Is anyone putting fuel injector cleaner in to their car during any regular intervals? I always have in all my other cars and could tell a difference, but have not in the Mustang as of yet. What brand do you prefer and have you noticed anything? I thought I read somewhere that Ford doesn't really want us putting it in our cars, maybe I'm wrong on that. What do you guys think?

 

I dump a bottle of Sea Foam cleaner in my gas tank every 12k. I can't say that I felt any difference, but I consider it a part of routine maintenance.

 

Haven't yet but thanks for reminding me.

 

I haven't yet in the mustang, I'll normally do it once every oil change. In all my other vehicles, I use Valvoline Synpower treatment. I use the fuel injector cleaner at every oil change, and once a year, I throw in a bottle of Valvoline Synpower complete fuel system cleaner. When I was having problems with my F150, they were checking parts, trying to rule out the cause and pulled the injectors at 85k miles. they were still the original injectors and theDealer techsaid they looked brand new still, so whatever I was doing, keep it up.

EDIT: Oh, and ever couple years I run a 3M fuel system cleaner on it, it's a big deal that connects to the fuel rail and you have an aerosol can of cleaner that will be run though the system. It seems to work well, the only downside being your exhaust kinda smells funny for a hundred miles or so.

 

i read in the manual somewhere that it said not to put additives into the fuel... so i don't.

 

If your injectors already need a cleaning, you have other problems that a cleaner will not solve
Ford does not recommend injector cleaning now days. Dealers still have equipment but typically the only thing it does is increase the billable hours of the service department.
DO NOT use fuel additives of any kind without a COMPLETE understanding of what is in it. MMT is a good example of a chemical that is readily available in fuel system treatments that will melt catalysts. I just bounced a warranty claim for a cat on a Focus the other day because some yahoo at Jiffy Lube performed an injector cleaning.
Your dealer can do an injector flow test in seconds without even popping the hood.It is done with a scan tool and is the best way to evaluate the injector's ability to "pass gas" It is not 100% accurate, but unless you have a misfire or contribution issue directly related to a cylinder with a crappy flow rate - you can trust the results.
Seafoam through the throttle will work wonders on carbon deposits if done through the intake. Motocraft top engine cleaner is even better. If your injectors are restrictive due to contaminants - imagine what your fuel filter looks like. If I put a solvent for that debris in the fuel tank. What do you think happens to the junk in your filter? That's right. It dissolves and then flows into the engine (where it should never be). Cleaners should not be put in the tank period. Especially with an old fuel filter.

 

One of the key reasons to keep your injectors clean isn't becasue of flow rate, but becasue of how well the injector atomizes the fuel.

The so called "dealership flow test" cannot tell you how well the injector is atomizing. It can only tell you if the flow rate is within spec (which is a very wide spec, mind you).

As for the fuel filter, I disagree. 90% or more of what the fuel filter catches is insoluble material such as tiny particles of metal, sand, and dirt. That is why this stuff endsup in your filter in the first place--they arelarge insoluble particles that cannotflow past the filter. This dirtcannot and will not be moved anywhere with an in-tank cleaner, becasue they are not soluble in the cleaning solvent either. Most ingredients in fuel system cleaner are just lower boiling point hydrocarbons.Fuel system cleaners are typically geared to removing organic material such as varnish or carbon deposits. If there is dirt in your filter, in-tank fuel injector cleaner will do nothingto it and it will stay in your filter. If there is gum or varnish in your filter, then yes it would be dissolved. But it will not magically fall out of solution when it hits your engine. It will stay in solution until the solution either becomes saturated (which isn't going to happen) or until the fuel is burned....at which point it goes out your tailpipe.

 

Injector atomization is nota frequent issue (at least with the injectors in your new mustang). Considering the injectors are pulsed on the back of closed intake valves (HC emissions are bit higher when pulsed on an open valve) you may only notice an issue when the engine is cold. This is the same reason carbon deposits on the back of valves creates hesitations and difficulty starting. Once the engine is warm, the fuel vaporizes before it reaches the valve. Essentially, the engine is running on "fumes" but not in the conventional use of the term. Can you experience driveability issues when your injectors squirt the fuel rather than mist it? Yes. It is common or likely? Absolutely not. Carbon and other deposits present in the combustion chamber and on the intake valves themselves are MUCH more frequently an issue than deposits on the tips of the injectors. Like said before - if your injectors need cleaning before you odometer is six digits long - you have other problems like cheap fuel.
I agree with your comment regarding solids in the filter. Yes, that is what it is intended to catch and cleaners will not dissolve them. However, I have performed several experiments that confirm that solvents will allow material caught in the filter to pass through it. Remove an old filter and allow fuel to drain through it (like brewing coffee). That fuel should be rather clear. Then, mix a good cleaner with some fuel and do the same. I have seen black, gritty and pasty material drain from the filter several times. The first time I saw this was in Junior college when I first got into the Automotive thing.

 

You have a newer Mustnag so I don't know how dirty they can be but on my 95 Mustang I had to run the dealer injector clean through every 2 years. That's were they shut off the fuel pump and run the motor directly on this can (cleaner)through the injectors. It cleans like a champ. I would notice this slight hesitationthrough normal driving and knew it was time. Cost was $89 and well worth it. Like I said it would last around 2 years. Other than that a regular container (store stuff) every 3-4 tank fulls. With my 07 I haven't thought about it yet.

 

what is Motorcraft top engine cleaner? Actually, I can tell by the name what it is, I guess my real question is how is is used? Is it put in the fuel tank, or run in the throttle body like seafoam?