Fuel injector/throttle body cleaning?
#1
Fuel injector/throttle body cleaning?
Hi all. My 2005 RX-8 is at the dealer getting the Cat replaced under warranty, and when they completed the work they told me about every issue they found with the car during their inspection and while they were doing the work. I was aware of most of the issues, nothing super major. One issue he mentioned was a lot of carbon buildup on the fuel injection/throttle body. The solution he said would be a fuel injection/throttle body cleaning for $149. So I have the following questions about that:
Is that a reasonable price for the work?
Is this common on RX-8's, or more so than other cars?
Is it really necessary work, and possibly hurting performance?
Could it hurt anything if it's not addressed very soon?
Would using a fuel injector cleaner work, or should they be avoided? (I imagine there will be varying opinions)
FYI The vehicle is out of warranty on almost everything at this point except the 3 major emissions components which are 8/80, and the extended warranty on the engine core/components which is 8/100. That might be relevant to the last question, since it could possibly invalidate the warranty.
Thanks!
Is that a reasonable price for the work?
Is this common on RX-8's, or more so than other cars?
Is it really necessary work, and possibly hurting performance?
Could it hurt anything if it's not addressed very soon?
Would using a fuel injector cleaner work, or should they be avoided? (I imagine there will be varying opinions)
FYI The vehicle is out of warranty on almost everything at this point except the 3 major emissions components which are 8/80, and the extended warranty on the engine core/components which is 8/100. That might be relevant to the last question, since it could possibly invalidate the warranty.
Thanks!
#2
SARX Legend
iTrader: (46)
That's a bunch of BS, it's just an upsell. carbon doesn't build up in the TB and the carbon in the intake tract won't get cleaned by their setup either. Just get a can of BG 44k and run it thru your tank.
#3
Anybody else have any input on this?
#4
SARX Legend
iTrader: (46)
Pulling the injectors on an RX-8 is a bit of a task so I doubt they did that. Also, I have pulled apart a couple of engines with high miles on the injectors and I have never seen any carbon build up or any build up at all for that matter. It's an up-sell man, just a way to sucker you out of more money.
You know what the best injector cleaner on the market is? Techron.
You know what the best injector cleaner on the market is? Techron.
#5
Project Seca
iTrader: (10)
Pulling the injectors on an RX-8 is a bit of a task so I doubt they did that. Also, I have pulled apart a couple of engines with high miles on the injectors and I have never seen any carbon build up or any build up at all for that matter. It's an up-sell man, just a way to sucker you out of more money.
You know what the best injector cleaner on the market is? Techron.
You know what the best injector cleaner on the market is? Techron.
#6
SARX Legend
iTrader: (46)
If used regularly on a consistent basis I am sure it helps. Not sure if it is worth it if you start using it after many years. A buddy of mine worked in the gas oil manufacturing industry and basically said it is as good as it gets in terms of cleaning agents for gas. Of course it's not a miracle in a bottle.
But either way clogged up fuel systems are not really an issue even in high mileage RX-8's. If you are really worried about it, pull the injectors, have them cleaned and flow tested, replace your fuel pump assembly, and be done with it.
But either way clogged up fuel systems are not really an issue even in high mileage RX-8's. If you are really worried about it, pull the injectors, have them cleaned and flow tested, replace your fuel pump assembly, and be done with it.
#7
Again, thanks for the replies. The car only has 45K on it, and I'm not really worried about the issue, I just relayed what the dealer told me and asked for input from other RX-8 owners that might be more familiar with the problem than I am on this particular car. It's the only RX-8 and only rotary engine vehicle that I've owned, which has a lot of quirks unique to and as a result of the engine type, so whenever there's a powertrain or emissions related issue I always check with the RX-8 community.
I just wanted to make sure it's not a major issue or something that could cause a major issue if not readily addressed, and so far it appears that isn't the case. I also wanted to get opinions on the use of over the counter fuel system cleaners, since I've heard varying opinions on them over the years and some people have said they just gum things up or move deposits from one location to another.
I just wanted to make sure it's not a major issue or something that could cause a major issue if not readily addressed, and so far it appears that isn't the case. I also wanted to get opinions on the use of over the counter fuel system cleaners, since I've heard varying opinions on them over the years and some people have said they just gum things up or move deposits from one location to another.
#8
Rockie Mountain Newbie
Buy 2 bottles of Techron Complete Fuel system cleaner.
Wait until you have a mostly empty tank of gas, and are at the gas pump.
Dump both bottles into the tank, and then fill the tank with fuel.
Go for a long highway drive to completely run the tank out in one shot.
Refill tank.
Done.
I always recommend running the fuel system cleaner through the car in one shot, because the best results I've seen with Techron is when the engine is hot, while its stripping carbon out.
Its not like its going to take you 600 miles to drain the tank.
Just 120 miles one way, and 120 miles back.
BC.
Wait until you have a mostly empty tank of gas, and are at the gas pump.
Dump both bottles into the tank, and then fill the tank with fuel.
Go for a long highway drive to completely run the tank out in one shot.
Refill tank.
Done.
I always recommend running the fuel system cleaner through the car in one shot, because the best results I've seen with Techron is when the engine is hot, while its stripping carbon out.
Its not like its going to take you 600 miles to drain the tank.
Just 120 miles one way, and 120 miles back.
BC.
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WinnipegSE3P (01-15-2020)
#9
Out of NYC
iTrader: (1)
lmao, don't waste your money on such "service", it's almost pure profit for them.
The ONLY way to clean injector is to REMOVE it completely and have it clean at professional shop, and that usually cost about 25 bux each. and to access to the injectors you have to remove whatever sits on top of it, which cost MORE than 150 bux itself (to replace all the gasket and labor)
I ran thru 4 bottles of injector cleaners before I removed all 4 injectors from my FC, guess what, one of them are only 50% working. sent it off and cleaned all, now it works just like new(flow chart included)
IMO the injector cleaner stuff might work, just not as good as they want ya to believe.
and I think it's not a bad idea to clean all injectors every 100-150K miles, that's just me. YMMV
The ONLY way to clean injector is to REMOVE it completely and have it clean at professional shop, and that usually cost about 25 bux each. and to access to the injectors you have to remove whatever sits on top of it, which cost MORE than 150 bux itself (to replace all the gasket and labor)
I ran thru 4 bottles of injector cleaners before I removed all 4 injectors from my FC, guess what, one of them are only 50% working. sent it off and cleaned all, now it works just like new(flow chart included)
IMO the injector cleaner stuff might work, just not as good as they want ya to believe.
and I think it's not a bad idea to clean all injectors every 100-150K miles, that's just me. YMMV
Last edited by nycgps; 11-29-2012 at 08:40 PM.
#10
Thanks for the new replies. As I expected, there are a lot of different opinions on what to do about it, but so far everyone seems to agree that it's a waste of money to have the dealership perform the service that they're quoting. At least nobody has said that the fuel system cleaner will screw anything up, and that was one of my concerns, so I'll probably give one of those suggestions a try. I'm sure that having the injectors pulled and professionally cleaned individually is the optimal solution, but the car has 45K on it and I have no reason to believe there's any problem with the injectors other than the dealer saying there's a lot of carbon buildup, so there's no need imo for anything this costly.
#12
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Lucas UCL is a "probably" on the premix, at least consistently. No real known benefit, and fuel filter clogs tend to appear when Lucas UCL is used as a premix. Why? It's not clear. But, it does tend to keep showing up. See the premix section in my modding thread in my sig for a run down of various premix types.
#13
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Lucas UCL is a "probably" on the premix, at least consistently. No real known benefit, and fuel filter clogs tend to appear when Lucas UCL is used as a premix. Why? It's not clear. But, it does tend to keep showing up. See the premix section in my modding thread in my sig for a run down of various premix types.
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