Injector Cleaner

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webcraft

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Yanmar GM20 unburnt fuel and smoke from exhaust, won;t develop full revs . . . . more than one person has suggested an injector problem and putting some injector cleaner in the tank.

Problem is, I have no idea how much fuel is in the tank, it could be anything from seven or eight litres to 15 litres or a bit more. Filling the tank is not really an option either, as I have no idea how much it holds and it is an irregular shape so cannot calculate the volume.

Is there a danger of putting too much injector cleaner in? Can I put enough in for (say) 10 litres, run the engine for an hour or so then top the tank off to dilute the remainder? Does the stuff even work? Are there any possible deleterious effects if you use too much?

Refueler, you may have some answers to this one . . .

- W
 
Just fill up with say 20 litres of Shell V max it has Nitro cleaner in it at the right concentration, after a few refills it should have cleaned all that these chemical additives can do. but the best answer I guess would be to have the injectors serviced
 
Jmc1764 said:
Just fill up with say 20 litres of Shell V max it has Nitro cleaner in it at the right concentration, after a few refills it should have cleaned all that these chemical additives can do. but the best answer I guess would be to have the injectors serviced
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erm . . . don't think putting petrol in a Yanmar 2GM20 will do it a lot of good :oops:

SWMBO has suggsted draining teh fuel and refilling with a known quantity . . . . seems like the way to go.


- W
 
We have ran diesel engines (at idle) on neat injector cleaner that had problems. Many garages will fill a fuel filter to prime it with injector cleaner.
 
If you really want them clean then only one way to do it. Remove the injectors and clean them with a fine bristled brass brush similar to a suede brush.

The problem is the outside of the injector with carbon deposits interfering with the spray pattern. The most severely fouled injector I have seen had a carbon spider on it about 2" across the tips, the other 5 were the same. Would have taken the injectors back to where last serviced however that was Yokohama 2000 miles astern :)
 
webcraft said:
erm . . . don't think putting petrol in a Yanmar 2GM20 will do it a lot of good :oops:

SWMBO has suggsted draining teh fuel and refilling with a known quantity . . . . seems like the way to go.


- W
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I don't think anyone was suggesting putting the petrol version in - V-power for diesels is a good idea though, or the BP Ultimate equivalent.

If you use an injector cleaner, I'd recommend BG245. Not cheap but I've found it very good, got me from failing an MOT on emissions to flying through...
 
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V Power is a Shell brand name for both petrol and diesel formulations. Wiki explains the benefit of the V Power diesel at cleaning up engines.
 
If the fuel has been in the tank for a long period of time, and it sounds like the boat is new to you, i would suggest draining the tank. Almost certainly has the fuel bug. I have used injector cleaner in the past with so so results, the only real way is to whip them out either clean them yourself or get them serviced, shouldn't be to much trouble on that engine.
 
When the truckers driving to the Middle east back in the day they used up to 25 per cent gasoline as an anti wax agent. In my opinion a lot of the additives claiming miraculous cures are no more than snake oil.
 
Tamarside said:
When the truckers driving to the Middle east back in the day they used up to 25 per cent gasoline as an anti wax agent. In my opinion a lot of the additives claiming miraculous cures are no more than snake oil.
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?????

gasoline in diesel is a winterising trick and is designed NOT for going to a hot area - but for going to a cold area where parifinic deposition causes cloud and then CFPP ..

Another way is adding kerosin ...

Injector Cleaner ... usually based on something like Toluene / Zylene or similar solvent. They work on systems that are near clean anyway - but if you have mild to serious situation then really waste of time and money .... get the injectors cleaned and calibrated properly.

Of course one of the biggest reasons for clagging up diesel engine ... is the amount of 'cruise running' they do .... a good thrash does them a world of good !!
 
What Refueler said, plus check aspiration (in and out!)

If an injector is so stuffed that it is leaving unburnt fuel in the exhaust it is probably far beyond the scope of injector cleaners.
In my experience, injectors fail rarely, but filters etc get clogged frequently. This usually results in oily black smoke owing to insufficient air for combustion and lack of RPM.

It could be something more serious, but check the cheap stuff first.
 
NorthUp said:
Classic symptoms of a blocked exhaust elbow.
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It's a brand new stainless elbow, the engine has run maybe 30 hours tops since I fitted it.

Smoke is white or blue, definitely not black.

Tank was drained, repaired and cleaned over the course of the refit. The fuel has been in the tank for a year, admittedly, but the engine ran perfectly for over two hours at cruising revs (5 knots) one day and then two days later this problem occurred, so I doubt if it is diesel bug. No sign of it in the water/primary filter, will change the secondary filter anyway but I don't think bug is the issue.


- W
 
Refueler said:
?????

gasoline in diesel is a winterising trick and is designed NOT for going to a hot area - but for going to a cold area where parifinic deposition causes cloud and then CFPP ..

Another way is adding kerosin ...

Injector Cleaner ... usually based on something like Toluene / Zylene or similar solvent. They work on systems that are near clean anyway - but if you have mild to serious situation then really waste of time and money .... get the injectors cleaned and calibrated properly.

Of course one of the biggest reasons for clagging up diesel engine ... is the amount of 'cruise running' they do .... a good thrash does them a world of good !!
Click to expand...
You miss the point. The truckers on the way to the Middle East experienced below zero conditions crossing the mountains.
 
Tamarside said:
You miss the point. The truckers on the way to the Middle East experienced below zero conditions crossing the mountains.
Click to expand...

Fine ... but you posted Anti-Wax ....... which is a different ball game and gasoline will do nothing for wax .... that takes a special additive. If the truckers were passing through areas of below about -5C ... then the gasoline was for Cloud Pt and CFPP reasons as I posted.
 
Ok, thats good.
Can you extract the injectors, turn the pipes 180 degrees and reattach injectors clear of the engine- crank the engine and you can observe the spray pattern, or see if they dribble. (Close the seacock!)
 
I have known diesel engine fuel treatment to cure a slight misfire in my car engine, but would be amazed if it could deal with the symptoms that you describe. I would not think that the quantity mixed with the fuel would be critical, or capable of inflicting damage to the engine or its' ancillaries if used excessively.
 
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