Just ordered an Ultrasonic cleaner for my diesel injectors

[Penderic]

And was looking for tips in using it and recommendations for the type of cleaning solutions available.


I was thinking getting the stuff used to clean gun parts and after rinsing, using a protective spray.

[boatdetective]

I've used berryman Chem dip and it seems to work well.  I believe I found it in Wally World.

II use an ultrasonic cleaner and find it effective. However, if you have an assembled injector, I don't know if it will be 100% at cleaning out the tiny orifices in the nozzle. I would think you'd want to remove the plunger and spring.  Obviously, pop testing the injector is the only way to see if your cleaning worked.

[Penderic]

I am interested in your experience with cleaning carbon caked on to steel parts.

I have seen vids of parts successfully cleaned but only after 1 to 8 hours of ultrasonic cleaning in a tank of hot solvent. I don't want to use any smelly stuff with acids or bases that could corrode any of the precisicion steel parts.

Homemade cleaners based on alcohol, ammonia, dish soaps are cheap and I could use even stronger solvents for the smaller parts (metering needle and control valve) in a small glass jar or plastic bag that is immersed into a Ultrasonic cleaning tank of plain water.

The stuff for guns looks like it would work on my injectors once I disassemble them. I am not too worried about the injector tips -  it is the high pressure seals on the control valves that are causing my problem and I want to able to clean the area where the replacement seals contact. There is also a small steel ball in the control valve cap that shouldn't be cleaned ultrasonically. I have replacements for those too.

[boatdetective]

Get a can of that Chem Dip and try it out. There's something in it beyond the typical solvents. I'm pretty impressed. Oh yeah, and it's cheap.

[JayDee24ca]

Pend;
Can you not find an outfit in Vancouver that will flow test and clean your injectors? Should only be about 35 bucks a pop, and you would have confidence that it was done thoroughly and correctly. I have been looking for a local (southern BC) shop that would do that, myself.
JD

[ridingron]

And was looking for tips in using it and recommendations for the type of cleaning solutions available.

Just turn it on and let it work.

Does it heat the fluid?

I've used Pine-Sol (spelling??). Not the lemon scented.

[not-fishing]

I sent my daughter's MR2 injectors out to be cleaned and re-gasketed for $25 per injector.

1.  baseline flow established
2. cleaned
3.  new gaskets
4.  new flow established and balance

All that for $15 per injector over what it would cost me for the 0-rings.  I'll continue to send my injectors out even though I already have the ultrasonic cleaner.  There's not enough savings for me.

[Rough Edge racing]

 For common vehicles injectors are available without cores. Many vehicles use the same injectors...My old school Jeep Cherokees use the same injectors as later Fords and some European engines of the same fuel rate. And often improved ones are available like using late model  finer spray Bosch in my Jeep for about 100 bucks for 6 of them with no exchange.
 Just look on Ebay for a few known for quality injector rebuilders.

 Diesels might be different of course..

[Penderic]

Thanks for all the info. I found some professional places on the web that showed videos of their procedures. They use 3 stages of ultrasonic cleaning. First one using a very thin aqueous based solvent, second stages uses alcohol and the last stage is a distilled water rinse. Finally, oil is applied to all metal surfaces to prevent flash rusting.

The electronic guys that clean pcb boards will then dry them in a oven at 220F for an hour to get the last bits of moisture/alcohol out of the components. I don't have to use that much heat on my project.

I can use a brass wire brush on the bits of carbon that are still stuck on the valve body.

These common rail high pressure diesel injectors can run up to 27,000 psi and are very expensive to buy new. The dealer is only asking $895 list each! Thaaawft

I really don't have any trustworthy shops nearby that can do a good job on rebuilding them. All the rebuilding is done in the US, and here in Canada all we can do is order the rebuilt units and return the old cores for credit. The shipping costs and the current exchange rate make it difficult. For rebuilt units, we are talking over $300 each, plus taxes plus shipping and another $100 -$200 for each injector core, and all when the replacement of a 50 cent teflon seal will fix the main problem. It is a racket.

Individual repair parts for this type of injector are hard to find. The parts kit (#5) I need is actually 4 bucks. 6 of them are on their way right now from Latvia. Still very cheap compared to replacing the entire set of injectors.

[redrider90]

Ultra sonic direct has this cleaner for carbs and injectors.
 http://www.ultrasonicsdirect.com/12decacl.html?productid=12decacl&channelid=FROOG

[Farmer Dan]

 :1: I use Pine-Sol in my ultrasonic cleaner too.  It works well on guns and you can't beat it for cleaning carburetors.   Never tried to clean an injector though seems you would have to disassemble them first.  I don't wear any jewelry so I have no idea what to use there ;-)

[Penderic]

Ultra sonic direct has this cleaner for carbs and injectors.
 http://www.ultrasonicsdirect.com/12decacl.html?productid=12decacl&channelid=FROOG

That stuff looks real good! I wont need that much though.

Amazon has that gun cleaning solution in a 16oz bottle of concentrate, has lots of positive reviews, and looks like it isn't as alkaline.

Pine sol and dishsoap? .... ok, I read that the mixture ratio for those is very important. Simple green is good to use too if the temp is kept below 130F otherwise tarnishing of shiny surfaces may occur. Vinegar and water .... too acidic for this job.

Should I use only distilled water for the mixtures? 

[Penderic]

Ichiban has it covered! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1DtY2VwSyY


 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ichiban has it covered! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1DtY2VwSyY


 

There ya go. No need to waste money on fancy ultrasonic cleaners.  Look at the job it did on that ignition switch cooling fan..

[Mark West]

Since I work with sonics, I'll give you my 2 cents.

what sonic cleaning does is enhance chemical reactivity, that is pretty much it. If you use a solution that doesn't have any effect on whatever you're cleaning, ultrasonics won't be of any help. Conversely, if you use a solution that could react with the base material of the part you're cleaning, ultrasonics may damage the part in a relatively short period of time.

This enhancement of chemical reactivity can be several orders of magnitude, so it's not easy to determine what will or won't remove whatever grunge you have or what will or won't damage the part you're cleaning. You might be able to soak a part in a solution for days without ultrasonics and see no effect, but see it clean great after 10 minutes in a sonic bath.

there are hundreds if not thousands of commercial ultrasonic cleaning solutions many for very specialized applications. My advice would be to look for something designed for injectors or carburetors. Chances are these will be most effective at cleaning the parts without damaging them. Companies have put a lot of effort into figuring out what works for that application so take advantage of that unless you just really like to experiment.

As far as cleaning inside small orifices, the typical ultrasonic frequencies 20-50kHz range, will usually go through the walls of the part as opposed to going into an orifice and you should get decent cleaning. Make sure you don't get air trapped inside, which would prevent any cleaning.

[Penderic]

Great advice, thanks Mark! 

In the old days I would have had access to Carbon Tetrachloride.

Today..... Naphtha is good and cheap.