Fluids!

[giant_mtb]

I love fluids.  I really like the ones you put into your gas tank that either clean your fuel injectors, treat your gas, or give you extra octane!  One octane boost will boost octane by a whopping 20 points! (that's like...going from 87 to 89!) 

No, but seriously...are these things really worth it?!  I saw one bottle...a "complete" engine clean...intake valves, cylinder walls, and injectors...11 bucks. 

Are these fluids for real or just a buncha junk?  I'll be honest, I've put one bottle of fuel injector cleaner and one bottle of "gas treatment" in my tank.  I think the injector cleaner might have actually helped because I don't have rough starts anymore.

Who knows?!

[FlatBlackCaddy]

Everytime i've tried a injector cleaner or any other wonder fluid it has failed to solve my problems, or even improve idle/acceleration in a old motor(120-150K).

I think its a waste of money personally.

but hey don't let me stand in the way of your fluid lust.

[sparkplug]

I love fluids.  I really like the ones you put into your gas tank that either clean your fuel injectors, treat your gas, or give you extra octane!  One octane boost will boost octane by a whopping 20 points! (that's like...going from 87 to 89!) 

No, but seriously...are these things really worth it?!  I saw one bottle...a "complete" engine clean...intake valves, cylinder walls, and injectors...11 bucks. 

Are these fluids for real or just a buncha junk?  I'll be honest, I've put one bottle of fuel injector cleaner and one bottle of "gas treatment" in my tank.  I think the injector cleaner might have actually helped because I don't have rough starts anymore.

Who knows?!

I have my doubts. I have an uncle who put some in his mother's car and it kinda didn't act right afterward.

[SaltyDog]

Everything you run with your gas can clog your fuel injectors and I hear using too much can be bad.

One fluid I really recommend is Seafoam.  A couple weeks ago I poured 1/3 bottle into my engine through the brake booster.  I shut off the engine and turned it on 5 minutes later to see a sweet display of white carbon puffing out with the exhaust.  You can also run it in your crankcase(I would do this 500 miles before changing the oil) and mix it in your gas for a fuel system clean. 

edit- whoops, I wrote spark plugs instead of ...

[Raza]

They get even more fun when you drink them.  8 glasses a day.

[saxonyron]

I never use the stuff.  I'm pretty sure 99% of them are useless.  I've read that using a good quality gas is important though, as some detergent additives actually do keep the injectors clean.  It might have been Click and Clack, and I'm pretty sure they're accurate, although they typically appear to be intoxicated on fluids.....

[giant_mtb]

Everything you run with your gas can clog your spark plugs and I hear using too much can be bad.

One fluid I really recommend is Seafoam.  A couple weeks ago I poured 1/3 bottle into my engine through the brake booster.  I shut off the engine and turned it on 5 minutes later to see a sweet display of white carbon puffing out with the exhaust.  You can also run it in your crankcase(I would do this 500 miles before changing the oil) and mix it in your gas for a fuel system clean. 

Is that a joke?

[SaltyDog]

Is that a joke?

lol, no.

[Rupert]

I usually put a thing of Techron in my tank after I buy a car. I dunno if it helps much, but word is Techron is the good stuff, and Chevron is the best gas. If I have a nice car, I use Chevron 90% of the time. As for oil additives, I've heard of people getting an improvement from Restore, but that's if the engine is in pretty bad shape. If it's a good engine, it won't do a thing. Seafoam works (from every forum post I've read).

But regular oil changes and good gas are still the best.

[giant_mtb]

So what exactly is this "seafoam"?!  Is it some sort of cleaning agent you can put in any part of your car basically?

Nobody around here sells Techron...and we have no Chevron station.  Haha...I go to Holiday 'cause I get 4 cents off every gallon.  Admiral sucks.  I swear they water down their gas...it's cheaper and I've noticed changes in how the car runs (usually worse).

[SaltyDog]

So what exactly is this "seafoam"?!  Is it some sort of cleaning agent you can put in any part of your car basically?

I'm not sure about any part, but I wouldn't be surprised if it can clean more than the engine.  From what it says on the bottle there are 3 main ways to use it: feeding it directly into your engine through any intake hose(the brake booster is a good route to go), putting it in your gas, and putting it in your oil.  I felt a slight power increase and got slightly better gas mileage right after using, and I've read other good reviews.

The first method I listed can be quite the spectacle if your working with an old, high mileage engine.  It can cause a tremendous amount of white smoke to pour out the tailpipe, even enough to scare your neighbors depeding on the car you're working with.  This is actually carbon, so it make sense that older and high mileage cars have more of it.

You can pick up a bottle for about 6 bucks.  I got 2 bottles from Pep Boys, but I assume most auto parts stores have it.

[Champ]

I use Techron Concentrate about 3-4 times a year.  Mostly to clean up the injectors.

They love this stuff over on the Saab forums, they have some pictures of old engines that use Techron, and the internals look nice and clean.

[TurboDan]

Seafoam has been around for years.  It works incredibly well.  If you think it's impressive when used in a car engine, you should see it used in a boat engine!

[TBR]

My brother uses injector cleaner in his truck every month or so and it makes a huge difference. Without it he has to use the gas a fair amount to get the thing started.

[giant_mtb]

I'm not sure about any part, but I wouldn't be surprised if it can clean more than the engine.  From what it says on the bottle there are 3 main ways to use it: feeding it directly into your engine through any intake hose(the brake booster is a good route to go), putting it in your gas, and putting it in your oil.  I felt a slight power increase and got slightly better gas mileage right after using, and I've read other good reviews.

The first method I listed can be quite the spectacle if your working with an old, high mileage engine.  It can cause a tremendous amount of white smoke to pour out the tailpipe, even enough to scare your neighbors depeding on the car you're working with.  This is actually carbon, so it make sense that older and high mileage cars have more of it.

You can pick up a bottle for about 6 bucks.  I got 2 bottles from Pep Boys, but I assume most auto parts stores have it.

So I could just put it where I put brake fluid?!

[SaltyDog]

So I could just put it where I put brake fluid?!

There should be a black round thing mounted on the firewall on the drivers side.  There's a thick tube that connects to it.  Just unhook the tube wiht the car running.  The engine will start running wierd, but it's supposed to.  Have about 1/3 of the seafoam poured into an open cup.  Hold the tube(it will sucking air into the engine) near the seafoam gradually sipping in the fluid.  The engine will sputter.  Keep doing this untill the engine dies or all the fluid is taken in.  If the engine dies, start it back up and keep feeding the seafoam.  Maybe have someone else work the gas pedal a little to keep it going.  After all the fluid is taken in shut off the engine for 5-10 minutes.  IN this period the engine is being cleaned.  Then, start it up and either rev it softly or drive it untill no more smoke comes out of the exhaust. 

I'd add another third of the bottle to a half-full gas tank and the other third in the crankcase 500 miles before you will change the oil.

[280Z Turbo]

The brake booster is too big of a vacuum source, IMO. I always use a smaller vacuum hose.

Seafoam does work good. I used it to clean my injectors (I mean ACTUALLY clean them, out of the car) and it worked wonders!

I wouldn't put seafoam in the crankcase. It will free up years of sludge which could clog your pickup screen and then it's bye-bye motor.

[TBR]

How hard is it to take the injectors out?

[280Z Turbo]

You don't wanna do that.

[TBR]

That's all I needed to know. Would using Seafoam as suggested by Tom make a bigger difference with cleaning the injectors than STP injector cleaner (that is what my brother uses)?

[280Z Turbo]

If you really want to get injectors cleaned, they should be removed and sent out for a professional ultrasonic cleaning. That's about $15 per injector plus shipping (if need be).

Any "miracle-in-a-bottle" is pretty much useless, IMO. I think the cleaner is too diluted to do anything because I had to use a 1:1 ratio of gasoline and seafoam cleaner to clean my injectors.

On my car it was relatively easy to clean and remove the injectors, but it was still a big pain and took lots of time.

[JWC]

So what exactly is this "seafoam"?!  Is it some sort of cleaning agent you can put in any part of your car basically?

Nobody around here sells Techron...and we have no Chevron station.  Haha...I go to Holiday 'cause I get 4 cents off every gallon.  Admiral sucks.  I swear they water down their gas...it's cheaper and I've noticed changes in how the car runs (usually worse).

Carquest and some NAPA stores sell Techron II. Techron is the only additive that I've had tech hotline recommend...both Ford and GM.

[SaltyDog]

I wouldn't put seafoam in the crankcase. It will free up years of sludge which could clog your pickup screen and then it's bye-bye motor.

Have you heard of this actually happening?

[JWC]

Have you heard of this actually happening?

I've seen it, but it didn't really destroy the engine. The engine lost oil pressure and the guy shut it off before any damage was evident.  The sludge stopped up the oil pump screen. This was 15-20 years ago.

I've never used any engine flush products. I have customers who have never used it and have 300k on their engines.  Just use high quality oil, change it religiously, and you'll never have a problem.

[S204STi]

You're best off just using Top Tier fuels, a list of which you can probably find if you google "top tier fuels" as they already have mild levels of detergents and additives to keep your fuel system clean and trouble-free.  I don't know of any manufacturer that likes you to add solvents to your gas tank, but Nissan sells a repackaged bottle of Chevron Techron which is also used in some service campaign for one of our cars that I can't think of, and GM has their own stuff that they like to promote, so obviously it isn't all bad, but be wary of anything that seems too good to be true, because it probably is.

As for Seafoam, I am sure it works well cleaning carbon out of the engine, but a lot of that is going to hit your 02 sensors and catalytic converters, and I am not sure that is such a good thing.

[giant_mtb]

So I went to CarQuest today and got some Seafoam-like stuff for half the price per bottle.  I asked one of the guys if there was any real difference between Seafoam and the other brand he said "nah, you're just paying for the name"...so I bought two bottles of off-brand for the price of one Seafoam.

I haven't used it yet but next time I fill up or something I'll put it in the gas tank.  I don't plan on putting it in the engine oil 'cause it says to put it in, run the engine for 5 minutes, then change the oil...I'm not due for that for at least another 1,000 miles.

[TurboDan]

The one thing I've heard is to avoid all of those cleaners/fluids in vehicles with turbocharged engines.  I've never used any of them in the Saab, but I used them in my two previous N/A cars, a Mazda and a Lexus and I think it improved the performance in both.

I'm referring to Sea Foam specifically.  I still use it in both of my outboard engines and it does wonders for them, although the ethanol gas has been causing ALOT of excess carbon to burn off naturally this season in those engines.