99 Venture - Constant Fuel Injector Cleaner

[alleat]

Hello everyone

Last February, I purchased a 99 Chevy Venture for my wife (56K miles) Every 2-3 months, the engine begins to rough idle.

I took it to the dealership twice, and each time, they cleaned the fuel injectors, and sent me on my way. (At a price of $300 on each incident)

I have since started using the "over the counter" fuel injector cleaner every time the symptoms start. It seems to do the trick, but I am a little concerned since I have nevery owned a vehicle that requires constant fuel injector cleaning.

I have instructed my wife to make sure she is using top-grade gas from a reputable station. She swears that she stopped using the cheap stuff after the second trip to the dealership.

Is it OK to use fuel injector cleaner to make the symptoms go away, or is this a sign of a larger issue?

Thanks

Andre

[AJT1961]

My venture has 140,000 miles and I have been using the superconcentrated fuel injector about every five to ten thousand miles when I got the rough idle, and it has always seemed to fix it with no long term ill effects. That said, I didn't use it the last time I got a rough idle and the rough idle went away by itself after the next fill up. I only buy Mobil gas, but I think they occasionally sell lower quality gas just like the off-brand sellers. In fact, I am beginning to think all gas is the same now -- just a commodity item. I had to do the same with my last two minivans, and they were both Chryslers. My only suggestion would be to regularly change your fuel filter and fill up before the tank goes too close to empty so any crud at the bottom doesn't make it's way into your lines.

[broughy84]

I changed the injectors on mine, I had the rough idle problem too, so when I changed the intake gaskets I changed the injectors too. Seemed to fix the problem, but if you don't have to take the engine apart for another reason, I suggest just cleaning them with the over the counter cleaner. It's easier.

[alleat]

I appreciate everyone's input - It seems that I am not the only one experiencing the "Rough Idle" issue at different intervals. I think I will continue to us a bottle of the injector cleaner every two months or so. I'm not very handy so There's no way I could replace the injectors myself.

Thanks Again...

Andre

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by alleat

I appreciate everyone's input - It seems that I am not the only one experiencing the "Rough Idle" issue at different intervals. I think I will continue to us a bottle of the injector cleaner every two months or so. I'm not very handy so There's no way I could replace the injectors myself.

Thanks Again...

Andre

If I had a customer complaining about rough idle and their injectors had to be cleaned twice in one year, I would look towards the possibility that their fuel system is contaminated.
This would entail removing the fuel tank and flushing, flushing lines and the possibility of replacing the injectors.
If you had the injectors cleaned at the dealer and they used the proper procedure outlined in TSB #99-06-04-005B you shouldn't have anymore problems.
Using a pour in injector cleaner can cause damage to the injector since the injector coil uses fuel to cool the coil..the use of chemicals can cause a breakdown of the coating on the coil and can cause more problems than it solves.

[smccombs]

I have a 98 Venture that was having a rough idle problem. The problem would come and go on its own. Finally one day when I was taking the van to the dealer to have some other work done it started idling rough when I got to the dealer. So I told them to check it out and they said it needed the injectors cleaned. I had the injectors cleaned and it was ok for a couple of weeks and then started doing it again. This time I had a friend tell me to try changing spark plugs & wires. These are common points of failure way before the 100,000 miles they are supposed to last. I changed the plugs & wires. The rough idle went away completely and have not had any more trouble with it. I did this at 51,000 miles and now have 66,000 on the van with no trouble.