Leaky Injector Tests

[CEHepp]

I have a bad injector in my 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 R-Design that causes a misfire on startup on cylinder 1. I've been putting off the repair by trying different additives and I'd like to share what I've found. Also, before you scold me, I have a set of replacement injectors coming because this problem has gone from interesting to annoying.

First additive I tried was LiquiMoly DI Jectron. This solved the cold start misfire for two tank fulls of fuel.

Then I tried Berryman B-12 Chemtool. This solved the misfire for two tanks as well.

Then I tried Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner and Upper Cylinder Lubricant. This made the misfire worse. Much worse. Blinking check engine light worse.

As a stopgap to get through the week till my set of new injectors came in, I filled up and added 1/3rd of a bottle of Redline SI-1 and drove home. A 20 minute drive. The next morning, no misfire. Runs perfect. Again this morning. Absolutely no misfire.

I don't understand how these can solve a leaky injector only temporarily. You would think if it was good enough to clean the debris out of the injector pintle sealing surface that the issue would not return. But, it always does.

Thought you all might find these non-scientific "tests" interesting. I definitely feel like the Lucas is a waste of money now. Redline SI-1 seems to be the best bang for the buck.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Redline SI-1 has a lot of PEA in it, the best thing a fuel injector cleaner can have. You should've used the whole bottle, not just 1/3 of it

 

[fantastic]

Great detective work & solution.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I have a bad injector in my 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 R-Design that causes a misfire on startup on cylinder 1. I've been putting off the repair by trying different additives and I'd like to share what I've found. Also, before you scold me, I have a set of replacement injectors coming because this problem has gone from interesting to annoying.

First additive I tried was LiquiMoly DI Jectron. This solved the cold start misfire for two tank fulls of fuel.

Then I tried Berryman B-12 Chemtool. This solved the misfire for two tanks as well.

Then I tried Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner and Upper Cylinder Lubricant. This made the misfire worse. Much worse. Blinking check engine light worse.

As a stopgap to get through the week till my set of new injectors came in, I filled up and added 1/3rd of a bottle of Redline SI-1 and drove home. A 20 minute drive. The next morning, no misfire. Runs perfect. Again this morning. Absolutely no misfire.

I don't understand how these can solve a leaky injector only temporarily. You would think if it was good enough to clean the debris out of the injector pintle sealing surface that the issue would not return. But, it always does.

Thought you all might find these non-scientific "tests" interesting. I definitely feel like the Lucas is a waste of money now. Redline SI-1 seems to be the best bang for the buck.

Problem is that we'll never know if all of the cleaners combined or Redline alone fixed your problem

 

[CleanSump]

Maybe the sticky pintle was cleaned some and additionally, maybe the injector cleaners added a little lubricity that only lasted a short time? Maybe the injector is rough and just dirties up fast. I don't know, just speculation.

 

[CEHepp]

Problem is that we'll never know if all of the cleaners combined or Redline alone fixed your problem

Nothing fixes it. It always comes back. That’s why I’ve ordered a replacement set of injectors. As soon as any additive has been flushed from the tank, the cold start misfire returns.

 

[slybunda]

missfire not plugs?

 

[Adambomb7777]

As someone who went through the exact same thing recently (2015 Fiesta ST, tuned and bigger turbo), replace the injectors as soon as you get them

An additive works for a while and then it doesn’t. Redline si1 helped the most but didn’t fix it. What you have going on was nearly the exact same thing as me

I also had considerable fuel in the oil at not that long of an interval. Nearly 5% at 3-4k miles.

Slapped in 4 new injectors and my my my, whole new car. It ran sooo much better. And my average mpg went from 23.5 to 29.2. I’m expecting future used oil analysis to have less fuel in them as well

 

[Mainia]

As someone who went through the exact same thing recently (2015 Fiesta ST, tuned and bigger turbo), replace the injectors as soon as you get them

An additive works for a while and then it doesn’t. Redline si1 helped the most but didn’t fix it. What you have going on was nearly the exact same thing as me

I also had considerable fuel in the oil at not that long of an interval. Nearly 5% at 3-4k miles.

Slapped in 4 new injectors and my my my, whole new car. It ran sooo much better. And my average mpg went from 23.5 to 29.2. I’m expecting future used oil analysis to have less fuel in them as well

How many miles on the old injectors, do you use exclusively Top Tier fuels and how much e-85 do you use?

 

[Astro14]

The additives only worked for two weeks because they didn’t completely clean the injectors. I appreciate the data points and it is interesting to know that the Redline is the best performing in your circumstances.

My personal preference with injectors is to pull the whole set, send them to @Trav - and let him work his magic.

They will come back clean, flow balanced and ready to go.

Miracles in a can end up costing more over time than simply doing the job correctly.

https://www.hurstinjectorservice.com/

 

[Adambomb7777]

How many miles on the old injectors, do you use exclusively Top Tier fuels and how much e-85 do you use?

238k miles but I suspect they were needing replacement around 170k

I run e30 (91 mixed with e85) and rarely run 91 only