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I have been working on an intake manifold gasket replacement on my 2003 Dodge Caravan and thought that before I put the manifold back on, I’d do some preventative maintenance and clean up the injectors and replace the o-rings. So I googled “How to clean fuel injectors” and found a Youtube video that showed a simple way to clean the injectors while out of the vehicle. The guy used carb cleaner to clean them, though, and so I thought before I go and copy what he did, I’d find out from you guys what you thought about using carb cleaner on injectors. Would carb cleaner be safe to use when cleaning the fuel injectors separately? The Youtube video I watched was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUUgR94drxg . Thanks for your input.
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It’ll be safe. I can’t reason why soapy water wouldn’t clean also. Carb cleaning is great to slash into the engine at startup. It got my rider mower running a few times until it didn’t work anymore.
I did the above method with the valve stem, I don’t know if it made much difference, but it did kinda show that one of my injectors was less good than the others, I replaced just the one, and the engine ran better. (it was rich on 3 cylinders and lean on 1, now its just right on all 4)
Soapy water probably isn’t good for the internal components of the injector, I wouldn’t recommend that.
[quote=”AlexanderB” post=178915]
Soapy water probably isn’t good for the internal components of the injector, I wouldn’t recommend that.[/quote]Just meant with the injector out. Cleans the debrism oil and blah off.
If you don’t have a tire valve stem what you can do is take some tape and wrap it around just a little bit below the end of the straw stick. As you are wrapping it, taper it so you have a good seal. Put enough tape there to fit tight against the opening. Then connect to a 9 volt battery and spray away. Worked like a charm for me.
I went down to the local tire shop to buy a stem and they gave me one free. The valve stem fits quite well on the end of the injector. My JB Weld is still drying, so I’ll be cleaning them tomorrow. I haven’t found the spec for the voltage the injectors run on, so perhaps I’ll go with a 9Volt battery just to be safe. Thanks to all for their two cents worth. I feel confident, now, going ahead and using the carb cleaner.
I use simple green in a small ultrasonic cleaning tank. Cycle the injectors with a 9v battery. You can blow through them with some hose and your mouth or an air supply regulated down to 30 psi. Make sure to blow through them in both directions.
Rick
[quote=”GeneralDisorder” post=178934]I use simple green in a small ultrasonic cleaning tank. Cycle the injectors with a 9v battery. You can blow through them with some hose and your mouth or an air supply regulated down to 30 psi. Make sure to blow through them in both directions.
Rick[/quote]
Is “simple green” similar to carb cleaner? I’ve never heard of an ultrasonic cleaning tank. Is it something you’d find in an automotive shop?Just Google the ultrasonic cleaner. Harbor Freight has one for like $40.
Simple Green is water based. You can buy it anywhere in concentrate. I have an injector test bench and it came with its own ultrasonic tank. The manufacturer recommended simple green for the cleaning tank. For cleaning all it does it run a 10 minute cycle where it pulses the injectors as they sit in the ultrasonic tank. If a few cycles through that doesn’t clean it up then get a new injector.
Rick
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