Injector Cleaner

[Mistroma]

Seeing as you requested my contribution in another thread :

Mechanicbase recommend Lucas Fuel Treatment Diesel Injector Cleaner.

5 Best Diesel Injector Cleaners (Reviewed 2020) - Mechanic Base

You're welcome?

I'm not certain if many of these are readily available in the UK, the link seems to be a US related review. I would tend to agree with comments about checking and getting the injectors cleaned if required. However, it may be that you have had good results with one of the listed products and know of a UK supplier.

I thought about posting on the other thread about getting the injectors checked. I had mine done quickly and cheaply near Cumbernauld but that was probably more than 20 years ago. Not much point in recommending them now.

 

[smeaks]

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

Id start by checking out the exhaust elbow... low power, revs unburnt fuel and smoke all are classic fouled elbow problems

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Now that you write that it ran perfectly for two hours then two days later the problem occurred it is not looking like the injectors, they don't suddenly change or foul.
Is there definitely unburnt fuel ?
Is the white smoke steam?
Is there blue smoke?

Look for constriction or collapsed exhaust hose, the hose could look OK but have delaminated internally and be partially blocked so squeeze it and feel for a soft spot, also check the air filter.
There is a possibility that the fuel injection pump is stuck and that you won't know until it is stripped and serviced.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Id start by checking out the exhaust elbow... low power, revs unburnt fuel and smoke all are classic fouled elbow problems

If you read the whole thread you'll see that the OP has recently fitted a new stainless exhaust elbow.

 

[Refueler]

If you read the whole thread you'll see that the OP has recently fitted a new stainless exhaust elbow.

Aw c'mon .. since when do they read all threads !!!

 

[Refueler]

Now that you write that it ran perfectly for two hours then two days later the problem occurred it is not looking like the injectors, they don't suddenly change or foul.
Is there definitely unburnt fuel ?
Is the white smoke steam?
Is there blue smoke?

Look for constriction or collapsed exhaust hose, the hose could look OK but have delaminated internally and be partially blocked so squeeze it and feel for a soft spot, also check the air filter.
There is a possibility that the fuel injection pump is stuck and that you won't know until it is stripped and serviced.

I agree that to suddenly have change indicates something wrong elsewhere ........ he says he changed the Exhaust elbow ... maybe worth checking to see if any part of old has lodged in exhaust system further along ?

If there's unburnt fuel - that to me says that injection is throwing full whack in but engine is not speeding up to balance the amount of fuel OR there is restricted air to mix ....

I would remove air cleaner ... check air intake is clear and run without air cleaner .......... that eliminates that part.

If it still runs bad .. then its check the downstream side for blockages etc.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I'm not certain if many of these are readily available in the UK, the link seems to be a US related review. I would tend to agree with comments about checking and getting the injectors cleaned if required. However, it may be that you have had good results with one of the listed products and know of a UK supplier.

I thought about posting on the other thread about getting the injectors checked. I had mine done quickly and cheaply near Cumbernauld but that was probably more than 20 years ago. Not much point in recommending them now.

I had mine checked some years ago at InverKip - the local Volvo mechanic took them to a specialist. It wasn't expensive; I don't recall exactly how much, but tens of pounds, not hundreds! And I had the usual Volvo symptoms - white smoke - but the injectors were in perfect order; no problems at all. Cleaning out the waterways with hydrochloric acid made the biggest difference to the white smoke; recent improvements to the water circulation (digging the crud out of the exhaust elbow!) made an even bigger difference; I now have little or no smoke after starting.

I'm sure that in many cases this is teaching Granny to suck eggs, but a) injectors aren't a DIY job except for gross external cleaning; they require close tolerances and clean handling and b) the spray from injectors will penetrate skin and can end up making you permanently sensitive to diesel with nasty forms of dermatitis.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

White smoke is usually steam but the concerning thing about Nicks problem is that it occurred suddenly.

 

[lw395]

Having the pair of injector's cleaned would cost less than a £100, and would eliminate any doubt about them.

Yes, but I'd want to eliminate doubts about the rest of the fuel system at the same time.
How hard is it remove the injection pump and get it cleaned/checked on these engines?

 

[RichardS]

I add a bottle of injector cleaner to both my fuel tanks and a shot of Marine 16 every time I fill up which is every two or three years.

It all seems to work fine but that might be irrespective of the treatments.

Richard

 

[Refueler]

I add a bottle of injector cleaner to both my fuel tanks and a shot of Marine 16 every time I fill up which is every two or three years.

It all seems to work fine but that might be irrespective of the treatments.

Richard

Good husbandry ... nothing wrong with that. The 16 is probably doing the bulk of the work ...

 

[Ceejay]

Something wrapped around the shaft/prop?

 

[Spyro]

I had 2 serviced at Johnson and Drynan in Kilmarnock. The popping pressure on one was low. Fixed and serviced for less than £20. Had to take them out and take them there though

 

[webcraft]

.
OK, confession time . . .

I had a mechanic out to the boat to check the not going into gear when hot problem and of course told him about the newly developed engine problem. He immediately noticed that one of the decompressors was in the decompressed position . . . .

I guess I must have moved it when I was leaning over the engine changing the gearbox oil the day before. I had spent ages wondering how on earth changing the gearbox oil could have affected the engine performance, and now I know. To say I felt stupid would be an understatement.

Re. the gearbox issue - seems that although I thought the lever was going all the way forward it wasn't as the bolt head on the toggle arrangement was fouling on the hull. The mechanic cut the toggle down and rebushed it so there was clearance, then we discovered that no matter how we adjusted the morse control you could not get all the travel required between forward fully engaged and reverse fully engaged. We adjusted it to full travel forward and about 5mm short on reverse.

Later I thrashed the engine over to Craobh Haven (6nm) and it was still going into ahead from neutral when hot, so the problem may well be solved. However, I would rather have full travel into reverse as well, and the existing morse control is ancient with the aluminium casing disintegratingg, so I think I will invest in a new Teleflex control and two new cables.

I;ve thrown some injector cleaner in the tank anyway.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, but the engine performance was down to a decompression lever partially forward.


- W

 

[Iliade]

EDIT - Ignore all this - cross posted despite the apparent huge time gap because I didn't see the second page! - I'll leave it here lest anyone else has a similar concern

Smoke is white or blue, definitely not black.

Oops, that rather changes things... (sucks through teeth)

Can you put a sheet of paper into the smoke without getting it soaked? This is to determine whether the smoke is oil or water based.

White 'smoke' is commonly associated with water in the combustion chamber and often does have a sudden onset and associated large bill. (Head gasket upwards.)
If your motor is fresh water cooled you could get a pressure test done.

Blue/Grey oil smoke could be a shot injector if you are lucky or more likely a number of other expensive issues with the short block. Worth checking the crankcase recirculation system if it has an oil trap, but that's probably a forlorn hope.
You will see a loss of engine oil, but it takes very little oil to make a lot of smoke. Checking the injectors would be my first move.

You have checked that the prop is clear haven't you?

 

[Refueler]

.
OK, confession time . . .

I had a mechanic out to the boat to check the not going into gear when hot problem and of course told him about the newly developed engine problem. He immediately noticed that one of the decompressors was in the decompressed position . . . .

I guess I must have moved it when I was leaning over the engine changing the gearbox oil the day before. I had spent ages wondering how on earth changing the gearbox oil could have affected the engine performance, and now I know. To say I felt stupid would be an understatement.

Re. the gearbox issue - seems that although I thought the lever was going all the way forward it wasn't as the bolt head on the toggle arrangement was fouling on the hull. The mechanic cut the toggle down and rebushed it so there was clearance, then we discovered that no matter how we adjusted the morse control you could not get all the travel required between forward fully engaged and reverse fully engaged. We adjusted it to full travel forward and about 5mm short on reverse.

Later I thrashed the engine over to Craobh Haven (6nm) and it was still going into ahead from neutral when hot, so the problem may well be solved. However, I would rather have full travel into reverse as well, and the existing morse control is ancient with the aluminium casing disintegratingg, so I think I will invest in a new Teleflex control and two new cables.

I;ve thrown some injector cleaner in the tank anyway.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, but the engine performance was down to a decompression lever partially forward.


- W

Its great news to hear engine problem solved ... do not feel bad about the decomp lever - we've all had our moments and DOH !! Why did I do that !!

Your Morse problem is same as my mate who's Mobo was moored at my house ... travel on the gear change was not enough ...

He sold the boat before fixing it - but we were thinking to add a plate to extend and get greater travel.

 

[Spyro]

I thought those decomp levers returned to normal on their own.

 

[Refueler]

I thought those decomp levers returned to normal on their own.

May on some ... but I know a number of engines that they stay when used ... the lever being slightly 'overcentre' so it holds itself ...