Personally I've used Lucas products quite a bit. I've used several of their products including the injector cleaner, and it realls seems to have made a difference. Not sure how this would compare with the professional services you guys are talking about but if you're thinn king about the canned cleaners, I'd give Lucas a look. --DIY

 

We have done some "fleet" service and they really did benefit from the Pro type cleaning. They were high mileage F150's with 100 K plus mile used by a local roofing company. Experimented with one truck and the company owner said it made a huge difference with drivability and cold-starts.

I know MotorVac makes all type of flushing/cleaning equipment. Its hard for a Consumer to know what process/equipment a shop is both using/quoting when offering services.

I would say that the Motorvac type service is a more complete service then what some shops call just an injector clean. But its important to really ask good questions when you are looking to have it done.

 

i recommend a can of plain old 2.99 b-12 chemtool every fourth tank or so....i don't like the idea of washing all top cylinder lube from the engine at once....just seems like a bad idea....

 

I just put some barrymans carb cleaner in there once in a while

 

yeh especially with the hydroloc thing... but B12 chemtool is cheap and its what the ford house uses to flus injectors with.. its cheaper than seafoam and works better. and anything spilled will evaporate... not gel up and leave a gewy mess...

 

I've always used Redline injector cleaner in my Explorer and F150 with 220,000 and 125,000 miles on them. Never had any problems with either. Pepboys was the only place to get it locally for a while and they were always out of stock. An employee told me one of the local dealerships comes in and buys it by the case to use so I figure it must be pretty good cause its not cheap for them to purchase.

 

I just got a price at $120 for motorvac injector cleaning.

 

I also like the Lucas oil and fuel injector treatments. Heres the write up on the fuel additive:

Lucas Fuel Treatment
Lucas Fuel treatment complies with the federal low sulfur content requirements for use in diesel motor vehicles and nonroad, locomotive, and marine diesel equipment engines.

A powerful blend of oils and additives that contain no SOLVENTS. Designed to increase power and fuel mileage and also lower exhaust emissions through a more complete combustion.

Lucas Fuel Treatment is formulated for both gasoline and diesel engines, carbureted or fuel injected. It gives your fuel system what it really needs - a blend of super slick oils and additives with a high detergent action that allows the engine to operate at maximum efficiency. Also, it cleans and lubricates the carburetor and injectors and causes the fuel to burn more thoroughly for increased power and less fuel consumption. Lucas Fuel Treatment should definitely be used in vehicles that require leaded fuel because it actually replaces the benefits of lead in gasoline without causing harmful emissions. Use it to pass smog tests. Finally, it totally neutralizes the harmful effects of low sulfur diesel fuel.

Directions

Pour Lucas Fuel Treatment directly into fuel tank.

Recommended dosage is 2-3 ounces of Fuel Treatment per 10 gallons of fuel.

Exceeding the recommended dosage is not harmful to your vehicle.

Key Benefits
A great tune-up in a bottle
Cleans and lubricates the fuel system
Neutralizes low sulfur fuel problems
Increases power and miles per gallon by burning excess exhaust emissions
Increases the life of pumps and injectors

I like using this stuff along with the heavy duty oil stabilizer!!

 

There is not any lube on top of the piston. Most high mileage engines or those that are not driven regularly will have carbon bildup on top of the pistons which will cause detonation. I don't want that so I think it is a very good idea to use some type of top engine cleaner. As for hydrolocking an engine if the spark plugs are out that will not happen. If you are sucking cleaner from a vacumm sorce have a friend keep it running by adjusting the throttle. I recomend Cleaning the throttle and using a canister type or some sort of pressurized fuel injector cleaner through the fuel rail. These Fords are return style fuel systems so you need to prevent cleaner from returning to the gas tank. If your cleaning system has a regulator keep it under operating pressure. You may also want to pull the fuel pump fuse.