When do you add fuel system cleaners?

[Patman]

I'm curious if you absolutely must add it before you get gas, so that when you then pump the gas in it totally mixes up the fuel additive. Or, can you just add it anytime and it will then mix as you drive?

The reason I ask is twofold. One, last night I got gas for my wife's car and forgot the Neutra at home. So I want to add my weekly dose to it today, since I only fill her tank once per week (she only drives about 150mi per week)

Secondly, I'd rather not have to keep the Neutra in the cars all the time, I'd rather just keep the bottle at home and put it in the cars in my driveway. This also allows me to wash my hands immediately afterwards too as I always seem to get a smell of Neutra on my hands no matter how careful I handle the bottle (I even keep the bottle in a big ziploc bag and don't touch the bottle itself with my hands)

 

[nick778]

Additionally, do you add it i.e., fuel system cleaners like techron before an oil change or is it ok to add after an oil change? I always add these to the fuel system and run through the tank of gas before an oil change (as I was concerned about blow-by from the cleaner in new oil). Is this necessary or will there be no affect on the oil if I add after an oil change.
Re: Patman's question. I put the cleaner in the tank and also add some gas through a funnel to ensure it all gets to the tank and mixed.

 

[Johnny]

Patman: Most additives say to put it in before you fill the tank to get the best mix. However, I've done it both ways.

Now I use Gumout REGANE every 5,000 miles. Sometime I do it just before an oil change and sometimes just after. Does not seem to make much difference. Now the bottle says to do it every 3,000 miles but I change my oil at 5,000 so it's easy to remember.

had to make some spelling corrections

[ January 26, 2003, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: Johnny ]

 

[liquidballbearing]

I usually wait until I've got a fourth of a tank or so--sometimes less--add the fuel system cleaner and then fill up. I then wait until near empty before I fill up again. I do this about twice an oil change so that works out to probably a bottle of cleaner every 1500 miles or so. I have done this with Neutra, Regane, Lucas UCL, and Berryman's B-12 for several years now with no problems. The reason I use cleaners more often than some people is that I only live about two miles from work and only see highway miles on the weekends.

[ January 26, 2003, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: liquidballbearing ]

 

[tenderloin]

When I use gasoline additives/cleaners, I add them the last tank full before an oil change.

 

[sprintman]

If you qualify Lucas UCL as a cleaner then every tankful. I still think the most important thing I was taught re oil/fuel etc is that if you use unleaded fuel a UCL of some description is an absolute must. I'm interested in what others use as I only know of two, Lucas and Moreys?

 

[scirocco16V]

I only use redline Sl-1 or Techron. When i change the fuel filter, I fill it up with the cleaner. the filter is a big canister, so it holds a good amount in it.
Before an oil change, I use one of the vaccum lines and dip it in the bottle allowing the cleaner to be sucked in and clean the intake runners and valves. It produces a lot of smoke the first time on a neglected engine.

 

[Pablo]

I add them when the tank is low, for least amount of dilution

...drive for awhile then fill up.

 

[Patman]

I ended up adding 3 or 4 oz of Neutra to my wife's tank, so hopefully it mixes in well since I didn't add gas afterwards. Neutra is thicker than most fuel treatments, so this is another reason I wondered if it would still mix properly if I didn't put more fuel into the tank afterwards to mix it in.

 

[Scott P]

A moving car has to do quite a bit of fuel mixing on it's own. I imagine the gas in the tank sloshes around quite a bit as the car takes curves, takes off and stops.

 

[msparks]

I add it either way.

On the F150 I usually do it before since I carry the PI in the door.

On the Jetta TDI, I do it after since the stuff stinks so bad(cetane boost) my wife won't let me carry it in the car. So I wait until I get home, then drive it around the block doing a few hard stops and quick take-offs to mix it up good. Seems to work for me!!

 

[HOndaGuy]

i think fuel additives can do more harm then good sometimes. I could see adding a bottle of techron once a year, but anymore than that i think is too much!!!!!

 

[Patman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by HOndaGuy:
i think fuel additives can do more harm then good sometimes. I could see adding a bottle of techron once a year, but anymore than that i think is too much!!!!!

---

I think it's better to add small doses of the right cleaners at regular intervals, instead of a big concentrated dose. I think both Neutra and Amsoil PI are safe for regular useage as such. I used to think fuel system cleaners were not really needed, but I've changed my mind since I've been on here. Gasoline is not as clean as I thought it was. Plus the regular use of those products should keep carbon deposits out of the combustion chamber too. I think it's much easier for a product to keep things clean (with small regular doses) than it is to let things get really carboned up and then try to attack the dirt with a bigger dose later on.

 

[Hapuna Beach]

With the Lucas UCL and Very cold temperatures, I occasionally mix a small amount of gasoline in the bottle to lighten up the viscosity. I can add it at home and not worry about if it mixes or not!

 

[Norm Olt]

I've even a more basic question along these same lines: just WHEN, vis'-a-vis' a new fuel filter, is it the right time to put in a fuel treatment?

In the tank BEFORE the new fuel filter (thereby disloging the crud in the tank & the filter and running this through the injectors

) or AFTER installing the new fuel filter (thereby filling the new filter with the disolved crud from the tank

)????

Not much of a choice, eh?