Atf in fuel tank to clean injectors.

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ROGELIO A GUZMAN

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Hey fellas . Have any of you guys done this before. A old school mechanic told me to do this years ago. I have done it on many of my other cars, but haven't done it to my Denali. Old school mechanic explained that atf is like a solvent cleaner and helps carbs and injector.
 

BG1988

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Hey fellas . Have any of you guys done this before. A old school mechanic told me to do this years ago. I have done it on many of my other cars, but haven't done it to my Denali. Old school mechanic explained that atf is like a solvent cleaner and helps carbs and injector.
i don't think it's a good idea unless it's designed for it i.e lucas fuel treatment buy the gallon one for 28$ not the 5oz for 10$
 

RaiderRodney

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I was also told (by an old timer) that this is what they used on all the local county vehicles. I did it for a long time with no problems on all my vehicles but I've been doing the Seafoam method for the last several years before an oil change (1/3 in tank, 1/3 in vacuum line, 1/3 in crankcase).
 

SnowDrifter

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Nah don't.

Few things:

1. Do you know your injectors are actually dirty? Like, I'm not being a smartass. I've had my intake apart at ~120k and the deposits I had were clustered on the intake valve as a result of PCV recirc. But the injectors themselves were spotless. When I installed a PCV catch can and had my intake off again later, there were clean spots where the injector fuel spray contacted the intake valves. Once I removed the source of the buildup, the included detergents in the fuel did a great job of cleaning stuff up on its own. I also only use quality fuel - shell or chevron when available, and will avoid cheap shit from arco / costco at all costs. Yes I know arco has some certifications to it. My decision is based from anecdotal experience (noted most customer fuel pump failures were using arco) and an aversion to business practice (**** BP)

2. ATF isn't a solvent. Hell... It doesn't even have detergents in it. Same reason it's not advised to put in engine oil as a cleaner. There's no combustion taking place in a transmission, therefore detergents aren't added. It is, however, heavy in dispersants to keep clutch material shed in suspension.

3. Concentration is proportional to cleaning properties. ATF in the tank at some 1:100 dilution ratio won't do shit.

4. I'd worry about it affecting the catalytic converters. The cats will tolerate some oil from the PCV system. But I'm not sure about that much

5. YMMV, but when I was around 150k or so, I did a test where I added some techron injector cleaner to my tank. Controlled variables pretty well, noted no difference. Didn't feel like pulling my intake apart to really check gunk and junk and measure, so my takeaway was either that it did nothing or I had no deficits in my injectors / intake.

6. Honestly, if you want to clean your injectors, either get a pressurized bottle that puts pure cleaner through the injectors under pressure, or find a shop that does it. Or a service that removes the injectors from the vehicle and cleans them in an ultrasonic hot tank. It's been my experience those are the only methods that work well, with removal and manual cleaning being the best approach as cleaners can be tailored to remove anything there instead of being safely combustible.
 

SnowDrifter

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@SnowDrifter I support everything you said, except go read up on Top Tier fuel suppliers. CostCo is on that list.

I avoid the cheap stuff too, but I’m happy to buy good gas at wholesale.
Based on the fuel economy I get when using costco, I avoid. May have changed in recent years, but 5-6 years ago I'd lose about 15% of my fuel economy. Felt like I was filling with e30 or something. Could have been a bad batch. Who knows!
 

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