How often do you clean your fuel injectors?
Most car owners don’t even consider cleaning their injectors because they never think about the possibility of them getting clogged. However, they will eventually clog up after using your vehicle for more than a few years. You’ll know when the fuel injectors are clogged because your gas consumption will start to decrease. If it gets too bad, you might even notice hesitation coming from your engine after pressing the accelerator pedal. The only way to fix this issue is to clean your fuel injectors.
Steps to Clean Your Fuel Injectors at Home
You don’t need to go to a professional mechanic to clean your fuel injectors. Why not save yourself hundreds of dollars in labor fees by doing the cleaning yourself? All you need is a fuel injector cleaning kit to perform this job. You can buy one of these kits online or at any reputable auto parts store. The tools included in the kit will include a cleaning fluid cartridge, a hose, and a gauge. The gauge is what will measure the fuel pressure while the hose is what goes into the fuel injector.
These fuel injector cleaning kits are usually universal, meaning they can be used with most vehicle makes and models. However, if there is a specific fuel injector cleaning kit designed for your particular model, always choose that one above all others. Additionally, if the cartridge doesn’t contain cleaning fluid, you can always buy the fluid separately.
Fuel injectors are easy to spot simply by opening and lifting the hood. They should be located somewhere around your vehicle’s engine head. Its nozzle should stick directly inside the combustion chamber. If you can’t find them, refer to your owner’s manual for more details on the location.
Here are the 5 basic steps to clean your fuel injectors at home.
- The fuel pump must be removed from the injectors. Use a U-tube to let the fuel return to the gas tank. If there is a fuel return line, use it. Now remove the vacuum line from the pressure regulator.
- Take out the hose from your cleaning kit and attach it to the fuel pressure port. At this point, all fuel should be away from the injectors. The cleaning fluid will be flammable if exposed.
- Remove the fuel tank cap. You will now use the cartridge to place the cleaning fluid into the injectors. There will be some pressure during this injection. The open cap is a precaution so that there is no pressure buildup that could lead to combustion.
- Stop the fuel pump if you haven’t already. Start the vehicle and let the engine run for about 6 or 7 minutes. During this time, the cleaning fluid will pass through the fuel injectors. Once the cleaning fluid is gone, the engine should stop automatically.
- Now remove the cartridge and hose. Put the fuel pump back on the injectors and reconnect the vacuum line. Put the cap back on the fuel tank. At this point, all components should be back in their original position. Start your car once more to ensure your injectors are functioning properly.
Take your car for a short drive to see how it performs. If you find it running oddly or hear strange noises, you should probably have a professional check the fuel injectors to see if something is wrong. Sometimes you might just have bad fuel injectors that can’t be recovered by simply cleaning them. In that case, you’ll need to replace them entirely. If your gas consumption is still poor even after this, then there must be another issue causing it.