fuel injector cleaner

[Chuck in Indiana]

Since the Mighty Scura has 36K miles, I thought it would be good to put some injector cleaner in the tank. Is more better, or just RTFM?
Yes, I've searched..

[Wayne Orwig]

Supposedly you just buy some fuel that has Techron in it and you are good.

[bad Chad]

I'm partial to Seafoam.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Supposedly you just buy some fuel that has Techron in it and you are good.

I ran Chevron out in SoCal whenever possible, so maybe it's ok. Can't get it in Indiana. I bought a bottle of Techron, and it says it treats up to 12 gallons. My question is.. is putting it in 5 gallons overkill?

[Toecutter]

First thing in the spring, I add a bit of seafoam to the tank (according to manufacturer's specs), and burn a full tank of gas.

[RinkRat II]

 I believe the key words are "up to" 12 gallons. Shouldnt hurt a thing it's only solvents.
    My$.02
     
   Paul B

[screamday]

I ran Chevron out in SoCal whenever possible, so maybe it's ok. Can't get it in Indiana. I bought a bottle of Techron, and it says it treats up to 12 gallons. My question is.. is putting it in 5 gallons overkill?

I would just split it between two fill ups.

[bigbikerrick]

I have used about half a bottle of Techron in my 03 Cali, poured in  once a year and in almost 30K miles have not even changed the fuel filter. The bike runs perfect, but I have been bad, I need to yank the tank, and replace the filter soon. I usually would pour in the half bottle, at home, when very low on gas, then ride the couple of miles to the gas station, burning the "very concentrated" mixture. It ran the same either way, so like some of the other say, I dont think too much will hurt anything, its just solvents.
Rick

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sounds like a plan. Thanks, all.. 

[Roebling3]

Seafoam here also. Used Techron for years w/good results; but maybe there were no problems?
Switched to Seafoam through the influence of MC Guru/Racer friend, who suggested a high concentration.
Run the engine 'til your certain the mix is through out the fuel system. Shut down and let it sit for several hours/overnight. Ride as needed.  R3~

[oldbike54]

 Dunno , the old Jackal has 140K miles on her now , has never had any additives , nothing synthetic either . I hear folks say "I've been doing so-and-so and never had a problem" , well , how do you know the additive is the reason why ? 

 Dusty

[Toecutter]

Seafoam is a habit I got into with my CB750s. Fall = fresh fuel and stabilizer, drained bowls. Spring equals seafoam and a full tank burned. It was good for the little shit that builds up as fuel evaporates.

It's not a cure-all, but it does work.

Maybe it's a bigger deal for us northerners... winterizing a bike means a good 5-7 months of sitting.

[PJPR01]

Dunno , the old Jackal has 140K miles on her now , has never had any additives , nothing synthetic either . I hear folks say "I've been doing so-and-so and never had a problem" , well , how do you know the additive is the reason why ? 

 Dusty

Is that perhaps the reason the fuel pump fails at every Cedar Vale rally? 

[kingoffleece]

Ask your small motor techs about Yamaha Ring Free, now called EngineRx.  Great stuff.

[TimmyTheHog]

the key with additive (even fuel stabilizer, but sucks as winter storage mostly needs it), if you have to use it, once you add to near recommended max amount, try not to let that mixed fuel sit too long in the system. That is how it gunk up.

Basically if you add seafoam/cleaner thru the system, go for a ride...burn it all off as much as you can then add fresh fuel in (91 Chevron, and/or ethanol free if possible)

If your injector is really dirty but not dirty enough to take off to clean, sometimes you might need to do this 2~3 tanks before you see any real benefit....

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

 :1: Seafoam here too.

I use it in all of my internal combustion engines as part of their regular maintenance schedule.

[LowRyter]

https://youtu.be/gg9ppeUMpK4

[SmithSwede]

Dusty, how do YOU know that we aren't adding Techron to your Jackal when you aren't looking, and that is precisely why you have not had any problems?


 Yeah , like you guys are gonna spend money on my old beastie 

 Dusty

[oldbike54]

Is that perhaps the reason the fuel pump fails at every Cedar Vale rally? 

 One fuel pump failure at 120K miles is still cheaper than all of those fancy additives 

 Dusty

[JoeW]

IMHO, fuel injector cleaner is snake oil. Over the counter products do well at cleaning intake ports and valves. In my experience, the only way to clean an electronic fuel injector is an ultrasonic process like Asnu. http://www.asnu.com/

[bad Chad]

I wouldn't try to argue this against JoeW The Guzzi Dr!

[lucian]

Techtron cured a random miss fire code on my chevy one ton.  The service engine light came on and it had a miss fire at idle. Took it to the dealer where they ran the codes and it read, random miss fire cylinder 7.  They changed the coil pack , spark plugs and HT leads and reset the dash. Picked it up and went to the first stop sign and it started rough idling again and the light came back on.  I called a good friend who owns a station nearby. He said put some injector cleaner in it and take it out on the highway and put the berries to it.  It came out of it almost instantly and even the service light went out without resetting it. My friend laughed when I thanked him and he said he see's it a lot on vehicles like mine that sit more than they run and the injectors gum up and cause miss fire at idle.  Wished I had called him first,,,Stealers,

[JJ]

For vintage bikes (with carbs), I have successfully used Seafoam and/or Marvel Mystery oil over the years.

I also a "shot glass" of either of those for each gas tank fill on our 1967 Ford Mustang 289-V8. 

However, for modern bikes, I used this:  :1:   Reportedly, the Ferrari vintage race team in Italy favors this also product!!

[JoeW]

Techtron cured a random miss fire code on my chevy one ton.  The service engine light came on and it had a miss fire at idle. Took it to the dealer where they ran the codes and it read, random miss fire cylinder 7.  They changed the coil pack , spark plugs and HT leads and reset the dash. Picked it up and went to the first stop sign and it started rough idling again and the light came back on.  I called a good friend who owns a station nearby. He said put some injector cleaner in it and take it out on the highway and put the berries to it.  It came out of it almost instantly and even the service light went out without resetting it. My friend laughed when I thanked him and he said he see's it a lot on vehicles like mine that sit more than they run and the injectors gum up and cause miss fire at idle.  Wished I had called him first,,,Stealers,

The more likely cause of your miss at idle was carbon deposits on your intake valves, that cleaner combined with wringing it out on the highway did the trick. Back in the 70s my boss picked up a Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3 that had been driven by a little old lady. The car was missing like crazy, i was following him back from her home in the dark. He punched it as soon as he got it on the highway and i could see glowing hunks of carbon shooting out of the exhaust. When we got to the shop it was purring like a kitten.

[Bud]

     I had a similar thing happen just after I got my drivers license when I was sixteen. My mom drove the family car which was a 1970 Olds Delta 88 with a 455 in it. Yes she too drove it like an old lady. I took the car one day and punched it to pass someone and the car must have jumped into passing gear and simultaneously I could see chunks of carbon in the rear view mirror and then all I heard was ticking coming from the engine! Oh crap I figured I broke something and my dad would whoop my butt! By the time I got home the ticking stopped, just some carbon on the valves.

[oldbike54]

 Fortunately with modern engines and fuel , carbon isn't much of a problem 

 Dusty

[pete roper]

Chuck, unless you think it has a problem I’d leave it be. The injectors Guzzi use are just crappy ‘Free Grandfather Clock with every Half Dozen’ Bosch injectors, the same ones fitted to a host of vehicles. As long as they are fed clean petrol they are unlikely to go bad for a very, very long time. I occasionally have a weird problem where I’ll end up grasping at straws and grubby, misbehaving, injectors are usually way down the list. If I do though decide they need work I’ll take them to a specialist mob in Queanbeyan who have a test bench, cleaners, etc. etc. Much better than a ‘Mechanic in a Bottle’! :D

Pete

[twowings]

[JJ]

A good "rant" about MMO...

http://blog.garagistry.com/2012/04/the-mystery-of-marvel-mystery-oil.html

My late father was a B-17 mechanic / crew chief during WW II and he said they used it religiously on all their radial engines...   He also used it on a variety of his 30's and 40's antique cars that he owned and collected...and that's good enough for me! 

[Chuck in Indiana]

People still use it on antique airplane engines. Airplane engines *sit* a lot, and tend to have sticky rings and valves. MMO in the gas and oil seems to help. It's a good upper cylinder lubricant.