Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Injector nozzle cleaning by dealership???

[concrete-steve]

Hey everyone. My brother brought his 2000 Dodge to the dealership yesterday, and the service manager claimed he should have the injectors flushed every 20k miles (to the tune of $200 plus). This, he claimed would have remarkable improvements on performance... . Seems like a money maker for the dealership to me. Anyone have experience with this claim????

 

[CArnold]

We just started the injector cleaner service here, BG products used. I'm not sold on it yet, I need to do the job on one that runs rough. We did the class on my 04, 10,000 miles. I didnt feel a change, but didnt think I would with the low miles.

 

[NWhitney]

This sounds like a COMPLETE rip to me. I have heard of no one EVER taking their injectors out of ANY diesel powered engine and cleaning them just to clean them. Cleaning the tips mechanicaly is a big NO NO anyway. It is far easier to harm the tiny precision holes than it is to help the injector in any way. Go buy a bottle of Good injector cleaner and run it every 20K and save $195. I would seriously consider calling STAR to report this dealership if it was me. :-{}

 

[JoshPeters]

It's not a removal, it's a system/solvant. I have talked to our BG rep and he's trying to learn more about the Diesels before he pitches the stuff to people. Honestly he isn't totally sold on it yet.



I agree I want to see a difference with a rough running truck. I have a feeling it's like running... . lets say power sevice every tank, but a much higher concentrate to clean them in one test period.



Josh

 

[tractorface]

Criminals

Dealership is ripping folks off. Plain and simple. Save your money. A couple hundred thousand miles from now you still won't need new injectors unless you just want to go faster

 

[pro99]

Dealer rip off?

Don't forget to add in shade tree so called techs and independent shops. It's not only the dealers that suck out there!







Plain and simple!

 

[JoshPeters]

Common guys! Realistically... who adds some power service... . etc to their fuel? THIS is for the people NOT on the TDR that don't know any better. The people that go 100,000 miles with NO additive, and NO care for their truck. That's why there has been 2 Posts on lets see how it does with a ROUGH running enine.



josh

 

[Mundgyver]

If you want to clean your injectors, save your money and just put in 2 32 oz bottles of Power Service into your fuel tank on your next fill up. Your injectors will be clean. When I installed my 275's and removed the original injectors, they looked brand new with 30,000 turns on them. No carbon or any kind of build up. A bottle of Power Service is about 5 bucks. Thats allot cheeper than $200.

 

[Boondocker]

A bottle of Power Service is about 5 bucks. Thats allot cheeper than $200.

Let's do the math. Fill up truck about once a week, say 50 weeks a year. 50 * $5 = $250. Injector cleaning service = $200. Which is cheaper?



Which is better? Personally, I use a fuel treatment at every fill up. I want my injectors to be clean, the VP to be lubed, and the fuel quality to be good all the time, not just once a year. But I'm sure us Diesel heads are the minority of diesel truck owners



BTW - My brother-in-law, a highly SAE-certified mechanic (I mean he actually is Mr. Goodwrench) swears by the fuel injection system cleaning process to improve performance (of neglected cars) - at least for gasoline powered automobiles. He also highly recommends using top quality gasoline and the occasional fuel treatment to ward off ever needing your fuel system cleaned professionally.

 

[Mundgyver]

If you use a full bottle every fill up, yea it is expensive but if you run good clean # 2 and divide up a 32 oz bottle to 8 oz once a month, then it is reasonable. If you have never run any cleaner at all and want to get a good cleaning on the injectors, then pop in 64 oz all at once and do it only once a year. That is about $10. 8 oz once a month is 96 oz a year or 3 bottles wich is about $15. Still cheaper than $200 in my book. Anything in excess will cost. I normaly don't run cleaner around town. When I head out on a trip either to Idaho or down to Nevada I will run a bottle a tank. Normal trips for me will use 3 tanks over 2100 miles. I usualy take two trips a year so we are talking 6 bottles or $30 for the year. Still cheaper than $200.

 

[bmoeller]

Let's do the math. Fill up truck about once a week, say 50 weeks a year. 50 * $5 = $250. Injector cleaning service = $200. Which is cheaper.

It is like shot chlorinating a well. You don't it every day. Once a year, if it needs it. It is the only way to get the deposits off. Use the additive halfway frequently, at the recommended rate on the bottle, will help keep things clean.



A 1 gal. jug of Lucas fuel additive lasts me a very long time.



Seems to me, if you need to use a injector cleaner service, there are bigger problems.

 

[concrete-steve]

Thanks.

Thanks for all the input. I neglected to say that the injectors were never cleaned in this (or my truck either) with about 100K on them. I don't notice any roughness with either truck and they both run well. I'll try the additive to see if it makes a difference.

 

[JoshPeters]

I think the "cleaning" they are talking about is for abused, not taken care of trucks.



Most people around the TDR take care of their stuff, use additive in their fuel and this is not an issue.



Josh

 

[Diesel Freak]

If you really want to keep your injectors clean... . hook to a 12K+ pound trailer and work your truck like it is supposed to be worked. That way you can just burn the carbon out, and not waste money on snake oil.

 

[Hitec.Redneck]

When my vp44 died, the dealer suggested I perform this, so i did. My truck had about 84K miles, and either the pump has been weak a long time, or this cleaning made a huge difference in performance. I tow a 5th wheel, and the power gain has been very noticable.



My 2 cents worth.

 

[MBergman]

Do the techs get a spiff from the BG rep for the chips out of the cans? Ours do. The service writers strive for the "royal flush"... A BG flush for everything but the windshield washer fluid. Nothing wrong with making a buck or two, but sometimes they get a little too greedy.



Some of their products work great, some I've just got to wonder about.



-Marc

 

[JoshPeters]

I believe we get $1 a chip for the transmission service stuff... . Hardly worth the trouble of using the dang machine!



The only times I have tried to "sell" their transmission service is on a vehicle that has excellent maintance. 30k and 90k I recommend the flush, 60k and 120k a full service. (Car Co. 's are recommending 60k Trans service, if at all!) The Flush is actually a pretty decient deal if it wasnt' a pain to hook up. Disconnect one cooler line, put the unit inline with the cooler. When the machine is full it holds around 16 quarts of fluid. When you start the car it will bypass and you can actually see how dirty the fluid is through the sight glass. When you cycle the switch it will replace the fluid as it comes into the machine. So you are effectivly replacing ALL the fluid in the transmission. I think on our trucks I would do the regular, drop the pan, change the filter, top off the fluid, AND the flush due to all the converter clutch material that they drop into the pan. As well as the fact that completely empty they take 18 quarts.



Josh

 

[MChildress]

I have 170,000 on my 95 psd and have never put anything in the tank but diesel. Thing still runs like new. The millage has slowed down on the ford since buying the dodge.

 

[TCDiesel]

The service works great on gas engines Not so with diesels,Around here no need to add any additive until winter,than you get a dual purpose use, cleans and drops the cloud point. Stay away from 1&2 blends,Most of the stations around tell their employees to say it"s blended with additives when in reality its blended 40/60% 1&2. When I see the Transport at the station I ask the driver is it blended or additives. it sucks when a customer calls and when its -15 out and poor fuel is the cause. Sorry a little of subject.