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opinions on using fuel injector cleaner?

Irocleis

Irocleis

Husqvarna
B Class
I was thinking about pulling my fuel injector out and taking it somewhere to be cleaned....(not sure if its actually dirty, but just wanted to do something while i have my bike torn apart) is this necessary?? has anyone on here used a fuel injector cleaner through their fuel. Or is this not recommended?

Just looking for some opinions and input. Thanks guys
 
Irocleis said:
I was thinking about pulling my fuel injector out and taking it somewhere to be cleaned....(not sure if its actually dirty, but just wanted to do something while i have my bike torn apart) is this necessary?? has anyone on here used a fuel injector cleaner through their fuel. Or is this not recommended?

Just looking for some opinions and input. Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Www.injectortune.co.uk
 
You might want to look into Yamaha's "Ring Free Fuel Additive". I had a slightly dormant Suzuki DRZ400s, which seemed to have a blocked pilot jet (carbed bike). Motorcycle sales bud suggested this stuff. After choking over the price for 12 ounces, I dropped a heavy dose in the tank, let it sit for a couple hours, thought there was some improvement, let it sit for a day, bike was cured. It was so good, I bought another bottle just to have. Says it is for injectors too. It may be snake oil, but it is my snake oil!
 
I have used it every 12 months or so on the 310 and my fuel system has been faultless. Although I have only ever used 98RON premium so that helps. I figure though 98 has detergents anyway so if you frequently use the throttle you probably get a similar effect anyway. Either way I don't think it hurts.
 
I have FI cars with 200,000 miles that have never seen anything but regular unleaded, and they run great. I've never seen a need for fuel injector cleaner, especially on a fairly new and low-hour vehicle.
 
If you buy clean, ethanol-free fuel, and you keep it clean, you shouldn't have any fuel-related system problems, even sitting dormant for moderately extended amounts of time. If you use oxygenated (ethanol) fuel, I strongly recommend using a quality fuel stabilizer like Sea Foam or Star Tron regularly (not only to prevent phase separation but to help keep the alcohols from attacking the rubber components) if the bike sits around for more than a couple of weeks.

My personal solution to all of this is that my bikes don't sit around long enough for the fuel in them to go bad. I have no choice but to use E10 fuels in my street bikes, but I generally use a blend of ethanol-free super and VP U4.4 in my dirt bikes.
 
Do not use SeaFoam or Yamaha fuel injector cleaner in oxygenated fuel. Use Stabil, Startron or Lucas (all the same base chemical). Use these in every tank fill to keep E10 separation from happening.
 
Tinken said:
Do not use SeaFoam or Yamaha fuel injector cleaner in oxygenated fuel. Use Stabil, Startron or Lucas (all the same base chemical). Use these in every tank fill to keep E10 separation from happening.
Click to expand...

JonXX said:
If you buy clean, ethanol-free fuel, and you keep it clean, you shouldn't have any fuel-related system problems, even sitting dormant for moderately extended amounts of time. If you use oxygenated (ethanol) fuel, I strongly recommend using a quality fuel stabilizer like Sea Foam or Star Tron regularly (not only to prevent phase separation but to help keep the alcohols from attacking the rubber components) if the bike sits around for more than a couple of weeks.

My personal solution to all of this is that my bikes don't sit around long enough for the fuel in them to go bad. I have no choice but to use E10 fuels in my street bikes, but I generally use a blend of ethanol-free super and VP U4.4 in my dirt bikes.
Click to expand...

Not sure what is in any of these brands of gas treatments but when I had 1 bike, never any issues with the E10 gas here for over 2 yrs because I rode so much. After I got several more bikes, and started letting bikes sit, the gas started giving issues with the jets ...

I'm trying to move to another location to make access to my bikes easier on a daily basis... Riding more is the real ticket\solution and spending more $$ for a band-aid is again avoided.
 
Phase separation is when the water is separated out of the gasoline and sinks to the bottom. As we all know, water is highly corrosive and can destroy items such as carburetors and jets. Best to keep the tanks either empty or nearly full in order to keep the fuel dry. One thing for sure is that you do not want to add any more alcohol to the fuel than what is currently in it. Products such as SeaFoam and Yamaha fuel conditioner contain large amounts of alcohol and should be avoided.

Here is an article that might help:
http://fuelschool.blogspot.com/2009/02/phase-separation-in-ethanol-blended.html
 
Interesting. My non-scientific over-winter tests (a few years ago) with mason jars full of "straight" and premix 92 octane pump fuels with various treatments and stabilizers showed Star Tron and Sea Foam to be equals, with the StaBil allowing significant phase separation and fuel/oil stratification.

Not arguing, just interesting comments based on my observation. It was a few years ago that I did this, perhaps some of their formulas have changed...
 
have always used seafoam in many of my two strokes with good results..but i guess thing smay change with all the ethanol now...i keep everything (cars, trucks, streetbike, 2 cycle) treated with startron. not sure if it helps with cleaning or whatnot but trying to negate some of the effects of ethanol...
 
Hmm, I use a cap of Amsoil Dominator 2 stroke oil to 5 gallons of gas. I actually think I picked this tip up here on one of the forums. Not sure that it has anything to do with cleaning the injectors, but it might help with the ethanol and act as a stabilizer?

FYI I have used the Klotz Octane booster (blue bottle) on opne of our 2 strokes and it works beautifully, but...and this this a huge but...it turns your white tank brown. One time use = brown and ugly!
 
I wish some third party would analyze these additives, and explain what they do, and how they work (or not). I agree with Tinken, whose basic position (I believe) is do not add an alcohol containing additive and expect it to counteract ethanol. Naptha, a petroleum distillate, seems to be the major component of Seafoam, Stabil, Startron (if I am reading MSDS statements correctly). How does naptha work to keep water in solution/suspension in gasoline? Is adding a small amount of 2 stroke oil equivalent? What about Marvel Mystery Oil? Whale oil? Snake oil?? Once upon a time, it seemed to make sense to add alcohol to bind up water, but that has apparently been supplanted by ethanol. Adding more alcohol to cure existing alcohol is counterintuitive.
From a commercial perspective, ethanol has to be trucked since it is too hygroscopic to flow in pipelines.
So we need some chemistry to show how an additive binds H2O to gasoline molecules to prevent phase separation. Thus keeping water in solution, rather than suspension (which will eventually precipitate out). This now exhausts my 1968 high school chemistry retention.
 
I know that I drove my 70 Ford Econoline around for about 15 years or around ~60,000 miles after the demise of leaded fuel thanks to Marvel. It kept the valve seats together and the carb in good shape. It would sit from time to time and always started right up. I also use it to pickle model engines so that they don't freeze up and the bearings don't rust. Model fuel is Methanol, Nitro Methane and either castor, synthetic, or blended oil.

Plus it gives your exhaust a minty, wintergreen fragrance!
 
Seafoam is:
40 to 60% Mineral oil (baby oil)
25 to 35% Petroleum Naphtha (Main ingredient to Startron, Stabil, Lucas, etc. A thick yellow oil like substance found in many other products.)
10 to 20% is-propyl alcohol

MSDS Here

Before ethanol fuels were so prevalent, adding small amounts of alcohol to fuel was very productive in that it removed water and increased the octane effect to fuel. However, adding more alcohol to ethanol based fuels is unwise.

If you are only really receiving 25 to 35 percent of Naphtha per bottle, this makes Seafoam close to three times as expensive as you would normally be paying for one of the more concentrated Naphtha products, minus the enzymes found in Startron and Stabil.

Marvels Mystery Oil is no longer mysterious. They have removed the chlorinated hydrocarbons which once made it a great lubricant. It is now mostly mineral oil which is used as a filler, red dye and oil of wintergreen. At least it still smells good.
 
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