Many people may think that modern cars are more difficult to work on than older cars and trucks. However, this couldn't be farthest from the truth. The procedures and tools are just different. A great example of this is when dealing with dirty fuel injectors. It's common for people to think that fuel injectors can't be cleaned at home anymore. Although injectors are quite different now than they used to be, cleaning or replacing them can still be done with basic tools and some auto mechanic knowledge. Luckily for you, we've created a guide to help you either clean your injectors using a liquid cleaner or performing a deep clean service at home.
What is Different about Servicing Fuel Injectors
When cars and trucks used carburetors, drivers had to regularly clean and adjust them. The procedure wasn't particularly difficult, but if you didn't do it often enough, you might run into fuel delivery problems. Today's vehicles instead use a fuel injection system and feature a computer controlling the settings drivers used to have to adjust on carbureted vehicles in real-time.
Older cars used carburetors that required the driver to make periodic adjustments. Today's cars use sophisticated computers and fuel injectors that do not require adjustment but must be cleaned to perform correctly.Carburetors still had to be cleaned and often required significantly more frequent disassembly and cleaning than today's modern systems. Drivers of carbureted vehicles frequently experience fuel leaks because of dirty and deteriorated components that owners of fuel injected vehicles may never experience. Very few owners of carbureted vehicles will be able to drive the car for years every day without having to clean the carburetor. Fuel injection systems, on the other hand, can work perfectly for decades before a problem happens.
How to Know When It Is Time to Clean Fuel Injectors
Carbureted cars let drivers know when they needed cleaning because they wouldn't run right. Dirty fuel injectors can cause you to experience many of the same symptoms. Dirty injectors can cause hesitation on acceleration, hard starting, increased fuel consumption and failed emissions tests. However, most drivers won't notice that the fuel injectors need to be cleaned until the check engine light comes on.
Dirty fuel injectors often cause a vehicle to be difficult to start. If your car is cranking over a lot before starting, or if it starts and idles rough, your fuel injectors might need to be cleaned.The interval at which fuel injectors should be cleaned will differ based on the vehicle you drive and the driving conditions. When in doubt, your car's repair manual will tell you how often your fuel injectors should be serviced.
Professional Service vs. DIY Fuel Injector Cleaning
Even if injectors can be cleaned and maintained at home, massively dirty or significantly obstructed ones might need to be serviced by professionals. In that case, you can remove your injectors and send them out for cleaning, but this is an expensive process and takes a lot of time.
On the other hand, you can also buy chemicals at your local auto repair store to flush and clean injectors, but you should be cautious about using these products. Sometimes, the cleaning chemicals can dislodge build-up that blocks injectors that will end up in the combustion chambers and do more harm than good.
The good news is that you can clean your fuel injectors at home for a lot less money than what a shop will charge. Cleaning your injectors at home is not difficult and doesn't require a lot of expensive tools.
Removing Fuel Injectors for Cleaning
Always read your workshop manual before working on your fuel injection system. Fuel lines are pressurized even when the car is not running. If you attempt to remove your fuel injectors without releasing the fuel pressure first, you can create a major safety hazard. Your shop manual will describe the right way to relieve fuel pressure from your system.
You can usually remove your fuel injectors without taking major parts of the engine apart.On most vehicles, fuel injectors are typically on the top of the engine. The system is designed to work by spraying atomized fuel into the air intake or combustion chambers right before the spark plugs ignite the fuel. Sometimes, you may have to remove plastic covers and other equipment to get access to the fuel injectors.
If your car doesn't use direct-injection, the fuel injectors in your car will be mounted onto the fuel rail. Most companies use special connectors to attach the fuel injector to the rail. You will need a special tool to remove the clips. The tool is typically available to rent from most auto parts stores or is pretty inexpensive to order online.
Inspecting Injectors
Your fuel injectors will look a little like a nozzle or needle with an electrical connector at the top. You will see that there is an o-ring seal at the bottom of the injector that seals it to the engine. If this seal is damaged, you should replace it.
A clean fuel injector should be free of built-up gunk. Fuel injectors work in particularly hazardous and hot parts of your engine. Once removed, you may see a layer of brownish-yellow gunk around the injector. This material may be hard to get rid of. You should avoid scraping, sanding, or filing the injector to get it clean. Using a dedicated injector cleaner products should work a lot better and prevent you from damaging the injector.
When you remove your fuel injectors, you should also inspect the fuel rail. Cleaning it will prolong the life of your fuel injectors by preventing contamination.Cleaning Fuel Injectors
It is common to remove fuel injectors for cleaning only to find them in good condition. If your car has been correctly maintained, it's unlikely that you will find any kind of debris or build-up on them before it reaches at least 100,000km.
Light build-up and dirt can be cleaned using a cleaner specifically designed for fuel injection systems. You should avoid spraying the cleaner onto the plastic parts of the fuel injector. If any part of the fuel injector you are cleaning appears damaged, you should replace it with a new one. It is okay to use a toothbrush or a similarly soft bristle brush to clean the outside of the injector. You can use compressed air to blow the injector out after cleaning.
Do not ever put anything inside an injector to clean it. Pipe cleaners and other objects can leave little bits behind that will clog your injectors or permanently damage them.
Deep Cleaning Fuel Injectors
Dirtier injectors will require a little more work. Sometimes, you can soak the nozzle in fuel injector cleaner to break up deposits, then you can use compressed air to get the gunk out. However, severely dirty fuel injectors will require a more thorough cleaning.
One of the main things that set professional cleaning apart from DIY processes is the use of an ultrasonic cleaner. These devices use electrified particles and sound waves to microscopically clean dirty parts. You may even be already familiar with ultrasonic cleaning as most jewelers use a similar system to clean diamond rings.
An ultrasonic cleaner is used by professional mechanics to ensure that fuel injectors are completely clean. You can buy an ultrasonic cleaner online or even make one at home.An ultrasonic cleaner can be purchased online by anyone. A small ultrasonic cleaning machine is not particularly expensive. You can buy one for around $30 that is big enough for cleaning fuel injectors. An ultrasonic cleaner is, by far, the best way to get your dirty injectors clean quickly and easily at home.
For those of you that are good with computers and sound equipment, building your own ultrasonic cleaner at home is not that hard at all.
Testing Fuel Injectors
The other service that professional fuel injection cleaning shops offer is bench-testing. A fuel injector must produce a fine spray to atomize the fuel correctly. Fuel injectors that are dirty or worn out will not make a fine spray. Instead, they may drip, pool, or even leak, and that is not good for performance.
You can test your clean fuel injectors at home using compressed air. All you have to do is hold the injector about four inches from a dark surface, like a piece of paper. Spray compressed air or injector cleaner through the injector. Watch the spray pattern on the paper. If the spray pattern seems to make big drops, you may need to clean your injectors again. If after you have thoroughly cleaned your injectors and they still don't spray well, you might have to replace the injectors.
How Long Does it Take and How Much Does it Cost to Clean Injectors at Home?
Most modern cars today are easy to get access to the fuel rail and injectors. Most people won't spend very long removing the injectors. It depends on how dirty your injectors are to determine how long you will be cleaning. Also, eight-cylinder engines have twice as many injectors as four-cylinder cars, so you can expect to spend twice as long cleaning a V8.
Mildly dirty injectors that only need to be sprayed clean and reassembled won't cost you very much. A good-quality fuel system cleaning spray will cost around $10 at your local auto parts store.
More intensive cleaning may require that you buy an ultrasonic cleaner. They cost about $30 but can cost as much as $400 for a big, professional quality unit.
Your repair manual will give you a good idea of how much work you will have to do to remove the injectors and replace them in your car. Cars that you don't have to remove a lot of panels and components are going to be quicker. Unfortunately, some cars may require extensive removal of parts to get access to fuel injectors, and this can easily add hours to the project.
To Wrap it Up
Inspecting, cleaning and maintaining your fuel injection system and especially fuel injectors is not hard to do at all. Simply make sure to get your hands on a quality repair manual, buy quality cleaning products and take your time. Never try to perform such a task when you need to drive your car the same day, especially if it's your first time. Rushing the job will usually do more harm than good. Aside from that, anybody should be able to clean their injectors at home and get their car back on the road in no time. As usual, when in doubt, don't hesitate to ask a trustworthy auto mechanic for advice.