not an effective way of cleaning fuel injectors as this might get them damaged and ineffective when you put them back in place.

The last thing you want is to have the fuel injectors damaged when you just wanted to clean them for efficient fuel economy.

Another thing that is not recommended if you want to restore the proper condition of your clogged fuel injectors is soaking them in some types of chemicals.

Some of the chemicals that you may be thinking of using to clean your fuel injectors are harsh and may damage them.

Instead what they do is that they destroy the condition of the oil insulation and the seals on the inside part of the fuel injectors.

Q3. Can I Use WD40 To Clean Fuel Injectors?

Yes, you can use WD40 to clean fuel injectors and it would work just as well as any appropriate cleaning methods that you may want to use.

WD40 does the cleaning of major components of the vehicle and this will be the same when it comes to clean your clogged fuel injectors.

It works by getting rid of the dirt particles that clog the fuel injectors and make them have a not so regulated way of letting fuel pass through.

Q4. Will Acetone Clean Fuel Injectors?

Acetone would help to clean the fuel injectors to some extent, mainly if your vehicle’s fuel injectors are in the worst possible condition.

If they are in desperate need of cleaning, then you should go the way of acetone as the best cleaner.

Acetone would help you because of its ability to dissolve the gunk and particles that form on the fuel injectors and make them clogged.

However, some experts do not advise using acetone to have your fuel injectors cleaned.

One of the major reasons they point out is the fact that as acetone dissolves matter, the dissolved substances end up clogging not only the fuel injectors but also the carburettors.

This would be a bad thing to deal with in the components of your vehicle’s engine.

Q5. Do Fuel Injector Cleaners Really Work?

Yes, the fuel injector cleaners may do the job of cleaning your vehicle injectors if you choose the best one for the job.

They work by removing any deposits of dirt that may gather on vital areas on the fuel injectors and thus cause them to clog.

They are also important as this would prevent the formation of other particles from piling up on those same spots.

You would find the fuel injectors to be highly effective if you use them in vehicle engines that operate on a special type of gasoline.

The gasoline should contain ethanol. Engines that would be appropriate for this cleaning method of the fuel injectors are those which are fuel-injected.

You would then be able to enjoy the benefits of having well cleaned and not clogged fuel injectors, which is an improved fuel economy for your vehicle.

How Long Does It Take For Fuel Injector Cleaner To Work?

It will take close to an hour for the fuel injector cleaners to work and that is why you are recommended not to use them as the engine is running.

You will have to wait for not less than an hour so that you can notice any improvements with the performance of the fuel injectors in your vehicle.

You will need to clean your fuel injectors after the vehicle has covered a specific range of miles so that you may be able to enjoy their optimal performance.

If you can do this, you will notice a significant and distinct performance of the engine of the vehicle.

Most of the times vehicle owners take the cleaning of the fuel injectors for granted and end up incurring too much for the repair and replacements of many components of the vehicle engine.

Q6. How Much Does it Cost to Clean Fuel Injectors?

If you want to have a professional do the cleaning of your fuel injectors, then you should be ready to pay not less than $50.

Some of the service providers would clean your fuel injectors for not less than $80 and this is dependent on quite a several factors.

You would be charged more for the service of cleaning of your vehicle injectors depending on the model, make and year of your vehicle.

Having an expert do the cleaning of vehicle injectors for you would be the best option because they are experienced and can do the cleaning effectively.

On the other hand, if you are a handyman yourself, you can just follow the best cleaning instructions and your fuel injectors would be clog-free.

Conclusion

Cleaning of fuel injectors works to deal with several complications that may affect the proper working of your vehicle.

Since the fuel injectors play an important role in regulating the amount of fuel that goes through to the engine, they have to be in the best condition for the smooth running of the vehicle.

Sources:

1. Gold Eagle Co – https://www.goldeagle.com/tips-tools/clean-fuel-injectors-easy-guide/
2. Injector RX – https://www.injectorrx.com/fuel-injector-cleaning-and-flow-testing-service/fuel-injector-cleaning/injector-cleaning-methods/