Gas Question

[PARAGON]

Fubar, I disagree. You might trust a mechanic but he is going to err on the side of getting your money to take a look at and "clean" your injectors over you buying a $2 bottle of cleaner and running it through the fuel.

I have never heard of any problems with running injector cleaning solutions through a tank of gas. By saying "over the counter" you infer that it is somehow less reliable or more harmful.

I just think that's not very sound advice.

[Fubar]

just speaking from experience. I've had to have the injectors replaced in my 4-runner as a direct result of using a fuel injector cleaner purchased from a national chain.

The engine has recently been rebuilt along with the injectors being replaced by someone I trust. The truck was running perfectly. I went on a cross country trip and got a couple tanks of what I will call bad gas. The trucks performance suffered instantly after each fill-up and specifically after the last fill up in po-dunk no-where . Being 3000+ miles from home I went to an auto parts store purchased several bottles of fuel injector cleaner and with each proceeding fill up of 20+ gallons I would dump a bottle in as per the instructions on the back of the bottle. When I got back home and took the truck back to "a mechanic" I trust I was informed that the injectors needed to be replaced.

I do agree with you that mechanics by there very nature are in business and that business is to make money. This particular mechanic who is a family friend has gone out of his way to point me away from useless repairs or repairs he felt were un-necessary. I usually get a couple of opinions when I experience trouble and my friends is usually the last one I seek and more times than not I find that I have been lied to by other mechanics just looking to make a quick buck.

Sound advice is a matter of perception. I am merely relaying a past experience I experienced choose to ignore it if you like. Perhaps you have had a positive experience with fuel injector cleaners and the product works for you. I couldn't be happier for you.

[tower]

Thank you all for your wisdom. I haven't been having any problems relating to this, but rather, had been told that doing this is good preventative maintainance. I will check with Mike Sabaresse when I get my next service. I'll share his opinion with you then. Again, thanks! You guys are the best.

Gary, do we have any dates for Moab and the EC/WC-FO?

[Fubar]

Phil,
you may be correct it may have been something in the gas and not in the injector cleaner that was the cause for having to replace the injectors. The mechanics only question to me was had I been using a fuel injector cleaner? I said yes, he said thought so, and that was the end of the conversation. What else was I suppose to have thought caused the trouble? He didn't come out and say you got a tank of bad gas and this plugged the injectors. They did drain the tank, blow out the fuel lines and replaced the injectors. Probably a shot gun approach to solve the trouble. I didn't care the trouble was fixed.

My basic point which seams to have been missed or perhaps not even stated or stated clearly by me in the first place is you've got a 40-60k rig and it starts running poorly why toss a two dollar solution at the problem when most likely the truck is still under warranty. Take it to the dealer and get the trouble checked out. I know many out here don't care for there local dealers ok so take it to a mechanic you trust. You've spent 40-60k is another $40-$100 going to kill you if by chance the trouble isn't covered by warranty? Many of you out here know more about the inner workings of an engine then the mechanics that work on them so you'll know if your getting your leg pulled.

Paragon is correct taking the truck anywhere chances are you are going to get charged.

Just my opinion but I would rather take it to folks that know a whole lot more about it then I do and that have the ability to fix it.

I certainly didn't intend to steer anyone in the wrong direction.

Ya know I've always been told that I get in trouble not for what I say, but for how I say it.

[HUMMERcustoms.com/TAZ]

I also have never heard of over the counter injector cleaner hurting injectors. If that were the case and i could prove it the cleaner company would buy injectors but, that is just not the case from My experience. I have used different brands and allot of it over the years and no problems. Fubar thing about probability is that it could happen to someone anytime if it is possible that the cleaner could do damage. Your experience is unique though considering all the info i have seen. You know Murphy's Law so I guess anything is possible.
TAZ

[madcat]

Good stuff here guys. Bad gas screwed up the injectors. Injector cleaner didn't solve the problem. Blame the injector cleaner? I'd say blame the bad gas. Most likely water in the gas damaged them. I have always used Chevron Techron injector cleaner or Seafoam additive.
Sometimes these seamed to help and sometimes no difference. Just my .02 experience

[ROX]

Okay. Since the subject is still alive I have a question.

quote by PhilD:
Some high performamce vehicles with high compression engines do need high octane gas to run at peak effiency, although you can often run 87 octane and never noticed it unless you drive real hard.

The octane value is no indication of how much energy is in the gas, nothing to do with it. Most race gas has no more energy than regular gas! Even methanol contains only 10% more energy than regular gas. The real benefit of race gas and methanol is that they allow you to run a much higher compression ratio. It is that higher compression ratio which is allowing more power to be produced, not anything in the gas.

My 460 C.I.D. pings really bad if I don't run high octane. It must have a higher compression ratio. ???

Why do people still try to run Regualr (leaded) gas in their older cars. (like old vettes)?
Is that a misconception too?
I'm old enough to remember leaded fuel. Barely.

[Klaus]

There is a good reason to run leaded fuel in older (pre 1975) high performance engines. These older engines did not have hardened valve seats. The lead in leaded fuel lubricated the valves and "cushioned" the valves when they closed on the valve seat in the head. By 1975, unleaded fuel was mandated due to catalytic converters, and hardened valve seats were installed in the heads of all new engines.

Remember that performance engines usually have heavier valve spring pressures to allow the valvetrain to function at a higher RPM before valvetrain "float" occurs.