Switched from sketchy fuel additives to just cleaning my injectors myself

Used to dump that Lucas stuff in every tank on my old F-250. After a mechanic in El Paso told me I was just masking the problem I switched to pulling and cleaning them myself every 15k miles. Anyone else notice a bigger difference with manual cleaning vs additives?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_campbell661mo ago

Did you notice any difference in how the truck idled after you cleaned them yourself? I found on my Ram 2500 the rough cold start went away completely after I pulled the injectors and soaked them in carb cleaner overnight. That Lucas stuff just made the smoke smell different (like burnt plastic) but didn't touch the actual spray pattern. What did you soak yours in?

wendy_murphy161mo ago

Well hell yeah, that's the real test right there. Actually what worked best for me was using a ultrasonic cleaner with a simple mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid, let it run for about 20 minutes per set. Changed the whole game on my Duramax - smoothed out the idle and stopped that diesel rattle at stoplights that the fuel additives never touched.

emeryr383d ago

Hold up, you soaked them overnight? That's wild to me. I never had the patience for that, I always figured the carb cleaner would evaporate too fast. @nora_campbell66, did you have any issues with the injectors getting gummed up again after that overnight soak? From what I've seen on forums, the acetone and ATF mix in an ultrasonic cleaner is the hot ticket because it breaks down carbon deposits without damaging the delicate spray tips. I tried the Lucas stuff once and it just made my truck smoke like a mosquito coil, didn't help the idle at all. Wendy's method sounds like the way to go if you're trying to keep the engine bay clean without pulling everything apart every six months.