Anyone use fuel system cleaners?

[joshua_msu]

Anyone use these. Ive been using them about every 5000 or so miles on my Taurus, but I was just wondering if they actually do anything?

[sahib]

Seems to me, I saw something on one of those TV documentories that the gasoline has enough additives to fend off any fuel problems. Believe they said something like take the money you would put out for these "injector cleaners" and such and stuff it into the fuel tank. It'll do as much good as the so called cleaners. Admittedly, I have used them in the past, but very infrequently.

[Huney1]

http://www.pipercubforum.com/marvel.htm Aviation link but lots of good info about MMO. http://www.autobarn.net/chmm013.html Use it in your gas tank as a top cylinder lube and and it works in the crankcase to. It's the only oil additive I use, one cup MMO to 4.5 qts oil. 20 gal fuel tank I use a cup every five thousand miles, you can get it at WalMart cheaper.
Back during WWII they had a problem with lead fouling spark plugs in aircraft engines and they added MMO to the av fuel and the plug fouling problem went away.

http://www.chevron.com/products/prod...ate_plus.shtml
According to paragraph three an estimated 50% of the gas we buy isn't, what it's 'cranked up to be,' pun intended. "Lower quality gasolines (under-additized), currently sold to an estimated 50% of the market, are usually formulated with less effective, less expensive additives and often employ the minimum additive level legally required. If you occasionally use these gasolines, carbon deposits can build up and gradually rob your engine of its power, performance and fuel efficiency."

WOW! Big oil companies are making record hig profits and we're getting stiffed to the tune of three bucks a gallon and 50% of it is "under-additized?" Oh well, what the heck, . . . 'prolly won't hurt anything to dump in some fuel cleaner now and then.

[wafrederick]

The best fuel system cleaner is Lucas.Stay away from STP and the cheap stuff.Lucas does not have solvents in it and it is worth the money.Like it says on the commercial,it works and it is true.Put a certain amount in the gas tank and you can find Lucas at certain autoparts stores(about $10.00 a bottle)

[wafrederick]

Here is Lucas's website: www.lucasoil.com

[Huney1]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm YIPES!

I don't know about their gas additive, but their oil additive is another story.

[yotermanic]

I buy gasoline from places that have reputations for top quality fuel (quik-trip in my area). When I was working on diesels, I got turned off on fuel system additives because with the diesels we saw it actually HURTING injectors. Many additives contain particulates that are suspended in the solution with the intention that they will catch on microscopic ridges on the pistons internal to the injectors and therefore help them seal better. This worked great with early injectors with wide tolerances and lots of slop space inside. As injector quality got better, clearances got tighter and tighter and now some additives will actually damage injectors. My recommendation is to buy good fuel and change that often forgotten fuel filter regularly.

[wafrederick]

Read the testimonials on Lucas's website,positive ones.That article on Lucas's oil treatment is full of crap.Their gas additives are the best.

[seasonalskier2006]

Originally Posted by wafrederick

Read the testimonials on Lucas's website,positive ones.That article on Lucas's oil treatment is full of crap.Their gas additives are the best.

how can you say that the treatment is full of crap, he documented completly what he did and even took pictures of what it did. Second, any moron can figure out why only positive testimonials are on their site, why would they want to advertise people bashing their product, that would be marketing suicide. And btw, thank you so much huney for the tip on the additive.

[way2old]

Ford recommends Chevron Techrolene fuel additives for their products. It is supposed to remove excess sulpher from the fuel system. It is also in a TSB for a fuel gauge problem.

[brokenantimatter]

I use Marvel Mystery Oil Concentrate in my Oil, SLICK at every oil change(2000miles) and Cheveron for fuel system.

[shorod]

Originally Posted by joshua_msu

Anyone use these. Ive been using them about every 5000 or so miles on my Taurus, but I was just wondering if they actually do anything?

I haven't bothered reading into other's evaluations of fuel additives, I've made my decision base on my own experiences and experiences of our customer's when I was working at my parent's auto repair shop.

Numerous times we had customers bring in cars for driveability issues and idling issues. We'd perform tune ups and use the Snap-On fuel system cleaner. Many times the customer would come back with complaints that the car didn't run any better. We'd then then throw in a $3 bottle of injector cleaner (whatever brand was cheapest) and the customer would come back a day or two later and inform us that whatever we did fixed the problem.

After about 5 such experiences, we started putting a bottle of injector cleaner into the fuel tank with every oil change. We did the same in our own vehicles, and my parents only get new cars about every 10 years. We've never experienced fuel injector failures, ever, in any of our cars.

-Rod

[Huney1]

"And btw, thank you so much huney for the tip on the additive."
You are quite welcome kind Sir SeasonalSkier. Snow Skiing is something I always wanted to try but I live in SC near Savannah, GA so when I was a lad spent a lot of time water skiing. But, years came and went and at 65 I doubt my old bones would handle snow skiing.

Anyway, Bob Is The Oil Guy did a great analysis and like the man said, "pictures don't lie." Air laden oil is no good and the same thing happens when a crankcase is overfilled with engine oil and it gets beaten by the crankshaft whipped to a milkshake laden with air bubbles and air does not a good lubricant make.

I went to Briggs and Straton small engine maintenance school and with splash lubrication and no oil pump people think they're doing their engine a favor by adding some extra oil to bring it up over the full mark. WRONG! Their good intentions get them a zero for the day because the engine runs hotter and doesn't get the lubrication it does when you do the right thing and simply fill it to the full mark. Ditto car & truck engines, gas or diesel, the full mark is there for a reason and we don't do our engines a favor by adding a little extra. In flight school they taught us, during the preflight when you check oil if it is overfull make them take oil out until it is at the full mark and no more!

I found WalMart Super Tech brand fully synthetic 10W-30 oil $12.88 for five quarts and been using it awhile now and seems to work well for me, and per the API star it meets the same specs at Mobil 1. At our age we don't exactly "wring it out" very often and only put 8K mi a year on 'em, so we do oil & filter changes or every six months.

Enjoyed chewin' the fat wif' ya' and have a fine wek end.

[Huney1]

"My recommendation is to buy good (diesel) fuel and change that often forgotten fuel filter regularly." I ran tug/push boats and our biggest problem was with bacteria growing in the diesel fuel. Say what? http://www.powerservice.com/biokleen_df_biocide.asp
http://www.diesel-fuels.com/

We always had two filters, first one was a diaper like fabric that caught the bacteria black as tar and the second paper filter wouldn't catch it and it got in the injector nozzles and played havoc. Always used a microbal agent additive in the fuel that was suppose to kill the bacteria, but problem was we took on more fuel often so we replenished the bacteria in the fuel tanks. Sometimes an engine would start slowing down so we shut it down and changed the diaper filter and it would be dripping with a nasty, black, mucous looking goo nothing but dead bacteria. You think I'm pulling your leg, ask a 18 wheeler truck driver. I always wondered how in the world a living organism could live and thrive in a harsh environment like diesel fuel.

[escort0526]

I have used stp complete fuel system cleaner for years in both my escort and my sable. There is always a marked improvment in performance and mileage immediately. I recommend using some type of cleaner, whichever provides the benefits you find you prefer because no matter what the gas companies and the auto makers say there will be build up on your injectors over time and this will reduce the spray of the injectors which in turn effects both performance and mileage.
There is also the school of purists who say no additives should be used ever, they may be right, but my system ha worked for me and I suggest you find one that works for you as well.