Home Made Fuel Injector Cleaning Machine

[pocket-rocket]

8,500 Gallons of Gasoline that flowed through them over 100,000 Miles.

You driving a dually there, Bob? (I ask because that's just over 11mpg)

[60dgrzbelow0]

would a low pressure flow of cleaning fluid during the ultrasound cleaning process interfere with the actual ultrasound process? Being low pressure, you might even consider back flowing the fluid by slipping a piece of flexible tube over the snout of the injector. Perhaps I am demonstrating a lack of understanding of the ultrasound process. but I figure a simple impeller driven pump that generates a little pressure and decent flow would suffice.

EFI Cleaning has an "Orders of Operation" that must be adhered to or things can get very sketchy when its all said and done (Sort of like the confused Traffic Cop who Jumped of His Whistle...and Blew his Horse) ...

First things first... before doing ANYTHING to the injectors...and this especially means before you remove the filter baskets (now that we all know that the Rochester Multec Fable about not being able to change them out is once again...so much Horse Manure)... they should be submerged in an Ultrasonic Bath with some concentrated cleaner (like "Purple Power"...of John's (FF) favorite..."Formula 88" if you can find the stuff) and allowed to have the exterior mung, grease, sand, dead leaf crap and anything else that made you give the Fuel Rail that one last big tug to get the EFI's out of the UIM... for at least 30-45 minutes. Otherwise...if you pull the fuel baskets ahead of time...the largest amount of that disgusting shit...might migrate inside the spaces you don't want it and FUBAR anything that follows. Next... the Old Fuel Baskets should be removed as per the recent YouTube video a bit further back in this epic post. THEN its time to clean out the Ultrasonic Machine and put in a fresh dose of "Purple Power" and give them another molecular "shaking" at around 65 Degrees C and really loosen whatever has been hiding in there after the roughly 8,500 Gallons of Gasoline that flowed through them over 153,000 Miles (EDIT).

After this...they get a serious douche in scalding hot water and are allowed to air dry. Now its time to mount them on "The FrankInjector Machine" or as recently suggested...some other less complicated apparatus and pressure cleaned through several re-cycling events with a few quarts of re-cycled Chevron Techron...or whatever your favorite flavor of injector cleaning solvent happens to be. In spite of the lean towards a "less is best" idea... "The FrankInjector Machine" is arguably the best and most effective method (short of Grandma willing you her Old ASNU Machine) of cleaning the innards of these injectors and revitalizing their pintle action...well enough to be able to recognize if there are other insidious forces at work in making one...three...or all of them not function properly... A good Multimeter comes in handy to check their electrical characteristics...and if all goes well and they dutifully respond to this rigorous cleaning regimen... then its time to do the Flow Balance portion of the process...and The Good Lord Willing... they all come up with fluid levels that are within the 5% of each other insisted upon by the GM Shop Manuals... and all that remains is for you to either re-install them... or drop each one inside a small Ziplock baggie... and shpritz them all over with some WD-40 and put them away for a rainy day.

The reason that cycling them in submergence in the Ultrasonic Machine while activating their pintle valves with the dual OTC units does not stop the effects of the ultrasonic action is because sound travels 300 times faster through the liquid solution...and is unaffected by the rapid motion of the interior parts of the EFIS...rather like the effects of the molecular cavitation that can erode the tips and edges of boat propeller blades...not because of run up on a sand bar while they spin around so fast...but because the phenomena of the water molecules being exploded like mini-a-bombs is the operative power that scours even the best of them like a runaway grinding wheel... Ultrasound performs this identical task.

[pbsch]

would a low pressure flow of cleaning fluid during the ultrasound cleaning process interfere with the actual ultrasound process? Being low pressure, you might even consider back flowing the fluid by slipping a piece of flexible tube over the snout of the injector. Perhaps I am demonstrating a lack of understanding of the ultrasound process. but I figure a simple impeller driven pump that generates a little pressure and decent flow would suffice.

[robertisaar]

maximum cheap yet bulletproof relaibility and simplicity make anything better... i would probably find a different fuel filter though.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Thanks Pocket... It has been a "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" from beginning to end...LOL...

Here is another member looking at solving this problem in a less expensive manner. There are some good ideas here...

http://60degreev6.com/forum/f97/clea...eap-way-t45708

Following up on this Member's idea (jmgtp) of doing all of this in a less expensive and more selective manner... I was up in my attic trying to clean my A/C Condenser Coils with a hand pumped sprayer and this thread came to mind while realizing that his idea might be even easier to create using one of THESE to pressurize the EFI Cleaning Fluid...

http://www.homedepot.com/RL-Flo-Master/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ18jZ1xg4/R-100186784/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

...and using one of THESE as the means to keep the EFI Cleaning Fluid as clean and pure as possible when re-cycling the stuff again and again...

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg4/R-202040785/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

...but knowing that this gravity-style fuel filter might not be able hold up under the stress of having as much as 45 PSI applied to it.. (might just explode and spray the stuff all over the place...) Nonetheless... this might be a healthy alternative to adding both simplicity and portability to cleaning individual EFIS...and the COOL part is... that the hand pump is capable of generating up to 45 PSI before the automatic relief valve releases any excess pressure... so you would not require a Fuel Pressure Gauge to monitor the fuel pressure... the only other things you would need is some Acrylic Hosing attached to the base (outflow side) of the EFI to capture the "spent" EFI Cleaner into a fancy Clear Plastic Gallon Water Jug like I use on "The FrankInjector Machine" and a single OTC unit to power the EFI electronically...and Voila! You could at least do the pressure cleaning phase of this job...with minimal expense and without any complicated hardware... Hell... All you would need to power the OTC Unit is to clamp the 12Volt Power lines (red & black) to any car battery...and you could clean your fuel injectors...right out in the wild beyond if you had to! Props to the original poster (jmgtp) that "Simple is Often Better!"...

P.S. I wonder if the Fuel Filter could be strengthened with a good wrap of Duct Tape after the fuel lines are clamped on?

[60dgrzbelow0]

admit it, you know you did a five finger discount at a GM laboratory late one night after took many beers.

Great looking setup!

and for those who don't understand this type of project. its not about saving money (though that happens most of the time) or your time. 90% of it is having fun and learning new things during the build and the other 10% is the satisfaction of it working and living up to or exceeding your expectations.

Thanks "Tex"... but as you well know... the usual formulae and movie plots is for "The Little Guy" to dream up something their engineers never thought of...and wait for the "Evil Corporations" to steal it from THEM!

Okay... A New Development!

I have to say that I am fairly excited about a recent development concerning an email I received from an otherwise "shy" member/reader of this thread who also just happens to be an Electrical Engineer interested in developing his own "electronic control panel" that would serve to give some greater variability over how to activate and actuate Electronic Fuel Injectors. He seems very keen on what has been done with "The FrankInjector Machine" so far, knowing full well that it is wanting a more practical means of actuating the EFIs during the cleaning process than my solution of using the twin OTC devices...even to the point of allowing this to occur "unattended" (which I would never recommend). I have agreed to test out whatever device(s) he comes up with... with his permission and my understanding that he may want to design, build, market and sell what ever it is he manages to get to to work is a separate project from my own "Open Source" EFI Cleaning Machine. I'll keep everyone "posted" as we correspond about this idea.

[Texan4Life]

admit it, you know you did a five finger discount at a GM laboratory late one night after took many beers.

Great looking setup!

and for those who don't understand this type of project. its not about saving money (though that happens most of the time) or your time. 90% of it is having fun and learning new things during the build and the other 10% is the satisfaction of it working and living up to or exceeding your expectations.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Thanks Pocket... It has been a "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" from beginning to end...LOL...

Here is another member looking at solving this problem in a less expensive manner. There are some good ideas here...

http://60degreev6.com/forum/f97/clea...eap-way-t45708

[pocket-rocket]

You will get no argument from me about the outlay of the cost in time, money and the number of things that I built that failed to live up to my expectations... all of those things were problematic... but I knew full well that I would be spending quite a lot of all of those things to get the machine in proper functioning condition... Mostly... I just hated the idea that there were so few options that placed me in control over how and what was to be done. And now that I have the satisfaction of doing it... others who come here will not have to make such a big investment... since all the R&D has for the most part, been thrashed out to make it work right. And besides... if I waited for anyone else to do what I had in my own mind to try... I might have had to wait an eternity. Now... others will not.

If all I wanted to do was obtain a set of re-conned injectors... then your solution would have been ...and still is... the best and most practical means to accomplish the job. But that is not the sole reason I chose to try to think about and create what is now made. I have always had what I call... A "CBS" Attitude... which translates into the philosophy that means I "Can't Be Stopped". That same philosophy, along with the idea of always trying to do more good than harm, has permeated every other area of my life. And so... The FrankInjector Machine is the result of wanting to solve such problems... and succeed. I think that in spite of all the obvious expenses, set backs and difficulties... I have managed to overcome all those obstacles and do... just exactly that.

In complete fairness to Brad's level-headed obeservation, it is important for me to recognize that my situation is a unique one... and I realize that there is often a fine line between inspiration ...and obsession... so it is important to be grounded in common sense about these things. I want to say that in spite of how thrilled I have been with the ultimate outcome of this experimental idea...and the machine that has evolved along the way, the best advice about this matter comes from the other forum elders...and thus... must hold sway. With that in mind, I have tried to include other optional actions along the way and peppered all these posts with these so they might be considered across the entire spectrum of EFI cleaning solutions. But for those of us who enjoy this sort of thing...and have two or even three cars and trucks in our driveway that would be tempting to clean all their EFIs over time... this machine might prove itself more practical and fun to have and use in the long run.

One last thought... the development of this "Frankenstein" of an EFI Cleaning Machine happened here first...on a forum where collaboration... criticism... and encouragement towards success... all come right along with knowing each and every person having an interest in the outcome came here to look and see what we were doing...and served to help drive this process to a happy conclusion. And that is what I like about coming here to --==www.60degreev6.com==-- the most!

But at the same time, you now have more knowledge with what to do with a dirty set of injectors and you've had a pretty cool learning experience in my book

[robertisaar]

cool document, even if it is a little outdated now. would definitely help with someone who has no idea why there are so many colors on the wires running out of the power supply.

[60dgrzbelow0]

Oops.... Damn.... Sorry about the DP (Double Post)....

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

[60dgrzbelow0]

For this post, I have to set "The WayBack machine" to the part in this Epic Post where I was looking for a decent power supply to run the dual OTC EFI Testers and handle three (3) injectors at a time with power and decent stability. These ideas were supplied by Superdave and Robertisaar and lead me to do some other research on the matter and deciding upon Dave's notion for employing an ATX Power Supply...and that thing has well and truly done the trick.

But what I failed to list in that portion of the project development was the below listed link to the subject of Computer Power Supplies and their various power take offs and how to re-work and use them in conventional and even some unconventional ways. This link and information probably also belongs in the off-topic areas of Desktop Computers... but I have not found a specific forum link here specific to the subject matter. This text and image link is very informative and actually... is a pretty cool and useful thing to know about...

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

[60dgrzbelow0]

At $19/injector, I think the price is worth it. How much have you spent so far? Nothing against you, I think its great that you made this, but it took you a bunch of trial and error to get it working. Plus all the parts required to make it. And now the price of filters, o-rings, etc. In the end, I don't plan on doing this on more than maybe 2 sets of injectors. Seems to me, sending them out and getting them back within 3 days (his typical turnaround time) is worth the cost.

You will get no argument from me about the outlay of the cost in time, money and the number of things that I built that failed to live up to my expectations... all of those things were problematic... but I knew full well that I would be spending quite a lot of all of those things to get the machine in proper functioning condition... Mostly... I just hated the idea that there were so few options that placed me in control over how and what was to be done. And now that I have the satisfaction of doing it... others who come here will not have to make such a big investment... since all the R&D has for the most part, been thrashed out to make it work right. And besides... if I waited for anyone else to do what I had in my own mind to try... I might have had to wait an eternity. Now... others will not.

If all I wanted to do was obtain a set of re-conned injectors... then your solution would have been ...and still is... the best and most practical means to accomplish the job. But that is not the sole reason I chose to try to think about and create what is now made. I have always had what I call... A "CBS" Attitude... which translates into the philosophy that means I "Can't Be Stopped". That same philosophy, along with the idea of always trying to do more good than harm, has permeated every other area of my life. And so... The FrankInjector Machine is the result of wanting to solve such problems... and succeed. I think that in spite of all the obvious expenses, set backs and difficulties... I have managed to overcome all those obstacles and do... just exactly that.

In complete fairness to Brad's level-headed obeservation, it is important for me to recognize that my situation is a unique one... and I realize that there is often a fine line between inspiration ...and obsession... so it is important to be grounded in common sense about these things. I want to say that in spite of how thrilled I have been with the ultimate outcome of this experimental idea...and the machine that has evolved along the way, the best advice about this matter comes from the other forum elders...and thus... must hold sway. With that in mind, I have tried to include other optional actions along the way and peppered all these posts with these so they might be considered across the entire spectrum of EFI cleaning solutions. But for those of us who enjoy this sort of thing...and have two or even three cars and trucks in our driveway that would be tempting to clean all their EFIs over time... this machine might prove itself more practical and fun to have and use in the long run.

One last thought... the development of this "Frankenstein" of an EFI Cleaning Machine happened here first...on a forum where collaboration... criticism... and encouragement towards success... all come right along with knowing each and every person having an interest in the outcome came here to look and see what we were doing...and served to help drive this process to a happy conclusion. And that is what I like about coming here to --==www.60degreev6.com==-- the most!

[60dgrzbelow0]

I'd be worried by the actual chemical itself... I don't like throwing things in the motor without knowing what they are. Seems like there is the potential to dump a lot into the cylinder if you have an injector that likes to stay stuck open...

This is a well-founded concern... but having tried to use a wide array of mixed cleaners and solvents... what I have found out via the use of The FrankInjector Machine is that they all seem to slow down the action of the mechanical spring loaded pintles inside the Multecs and seem to spray less fluid rather than more because all of them are much more viscous than gasoline. What I think that could happen though is that rather than properly mist or atomize... it is more likely they will throw a pure liquid stream of fluid out of a non-functioning or stuck injector and risk hydro-locking the engine if the EFI stays open longer than its signaled PCM duty cycle calls for. I guess that is why they advocate just letting the motor idle through the cleaning process rather than raising the engine rpm too precipitously.

[bszopi]

At $19/injector, I think the price is worth it. How much have you spent so far? Nothing against you, I think its great that you made this, but it took you a bunch of trial and error to get it working. Plus all the parts required to make it. And now the price of filters, o-rings, etc. In the end, I don't plan on doing this on more than maybe 2 sets of injectors. Seems to me, sending them out and getting them back within 3 days (his typical turnaround time) is worth the cost.