Bambam7

Just wondering- I have a set of spare injectors, that I would like to clean, and install on my car, but they have about 150,000 Kilometers on them...I have searched and read everything about cleaning, and I found a guy (Speedracer) who soaked his in degreaser overnight, and said it worked. Isn't there a solenoid in there??
Is that harmfull?
Won't soaking not quite get through because the injector is closed?

Anyways, can I soak it, and hook it up to an oscillating 12v power source, to make sure the cleaner is really getting in there??

What do you think the best chemical would be?

I believe than most injectors on any car older than 5 years could use some cleaning.
Thanks

mazdaspeed7

Heres what I did. It takes 2 people, unless you have an oscilliating 12V power source. Spray carb cleaner through the injector with it open. I cut an injector clip off my extra engine harness, and touched the wires to a battery for a second or two at a time, while spraying carb cleaner through. Worked great for me.

SpeedRacer

I just soaked the tips in degreaser, not the whole injector. And yes, it definently isn't a very thorough method, as the injector is closed. But I figured it was better than nothing. Mazdaspeed7's idea sounds great, I'm gonna have to try that.

SureShot

A 6v battery with some small jumper clips will open the plunger.
I use spray carb cleaner.
If you hold 12v on the injector for very long it will probably burn out.

mazdaspeed7

Thats why I said only a second of two of power at a time. I never tried a 6v batery, I didnt know if it was enough voltage to open the injectors, since they were made to operate off 12V.

tesla042

Can you hear the solenoid clicking?

-Tesla

Bambam7

Are you saying that you can open the solenoid with a 6v battery, and you can keep it open for a while without doing any damage?
(overheating..)
How long? (hours, what?)

NZConvertible

The pros use an ultrasonic bath which is a million times better than anything you can do at home. Just take them and get'em done properly, your engine's at stake!

ka8legend

Is it safer to run a fuse off the 12v battery to limit the amount of current flow. Also how safe is carb cleaner for the injector coil winding. I read somewhere that even basic off the shelf fuel injector cleaners can eat up the coating unlike Techron which has silicon in its formula.

FJ

Yes you can hear the solenoid open. When I first applied 12v to mine it was a rather dull click. After spraying carb cleaner while applying power (as mentioned, no longer than a second) about 10 times, the sound changed to a distinct snap. That was more than 5 years ago when I had flooding problems and it has not flooded since. (1st Gen -SE)

I wouldn't worry about using 6v and soaking them while open or something similar: 10 or 15 shots of cleaner should do the trick and you won't hurt the injectors.

I found the "home cleaning" to work well. If I had a turbo, though, I think I would send them out and not take a chance on running lean.

One last note, you don't have to worry about the polarity when connecting the 12v.

Edit: a fuse won't limit the current to the injector, but would be a good idea in case you short your wires. Gumoff (Gumout?) would be better than carb cleaner for the injectors.

-John.

ka8legend

I thought Gumout only makes fuel injector cleaner that you can dump in the tank. Do they also have carb cleaners that we can spray and what are the benefits for using it over other brand like CRC?

FJ

I have not seen Gumout in my area, that's why I was unsure of the name. Gumout is intended for injected systems and so I would use that instead of carb cleaner if it was available. I don't know that it is available in spray; I assumed it was. And I've not heard of CRC so hopefullly someone can add more info on that. At any rate, carb cleaner works.

-John.

SaabGuy

If you know someone who works at a jewrey store you can bring the injectors there and have them ultrasonically cleaned for free. But only if you know the person cause i think those things are very expensive.

Bambam7

I know people at jewelry stores....
What solution does it need to be in while cleaning??
You just soak the ends right??

SaabGuy

I really have no idea but I do know that some of those rocks at the jewlry store should not be cleaned in that solution, Tanzinite, for example, may be destroyed by the stuff.

I would just put metal parts in there.

ka8legend

Is the ultrasound going to dissolve the carbon bits where it can go through the metal screening filter? I think it can thicken and have a hard time passing that screen(and may even clog it). So we may still have to resort to 12v and shoot it out the side.

pp13bnos

iTrader: (1)

I think the best way is just to have them sent out, that way you can tell if they are leaky or not. (Pressure test), and they can tell you how many CC's they are putting out, before and after the cleaning.

But if you're poor like me this would probably be better than doing nothing.

I'll try this tomorow, and throw them in to see if one of my recently cleaned injectors is the problem in my acceleration problem. CJ

87GXLRX7

sorry guys i ain't no mechanic lol... and was curious... is it very difficult to remove injectors, to clean them, is it so thing that a normal home mechanic could pull off doin. thanks

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

Mazdaspeed, what was your 12v source? car battery? What about a 9V battery? you know the little ones....

Angel Guard Racing Team

Blow compressed air thru the tip of the injector injector (Backwards). That is how we do it and it works great. Just blow compressed air backwards thru the injector. They are not that sensitive.

mazdaspeed7

I have 3 car batteries on a shelf, so I cut one of the injector clips off the engine harness from my parts car, and use that.