Fuel System Cleaner

[UNC201]

hi all -

Just discovered this board and there are some die hard oil *gurus* in here. Anyhow, this is somewhat OT but what is your opinion on using Fuel System Cleaners on newer cars these days.

My X5 just hit the 5500 mile mark and this car is a keeper. Does it makes sense to use Fuel System Cleaner every now and then (Redline product)

 

[Tim_Z]

My opinion is to use the Redline cleaner at it's minimum strength every 3 or 4 tanks. That is what I and others have done and you keep fouling from happening instead of having to remove accumulated fouling. (an ounce of prevention....)

A friend of mine subscribed to this idealogy and when, at 100K, he had his motor stripped down (for an oil pump issue) the valves and combustion chamber was like new.

Tim

 

[UNC201]

hmmm...what do you refer as minimum strenght. The bottles are generally for a full tank. I've did this with an older car, putting in fuel system cleaner right before an oil change as I've heard that the additive sometimes does things to the oil ?

I've heard that todays gasoline is much cleaner and the additives, etc to meet EPA specs. I only use 91 in my car.

Is it okay to use Fuel System Cleaner safely without changing the oil right shortly after running the fuel system cleaner

 

[Tim_Z]

Well, the bottles I have are 15 oz. On the side where the two ends of the label meet there are graduation marks overy 10 gallons worth. The recommended dosage is 1 bottle in 20 gallons for quick cleanup or 1 bottle in 100 gallons for lifetime cleanliness. Therefore 1.5 oz. per every 10 gallons. On my last car at 16K miles I had an oil analysis done by Terry Dyson (highly recommended!) and after using the 20 gallons worth treatment in the 17 gallon tank on average about every 3 to 4 tankfulls there were no out of the ordinary readings on the oil analysis.

Hope this helps.

Tim

 

[Tim_Z]

Also (I forget about the rest of your question) with todays detergent gasolines the detergent cleans the injectors and then sprays the gunk from the injector onto the hot valve where it builds up on the valve. After 100K miles on my friends engine, the CC and valve area were spotless.

I have a brouchure pack I received from Redline, PM me if you want and I can scan and email it to you.

Tim

 

[UNC201]

Interesting read. Do you change the oil more regularly. I've always done a full treatment of Techron right before I was due for an oil change as my old mechanic told me that the additives *sometimes* contaminates the oil.

 

[Tim_Z]

No, I just periodicly add the FI cleaner throughout the oil change interval. Have had no recognizable detriment to the oils. Been using Redline SI-1 for about 15 years.

Tim

 

[Patman]

If you have an older engine which lets a bit of fuel get into the oil through looser rings, then you could have a problem when adding fuel injector cleaners to the fuel.

It's more noticable in the winter though, where it's more common to see fuel show up in the oil analysis samples. I saw 1.0% fuel in my oil sample from last winter, but see 0.0% fuel the rest of the time.

 

[Patman]

Another thing, if you're worried about getting some of the injector cleaner into the oil, then the best time to run the stuff is on a very long highway trip. Add it to the fuel with the engine already warmed up (so the rings are sealed better and less chance of fuel getting past them) and then fill up the tank again at the end of your highway trip.