Question: Does injector cleaner damage fuel pump

[k2bob]

Hey Guys,

I have seen a lot of info about injector cleaners. My mechanic says that too much cleaner will damage the fuel pump. He has machine to by-pass the tank to clean the injectors.

My buddy owns a parts store, is a collector of fine Monte Carlo's and said to put seafoam in the tank about every 3rd fill-up. It will not only keep the injectors clean but will also help to stabilize the gas for winter storage. He uses this stuff all the time and has not had any problems.

I want to trust them both and am thinking, just like drinking, moderation is a good choice.

Could the manufacturer of the injector machine just be making an assumption that addatives damage fuel pumps so they can justify their machine or do they have hard evidence that injector cleaners causes problems? I would assume they have hard evidence but would like your thoughts too.

For now I am going to stick with the BP or Shell 93 octane.


**EDIT: Corrected title to assist members searching "fuel pump". - Jane Ann

 

[aklim]

If you want clean injectors, take them out and have them tested. Cleaner in a can is like sweeping a room in the dark. You never really can be sure if you have cleaned every inch or not. Also, when they are out, you can make sure that it all works and the pattern is good. Seafoam is great in the tank when you are storing the car for the winter. Unfortunately, the "My friend never had a problem and has clean injectors" is pretty much anecdotal evidence. Kinda like me smoking while fixing my car. So far, smoking makes my car work go better.

 

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
It really depends ON the KIND of cleaner, and the kind of fuel system you have.
TOLUENE, ethanol, IN HIGH CONCENTRATIONS can hurt components.
The acidic properties can, in some cases, harm components.
This is why E85 equipped vehicles have different fuel system components, to hold up to the corrosive properties.
There are 2 ways that fuel injectors can be tested in GM vehicles.
#1, fuel injector balance tests, which measure flow rates in a PSI drop.
#2, and the MOST ACCURATE, is using a fuel injector flow bench called the AFIT.
This will give a unit flow per second rating and you can actually see if one or more are NOT flowing correctly.
Then, you can print it out and give to the customer before and after cleaning so YOU KNOW if the cleaning helped.
Prior to any final drivability suggestion for injector cleaning, AFIT is ALWAYS the BEST way to test injectors.
Allthebest, c4c5

 

[k2bob]

I forgot to mention that I just put in all new injectors and am interested in some feedback on some preventative maintenance. Have you heard of any ill-effects from Seafoam in the tank?

 

[aklim]

I forgot to mention that I just put in all new injectors and am interested in some feedback on some preventative maintenance. Have you heard of any ill-effects from Seafoam in the tank?

FIC or Southbay Fuel Injectors? Why not ask them what is the best way to do it? IMO, you probably won't hurt anything except lighten your wallet. OTOH, I doubt you will do much good. Like I said, it is difficult to sweep a large room when you can't see what you are sweeping.

How many miles do you plan to put on your car? Maybe every 30K you can remove the injectors and have them tested

 

[G Winter]

The best preventative maintenance is quality fuel. Most of the name brand , Shell, Mobil, Texeco, etc have good cleaners and additives. I always use quality fuel and have driven GM cars with injection on them well over 200,000 miles without a dirty injector problem. Only injector problem I have ever had was on my 90 corvette which I think was due to previous owners using ethanol or nasty cleaners which destroyed the seals and coils.

Glenn

 

[southbay]

Using quality fuel is a good starting point. Fuel injector cleaners may be alright for a quick fix, but "Off the car" servicing, in the form of ultrasonic cleaning and flow testing, is the only reliable, accurate and precise way to verify that each fuel injector is performing the way it should.!

You can also check out one of our other products: LHP-6oz - Manhattan Oil Fuel Additive Fuel Treatment.

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- Cleans injectors, carburetors, intake valves, and combustion chambers
- Lubricates top end
Recommended for use in all stock and modified gasoline engines whether carbureted or injected and with or without catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. Concentrated for easy transportation. View strip with five gallon increments for precision measuring. Improves the quality of all grades of gasoline. Increases performance, fuel mileage, and keeps fuel fresh during extended storage. Lubricates top end and keeps fuel system clean. Use in engines with compression ratios up to 10:1.

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PM

 

[Schrade]

I wonder if anyone knows the answer to the question about whether or not the PUMP gets damaged???

I think the answer is no. There's no oxidation or reduction reactions occurring below the level of the fuel. If there's any water in the injector cleaner (because it might have alcohol in it), then the water will precipitate out (to the bottom of the tank) when it is mixed with gasoline.

Even then, below the level of the fuel, there's no oxygen to allow oxidation (rusting) of anything. Above the level of the fuel, there's no reduction reactions occurring that I can think of (if there is, it's a fission reaction, and your vette might be nuclear-powered :L ).

 

[Florida Guy]

Below is a post by CAC member B17Crew that I copied from another thread and pasted here. Draw your own conclusions.

Hello everyone, Yellow96’s post got me thinking back to an in depth article on C4 maintenance. It was written by Chris Petris of Corvette Clinic, Inc., in Sanford, Florida.

The article is titled, “Treat it Right, 84-’96 maintenance”-it’s from the December ‘98 issue of Corvette Fever, pages 68-75. Bear with me, I’m going to quote two of the paragraphs from the section regarding fuel injector cleaning:

“I recommend annual injector cleaning on all the ‘85-’88 cars. These cars use either Bosch or Lucus injectors. The injectors sit deeper in the intake manifold than ‘89-and-up injectors, so they build up deposits more frequently. You can purchase 3M injector cleaner that is for one-time usage. Remove the fuel pump fuse and fuel cap. Follow the instructions on the hose and hook it to the can. Install the injector cleaner on the fuel rail on the right side below the vacuum fittings at the pressure test port. Follow the instructions on the can to use.

Multec injectors were present on all ‘89-’96 Corvettes. These are self cleaning disc injectors. The injector windings are cooled with fuel, so harsh injector cleaner will damage the windings and short out the injector.”

Sure enough, I called the local Chevy dealer and asked them about injector cleaning and they said, basically what Chris Petris said, ‘89-96 Corvettes should not have the injectors cleaned or damage is a possibility. I noticed some of you have listed that you have LT1s/LT4s, I justed wanted to share some info I came across.

B17Crew

 

[B17Crew]

Below is a post by CAC member B17Crew that I copied from another thread and pasted here. Draw your own conclusions.
B17Crew

As soon as I saw the title of the thread, I was going to reference Chris Petris's write-up. Although, the article did not mention effects to the fuel pump. Thank you for locating the info!

B17Crew

 

[k2bob]

FIC or Southbay Fuel Injectors? Why not ask them what is the best way to do it? IMO, you probably won't hurt anything except lighten your wallet. OTOH, I doubt you will do much good. Like I said, it is difficult to sweep a large room when you can't see what you are sweeping.

How many miles do you plan to put on your car? Maybe every 30K you can remove the injectors and have them tested

Echlin injectors. 6000-8000 miles per year. I really love driving this thing- when it is being a 'Vette.

 

[aklim]

Echlin injectors. 6000-8000 miles per year. I really love driving this thing- when it is being a 'Vette.

So you have to pull injectors and get them tested ever 4-6 years. No biggie. That way you KNOW they are clean and working in proper order. Sure, it could fail right after test but it is not that likely.

 

[Hib Halverson]

Hey Guys,

I have seen a lot of info about injector cleaners. My mechanic says that too much cleaner will damage the fuel pump. He has machine to by-pass the tank to clean the injectors.

My buddy owns a parts store, is a collector of fine Monte Carlo's and said to put seafoam in the tank about every 3rd fill-up. It will not only keep the injectors clean but will also help to stabilize the gas for winter storage. He uses this stuff all the time and has not had any problems.

(snip)

There are two types of pour-in "injector cleaners", solvent-based and detergent-based. Most mass-marketed cleaners are solvent-based because they're cheap to make. As long as solvent-based cleaners are not used in concentrations higher than recommended by their makers, solvent-based cleaners will not damage fuel system parts, however, if they are misused in concentrations higher than recommended, they can.

Detergent-based cleaners (best known are Chevron Techron, Lucas Fuel System Cleaner and Red Line Complete Fuel System Cleaner) will not harm fuel system parts in any concentration and, because of that, are usually more aggressive. This is why detergent-based cleaners are a better choice.

Sea Foam--one of the more overrated products in the additive market--is mainly naptha (a solvent), will not harm the fuel system as long as its used according to manufacturer's instructions. It can be used as an injector cleaner but there are other products which do a better job.

If you suspect the engine in question has a problem with light-to-modest injector fouling, I'd try three bottles of Red Line injector cleaner, mixed one bottle per tankful of fuel for three sucessive fill-ups. If that doesn't fix the problem, the issue is either not fouled injectors or, the injector problem is such that it cannot be fixed with a pour-in addtivie.

 

[k2bob]

There are two types of pour-in "injector cleaners", solvent-based and detergent-based.

Thanks Hib,

Those were the answers I was looking for. Just as I suspected, moderation and following directions will go a long way. I was not aware of the solvent/detergent criteria. Very enlightening. So my buddy and my mechanic were both right.