The fuel injectors if your car and parts that are prone to get clogged easily. This is just a natural progression with time if you own a car. So it is important that you should clean your fuel injectors often.
But do you know there can be problems after fuel injection cleaning? So if the cleaning is done, there can be more damage so be careful. This article discusses the issues that can be caused by fuel injector cleaning so read on!
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Why Is Fuel Injector Cleaning Important?
Fuel Injectors clog when debris or other deposits build up over time and thousands of miles. When they clog, fuel injectors fail to supply fuel and gas to the engine thus causing several issues to your car.
Fuel injector cleaning is a process that should be frequently done. It is something always recommended by dealers and repair shops. However, cleaning them if there are no signs of clogged filters may not be necessary. Nonetheless, sometimes your car can face problems after fuel injection cleaning so this is a task that should be done with utmost care.
How Would I Know When It’s Time To Clean My Fuel Injector?
There are certain signs that your car shows when it’s time for you to clean your fuel injector. They include.
1. Trouble Starting Your Car
There can be several reasons why your car refuses to start but one of the reasons can be a dirty fuel injector. Sometimes a clogged fuel injector can be stuck in the opening or closing position. This means that this clogged fuel injector is either filling your engine with gasoline or not sending gas to the engine at all.
2. Acceleration Issues
Sometimes you will be able to start your engine but you may find trouble while driving, especially while accelerating. Are you having trouble increasing the speed of your car or stopping your car normally or speeding up quickly to make a lane change? This indicates that your engine is not getting enough gas most probably because of a clogged fuel injector. A clogged fuel injector can also make your engine pick up speed and drop it without it even though you do nothing with your foot pressure on the accelerator.
3. Shaky Idling
Your fuel injectors send a consistent stream of fuel to the motor to keep it from stalling even when your vehicle is still and idle. However if you are hearing signs that indicate that your engine is struggling to keep it running while idle, your fuel injectors may be clogged. Your car may also make rough noises when it’s idling along with shaking which shouldn’t be ignored or taken lightly.
4. Low Gas Mileage
You will notice a difference in your car’s gas mileage if your fuel injector is clogged. Clogged injectors won’t be able to send enough gas to the engine so you’ll lose the gas mileage. The clogged injectors may also have leaks and such which can reduce the gas mileage.
Problems After Fuel Injection Cleaning: What Are They?
Fuel injectors are a very important component of your car and the whole performance of your car can be affected if they are clogged. Thus cleaning the fuel injectors is quite important. Can it cause any problems after fuel injection cleaning? And the answer is yes, it can.
The inside of an engine that’s dirty can be caked with Coke or flaky black carbon, can even be chunky in older v8s with carburettors! The idea behind most fuel injector cleaners is that they’re taking off a thin layer of carbon and combustion byproduct, not big giant chunks or complete dirt from the injectors.
So if you use it regularly you probably will never get it to the point where it’ll cause a problem to the injector. But if you use a fuel injector cleaner on a dirty engine, you can sometimes just loosen the dirt and debris that then tries to fly through your system. Most usually, the cleaners normally can chew it up and burn it and let it out through the exhaust but at times it can block or damage mechanical components.
You need to be concerned about blocking flow because the cylinder should be tough enough to crunch through most minor chunks, but if the airflow gets blocked well enough via plugged up dirt, the fuel injector can’t get in there to work to loosen it to get it to the combustion zone
Are Fuel Cleaners Good Enough?
Is it worth cleaning them with several fuel cleaner additives? Let’s find out. The cleaners have their limits. Fuel cleaning additives are not always as amazing as the advertisements claim them to be. They of course have their limitations and may not be perfect for cleaning the fuel injectors. It is possible to clean off deposits and debris from the fuel supply system using the fuel cleaning additives by pouring the contents into a container in the gas tank. But they are not as effective as the marketing ads claim them to be.
Not just that, sometimes there are chances that there can be some problems after fuel injection cleaning. To properly clean a part of the fuel injectors, we have to drain the system and portions of it disassembled. Only then can the fuel system components, such as few injectors, be properly and thoroughly cleaned. To effectively clean a dirty fuel injector, high concentrations of cleaner need to be pushed through it using specialized equipment. You simply can’t get these concentrations by adding a 3-ounce container of cleaner to a gas tank. Therefore there is no guarantee that fuel injection cleaners can do the work of cleaning your fuel injectors well. It’s always best to get your car to a mechanic or a repair shop if you want to thoroughly clean the fuel injectors.
Conclusion
Fuel injectors are one of the main components in your car that have a very important function. They are prone to getting dirty, filled with dirt and debris with time. Your car shows certain symptoms which are discussed above when your fuel injector is dirty. Cleaning the fuel injection is very important and it must be done as soon as you notice signs of a dirty fuel injector. It’s always best to consult a mechanic to clean your fuel injector or otherwise there can be some problems and complications which are discussed in the article. Hope you found it helpful!