Injector cleaner?

snowleopard

Active member
Joined
16 May 2001
Messages
33,645
Location
Oxford
Visit site
Having been through the traumas of clogged injectors and filters on a friend's boat, I'm thinking about the power drop I experienced last season on mine. Apart from a good clean of the fuel system, some forumites have suggested injector cleaner.

Has anyone used it and found a significant improvement?
 

earlybird

Well-known member
Joined
18 Aug 2004
Messages
3,927
Location
Cumbria; U.K.
Visit site
Not used any in my boat, but I have used Redex diesel fuel treatment in both a Mondeo and a Fiesta. Doesn't make the slightest difference. In fact a Mondeo injector failed before the bottle was finished and cost me ~£400. Both cars have fuel consumption read-outs, so improvement should have been easy to spot.
Which did extensive tests of fuel additives a few months ago. Can't remember if petrol, diesel or both. Conclusion was, don't waste your money.
Just found this, read the executive summary, useful for fishing boat operators !!:-
http://www.seafish.org/upload/b2b/file/r__d/Fuel%20additives%20summary%20for%20fishermen.pdf
 
Last edited:

pagoda

Active member
Joined
19 May 2008
Messages
2,227
Location
Scotland
Visit site
A friendly mechanic advised me that they add injector cleaner to the fuel filter when replacing it on diesel engines, this results in a concentrated dose for a short burst.

Forte Diesel Treatment has been used in light commercials / taxis for many years with good effect. For my younger son's rather antique Merc Sprinter (standard injector pump - non-CDI) I added a full bottle to a low tank after a run. Flooring the accelerator to the rev-limiter several times blew a good bit of soot out the system, it was appreciably smoother running and delighted the MOT inspector as the lowest emissions he'd seen in a long time.
I have used it in cars occasionally as well- generally smoother- pull a bit better.
The stuff has more or less the same cetane value as diesel, so after warming up your engine - a full pre-filter's worth run through under good load will help clean out your pump and injectors. I've got no commercial axe to grind. It seems to do what it is designed to do.
Mercedes Benz used it in their workshops. I think it's more than just snake-oil.

Graeme
 

Tam_Hazan

Member
Joined
6 Oct 2001
Messages
130
Location
Shropshire
Visit site
Comma Diesel Magic

My old Audi TDi just failed its MOT check on emissions test. The mechanic highly recommended "Comma Diesel Magic" [about £6 from Halfords], which is simply poured into the tank.

With nothing to lose, I invested the £6 and emptied the whole bottle into the tank - which was holding about 7 gallons of diesel at the time. I then drove it [quite aggressively to get full flow through injector nozzles] for approximately 100 miles before returning it to the MOT Tester. It passed easily, with the emissions figure down by 50%!!

I am now about to try it on my boat engine, but need to work out concentration - the boat tank holds 100 gallons and is now 1/2 full. Perhaps that direct method via the fuel filter might be effective? Otherwise it could be an expensive option - having to buy several bottles..

In the past, I have used Morris's Oil product "Morendo DD". That did seem to give a reasonable result, and one bottle/can would treat 100 gallons. However it seems more difficult to source for over-the-counter purchase.
 

Ludd

New member
Joined
3 Feb 2009
Messages
4,467
Location
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
Visit site
My old Audi TDi just failed its MOT check on emissions test. The mechanic highly recommended "Comma Diesel Magic" [about £6 from Halfords], which is simply poured into the tank.

With nothing to lose, I invested the £6 and emptied the whole bottle into the tank - which was holding about 7 gallons of diesel at the time. I then drove it [quite aggressively to get full flow through injector nozzles] for approximately 100 miles before returning it to the MOT Tester. It passed easily, with the emissions figure down by 50%!!

I am now about to try it on my boat engine, but need to work out concentration - the boat tank holds 100 gallons and is now 1/2 full. Perhaps that direct method via the fuel filter might be effective? Otherwise it could be an expensive option - having to buy several bottles..

In the past, I have used Morris's Oil product "Morendo DD". That did seem to give a reasonable result, and one bottle/can would treat 100 gallons. However it seems more difficult to source for over-the-counter purchase.

Tip given me by engineer(who says it's the first thing he tries if engine smoking or running rough) is NOT to put it in tank----it will dislodge all sorts of ****! His advice was to put some in acouple of litres of diesel ina separate can and take your feed from it and the return to it. Use less that way ,too!
 

elton

Well-known member
Joined
19 Oct 2005
Messages
17,482
Location
Durham, England
www.boatit.co.uk
STP injector cleaner is extremely effective. It won't fix injectors if they're faulty of course, and it's not likely to do anything for totally blocked injectors, but it's excellent at what it does.
 

john m

Member
Joined
11 Feb 2006
Messages
495
Visit site
wurth

i have just bought a couple of cans of fuel system cleaner for my boat but while waiting to get to the boat i decided to stick 1 in to my van 2006 renult traffic it seems to restore a bit of power and smoothnes the guy in the shop says its what the aa use when someone has miss fueld i will post back results
 

ianj99

Active member
Joined
11 Nov 2009
Messages
2,097
Location
UK
Visit site
I always add Millers Diesel additive. It not only cleans but lubricates and boosts the cetane number for better performance, smoother running and cleaner exhaust.

I have used it in all diesel engines, car, camper, boat - the cost is much less than the single shot stuff. A 500ml bottle treats 500L and costs about £10 off ebay.
It was called Diesel Sport 4 but its now Ecomax. (I suspect this is a more dilute version as better results seem to be had by using a double dose in my car and there is a suggestion on the label to use more for a better result)

I also add ZX1 to the engine oil. My 33year old 4108 spins over like it has no compression after adding it, and runs very smoothly and quietly.

http://teamzx1.co.uk
 

sailorman

Well-known member
Joined
21 May 2003
Messages
78,896
Location
Here or thertemp ashore
Visit site
I always add Millers Diesel additive. It not only cleans but lubricates and boosts the cetane number for better performance, smoother running and cleaner exhaust.

I have used it in all diesel engines, car, camper, boat - the cost is much less than the single shot stuff. A 500ml bottle treats 500L and costs about £10 off ebay.
It was called Diesel Sport 4 but its now Ecomax. (I suspect this is a more dilute version as better results seem to be had by using a double dose in my car and there is a suggestion on the label to use more for a better result)

I also add ZX1 to the engine oil. My 33year old 4108 spins over like it has no compression after adding it, and runs very smoothly and quietly.

http://teamzx1.co.uk

does it affect the Eberwatzit heater
 

pagoda

Active member
Joined
19 May 2008
Messages
2,227
Location
Scotland
Visit site
additives and Eberspacher?

It has no effect I can see. Since I upgraded the wiring to the glow plug to 6mm2 - I have no starting issues at all, and no smoke with or without diesel treatment in the system.
The little fuel pump isn't any quieter though...tick tick tick ;)

I intend to run through a neat pre-filter's worth through the engine fairly soon -that of course won't be seen by the Eber.
 

SAMYL

Well-known member
Joined
31 Aug 2009
Messages
1,618
Location
Gone Fishing
Visit site
Much the same results as all the above can be achieved by running a mix of fuel with about 5% cellulose thinners through. Good for removing glaze from cylinder bores as the thinners burns first and burns off the glaze.
This what a lot of fair ground and circus people do to their large diesel generators which run for hours, a lot of the time without load, so they do glaze up and injectors soot over.
Best to do it in small amounts, a litre at a time from a seperate supply, not the main tank.
You could do it as suggested above by putting some in the fuel filter.
Very much cheaper than commercialy available addatives. :)
 

Sans Bateau

Well-known member
Joined
19 Jan 2004
Messages
18,956
Visit site
I always add Millers Diesel additive. It not only cleans but lubricates and boosts the cetane number for better performance, smoother running and cleaner exhaust.

I have used it in all diesel engines, car, camper, boat - the cost is much less than the single shot stuff. A 500ml bottle treats 500L and costs about £10 off ebay.
It was called Diesel Sport 4 but its now Ecomax. (I suspect this is a more dilute version as better results seem to be had by using a double dose in my car and there is a suggestion on the label to use more for a better result)

I
http://teamzx1.co.uk

I'll go along with that, put it is my car every tank, to great effect, it has a strange resemblance in smell to the high performance diesel from Shell or BP. I have just dosed my boat fuel tank with it to clean up the injectors. Millers is the one.
 

jimbaerselman

New member
Joined
18 Apr 2006
Messages
4,433
Location
Greece in Summer, Southampton in Winter
www.jimbsail.info
The petroleum industry is highly competitive, and spends a lot of money on research and product development to try and get an edge on the competition. Third party products are assessed. Most contain some of the contents already blended and added to fuel in proportions to suit the local market. Some contain snake oil. All additives are as effective in improving performace (however measured) as tail wicks are for curing car sickness, or clorophyll for curing bad breath and BO. Frequent properly designed independent tests (Which and the fisherman's report have been quoted) confirm this.

If any additive has merit, it will immediately be incorporated into standard fuels and a marketing campaign will introduce "new xfuel - cleaner whatsits while you work!"

A whole parallel industry is at work, trying to persuade you to buy extra additives "approved by industry majors!" (of course they are, they're already in there in the right proportions). And because there's a big profit in moving small quantities of snake oil, the chandlers, garages, engineers, are all out there puffing the product as "experts" to sell it. For profit. And why not. Gullible's travails.

Since you've paid for it, you'll be looking for positive evidence that it works. You'll find the evidence, so you'll be a happy customer. You'll subconsciously miss some conditions of the tests you made (warmer engine, whatever) which may actually have caused the effect you noted.

The medical guys call this the placebo effect. It works. It leaves you a happy bunny, and that's what it's all about.

Marketing these products relies on personal recommendation; because personal experiences are biased by expectations. Dispassionate testing is another matter . . . it's about gathering data and filtering it for bias

None of this is about improving engine performance, whatever you think. It's about making you feel better. Sorry to prick the bubble.
 
Last edited:

elton

Well-known member
Joined
19 Oct 2005
Messages
17,482
Location
Durham, England
www.boatit.co.uk
None of this is about improving engine performance, whatever you think. It's about making you feel better. Sorry to prick the bubble.
Sorry, but you're wrong. I've used SPT injector cleaner and it does work. There would be little benefit in adding it to every tank of juice, but for the purposes of clearing partially blocked injectors it does exactly what it says on the tin.
 

Other threads that may be of interest

Top