Pressurized “Through Rail” Injector Cleaning Kits and Solutions

[eightynine4x4]

I picked up a good fuel rail attached pressurized fuel injector cleaner kit locally 2nd hand for cheap. It’s got two gauges which is handy. It also has a full can of OTC 7000A with it, but the can may be a bit old. Or maybe that doesn’t matter. Seller said it’s still usable.

In any case, I’m trying to figure out the differences between the injector cleaner solutions that are marketed to pour into the tank VS the solutions that are meant to go directly into fuel rails (which are not nearly as prevalent on the market)

The direct ones are the more expensive ones of course, and all seems to be based on Naptha. Anybody think they are too extreme and can cause damage even if used properly?
On the flip side, would a middle ground be to run the milder drop-in-tank solutions directly into the fuel rail via the pressurized cleaning process? Or is that just too weak for the task? I guess I’m also wondering if the engine would even run off of it like it runs off of the higher potency cleaners.

My truck is pretty gunked overall. I’m almost thinking that running a lightweight cleaner through it first wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Maybe like a couple rounds since they are cheap. And then running the OTC can as a final aggressive stage. The reason for this would be to avoid breaking up too much old crud all at once.

 

[Blmpkn]

Why not remove the injectors and then clean them?

 

[eightynine4x4]

Well, it worked rather well!
Setup was a little challenging since i had to clean the used equipment inside and test the functions, but once i got the hang of it the process the actual injector cleanout went quick.
The fuel pump displayed 35 PSI on the bottom gauge so after disconnecting that I set the cleaner equipment at 25 PSI. First few minutes were a bit bumpy at 25 PSI for several minutes so i brought it up to 28 PSI and then it smoothed out for another few minutes and then the can ran out. It wasn't perfect in the end, still just a little bit shifty, but no cylinders were misfiring like they sometimes were before. No way to tell if the lumpiness at 25 PSI was caused by the lower pressure or the gunk being moved around, but in any case it seemed to change things gradually.
When reconnecting the fuel pump pressure and running the truck, it started off kinda weird but again it wasn't misfiring at all. So i decided to let it just idle for a long time just to see where it went with normal fuel passing through the system. Sure enough after walking away to put tools away and coming back after 15 minutes of idling in Park the engine ended up sounding dramatically quieter than before this process. I may be crazy but it seems like it quieted more than just the injectors. The whole valve train sounds less like it's struggling and is better "lubricated" sounding. A really big change. But this truck probably hasn't had this kind of attention in many years and was a prime candidate for injector cleanup.
So i took it for a drive and the injectors definitely are quieter when accelerating. Previously you could hear the high rapid spitty sound of the injectors every time you press the pedal. Now it's about 25%-33% of what it was before. And the rest of the engine has a whole different lower pitch to it. It's unmistakable, this tone change. A ton of clammer has disappeared and the deeper exhaust notes are more dominant now.
Not bad! I think the next step is to fill up the tank and use something like B-12 Chemtool through it, then after that tank change the fuel filter and also do this injector cleanout one more time just in case stuff had got sent up the line, then call the fuel lines as good as they're going to get for a while.
I spent 75$ on this kit which should have costed around 200-250, and the substance was included. All in all a pretty nice success and it's something i now am equipped to do periodically.

 

[Shran]

IMO the additive type injector cleaners are really pretty useless. They are so diluted in a tank of fuel that they will do nothing other than make you feel better...and $$$$$ for the manufacturer.

Seems that I read recently where someone did a test on all the common injector cleaners and Techron performed the best but they were actually soaking parts in it.