Diesel shop says I have bad injectors, need help

[Sgt Hulka]

Hey all,

Does anyone have any objective, measurable data that "Seafoam" (or any other additive) does anything and under what conditions. Not trying to be obnoxious at all, just can't get a handle on any of this diesel additive stuff in terms before and after measurements under objective test conditions. Thanks!!!!! And Merry Christmas all!

 

[zout]

scientific data is the product has been in use for professional fields and home owner end user because it works.

Gas engines in the fuel - like the 3M product for cleaning fuel injection systems - watch the gunk roll out the tail pipe it cleans that well and it is lube based - so when you run it - it not seizing up your engine or trans.

Take a fresh oil fill and if you engine oil stays realatively clean for a while - pour the additive into your oil - you engine oil will magically turn black from all the carbon it is cleaning out of your engine.

Our fleet runs the oil cleaning product 24 hours before pm scheduled service - oiur average fleet tractor is 700,000 miles. This is not a political statement - in this economy as much as it sucks - getting the most out these vehicles is important.

Trans fills get the same - 24 hrs before scheduled pm drain/refill - they get the additive. Reason I had a pic of the cans and part numbers to add.

When you pull the covers - the overheads are clean and free of anything - that is measureable results.
There is almost no product I would add to engine or trans lube with all the samples I receive to TRY FREE - I throw them away or give them away for someone else to destroy their stuff.

Like an ole saying "what your not up on - your down on".
no insult intended or hidden meanings.

 

[Sgt Hulka]

Hey, I totally accept what you're saying, but respectfully, that's not scientific evidence, it's anecdotal evidence. That is, testimony based on personal experience. Which is fine. What I was looking for was a double blind test against control in a test lab with strict parameters. I put a can of Seabfoam in my tank last night for it's promised cleaning ability. But I really have no way to tell if it works. Hope my idle will be smoother...

 

[zout]

Good deal SGT.
I cannot remember the facility but it was in Ill back in the early 80's I went to. It was an independent oil analaysis - additive TBO firm.
They tore new engines down - measured everything - ran them with different oils and additives - then tore them down again and measured results - they were funded by no one. So I had the opportunity to see a lot of crap as your describing that was on the market at that time - one of them was slick 50 when it came out after the 70's oil problems. Now that was another product that was fantastic till it went retail. It was one of the only additives you could add to an aircraft engine.
Anyhow. When I see stuff today in a fleet situation - I am also very leary about them and selective in using them.

 

[KI4GSN]

I'll jump on the seafoam bandwagon as well, but would also like to mention the products from Power Service. They have a good line of additives for diesels and most contain a good injector cleaner but don't contain alcohol, and they also ease the negitive effects of the ULSD. In my 7.3 I run the grey bottle in the summer and the white bottle in the winter (prevents gelling). Like zout, I am not a dealer, but have used their products with great success.

And if you can change the intake manifold on the Ford 4.6 (i've had to do it), you could handle injectors in a diesel.

 

[Screamin' Metal]

Zout said it best....save the money of all the 'other' things your gonna 'HAVE' to pay for....like your pass. side alternator.........

 

[Sephirothq]

dumb question
do you dump the seafoam in the fuel tank??

 

[K9Vic]

I will get it back Monday and see how it goes, maybe I will get lucky and Sea Foam fixes it. If not I will wait until the new year to fix it, or when it warms up outside.

The city that owned it before me spent allot of money converting it to 12vlots. It looks well done form what I can see, but I have only driven it for about 20 miles. Only thing that did not work was the rear heater, but I think the valve was off. The A/C works, but is not too cold and use a recharge. For what I paid it was a steal and being Texas there is no rust anywhere.

Anyways, thank to everyone for all your help, I just needed motivation to do this myself.

 

[K9Vic]

Well I have been driving it for the last two days and here is what I have noticed.

1. I will start to smoke light gray after the idle kicks down when starting it cold, the smoke stays for about a mile and then pretty much goes away.
2. It is very slow to get up to speed if I am on a 45mph + road and have to give time between cars for safety. I do recall even my 1978 C20 with a gas L6 and 4:10 gears was slow to speed up too.
3. It has an odd rattle at idle sometimes, you can hear it in my video. Not sure if that is because of the bad injectors or other issue?
4. Has a slight pull to the left and steering wheel is off center, so will have to address that soon.

Anyways, the Sea Foam did seem to work as I have noticed it starts better and drives better then when I first got it. I did not do the diesel purge, but will run one more tank with Sea Foam and see how it goes.


Video at the auction:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDROXjGDQy8[/media]

 

[stampy]

Please tell me you changed the fuel filter! That is one of the biggest issues!

 

[K9Vic]

Yes I did, mine is not the OEM so I had to order it from Stanadyne; should be a picture of it in this post already.

I made another post about replacing the glow plugs and that fixed the starting issue. After all that I still got white smoke after a few minutes of starting and lasted until it got warm. So I looked at all the great info here and found that my IP timing was off. I lined it up and now it runs better, does not smoke and even drives smoother. So now I can drive it to work with out smoking up the parking lot, LOL!

So thanks again to this board and everyone's help!!!

 

[kentuckycucv]

Sounds like the diesel mechanics that you origanaly took your truck to were WRONG! and were trying to fleece you for some big bucks.... crooks!

 

[K9Vic]

Wow, blast from the past and really odd as the diesel shop just sent me a free oil change mailer the other day.

Well yeah they were wrong as it really was just air getting in the line at times due to the rear heater. I capped that off as mine was converted to 12v and I really had no use for the heater. I also did replaced the injectors and IP to give it a fresh start. Seems that the IP pump from sitting for so long no used dried out some of the internal rubber parts. The city had it for about 10 years and probably never used it much, if any.

It runs and drivers great now, but it sits in my driveway as it is really expensive to drive with the gears and overall weight. I do run it once a week for about 10-15 minutes to keep the IP lubricated. It does make a great storage unit though, LOL!!