More of a mixed response than I had anticipated.
I went with Slick 50 and have used Seafoam, and other junk over the years and have always wondered, "does this crap really do anything?"
Cause I don't remember ever experiencing a significant difference.
Maybe you're right . . . you don't even need it with the additives at the pump!

And I harken back to what I've always heard: "You can't put a mechanic in a bottle".

 

live2,

I think it's more of a preventative thing than a fix. I put Seafoam in about every quarter just to keep things clean.

CMOS

 

Is there a difference between injector cleaners???? YUP!!!!

Will ingesting water decarbon an engine???? YUP!!!!

Do any cleaneruppers contain water???? YUP!!!

Motorcraft PM-3, thats specified in Fords decarbon proceedure, has a rather large dose of water, along with some other emulsified detergents, to help tidy up a stuffed up engine.

Do the old standby's like, Seafoam & Marvel Oil work, YUP!!!!

Are newer and less lubricant contaminating products on the market now, that'll clean up engine carbon, varnsih, intake valves, pistons & combustion chamber deposits???? YUP!!!!

Cleaner-uppers with a sizeable dose of PEA (PolyEther Amine) & other goodies, come to mind.

"Techron Concentrate Plus" is one product & it in a tank full of Chevron or Texaco gas, with the " rev it up & blow it out" portion of Fords decarbon TSB, has worked wonders on my 99 Ranger 4.0L & 94 Taurus 3.8L & it won't contaminate the engine oil & filter, or dirty up the plugs, when used as specified.

It will take a little longer to feel the difference, compared to the direct ingested products, because you have to run the tank of treated fuel out, to realise the results,

So if you can stand the wait, you might be pleasantly surprised with the results it'll offer up!!!!

I've also had postive results wih Seafoam & Marvel Oil, in the past, but for me & most of the engine deposit related driveability problems I've had lately, the addition of Techron at the specified treat ratio, in a tank of Chevron, or Texaco gas & some spirited driving has worked best & lasted longest, for my carbon related isues.

Just some expierences I've had with some products.

 

In many cases, just running the truck real hard thru the gears to the rev limiter a couple of times does more good than anything. In the old days, we called this "blowing the soot out of it."

In using water as a de-carbonizer, you pour it slowly into the throttle body, with the engine rpm high enough so the engine won't stall. 8 to 10 ounces is usually enough. The water turns to steam in the combustion chamber and steam cleans the insides. You will see tons of white smoke out the exhaust when you do this. jd

 

A good way to do it is with a with a water jug that has a pin hole in the bottom of it so that you get 5-6 drops per second.

 

All these ideas of removing carbon are a bit risky if you have cats attached to
the exhaust, they can and will clog, some more than others, it happened to me, if you ever check the inside of a cat you might noticed how tiny those holes and mesh are.
I think is better to disconnect the cat at the exhaust before blowing ol that carbon through them.
Just a thought.....................

 

This will definately plug up a cat.I use seafoam or Lucas and drive the hell out of her for that tank and run good gas the rest of the time. I have no deposits on my fuel injectors and very little carbon anywhere else on my 93 with 150k.

 

I've used several of the products mentioned here. I add a bottle/can to the gas tank 500 miles before each oil change (5000 mile OCI). The research I've done suggests that Techron, Regain, Seafoam, and Redline SI-1 are among the best. I've got some Redline in the tank right now, and must say I've noticed increased throttle response. While these products are great, I consider them maintenance - nothing dumped into the gas tank is as effective as the professional cleaning I have done every 30,000 miles. Based on the information I have been able to gather (lots of reading on BITOG) I would rank them in this order...

1- Redline SI-1
2- Techron
3- Regain
4- Seafoam

 

Lucas is my brand of choice. Reasonably price at AZ. Use it every other tank. Good for the upper end. Just my 2 cents.

 

PW01. What exactly are you refering to with 'professional cleaning' every 30000.

 

^^ prolly motorvac or something similiar. My friend recently purchased a "mini" motovac so to speak. hook it up to test port on fuel rails, and it uses a cleaning solution while engine is running. Can of solution is $13 from NAPA.

PW01 what does the Redline SI-1 bottle look like? What parts stores did you find it at? Cost? I want to pick some up for the Ranger. I haven't done a vacuum test on it yet, but from waht I've read the 3.0 is known for carbon deposits and want to get the thing as clean as possible.

 

The dealer hooks a machine up, and runs a cleaner directly through the fuel rail. They also remove, and clean the throttle body.

The bottle of Redline SI-1 looks like this...
http://redlineoil.carshopinc.com/pro...id/45601/60103

I found it at Pep Boys

 

Like Wendell, I dump a bottle (either Techron Plus or Lucas) in my fuel tank every 3-5K or so, at about the same time I do an oil change.

Keep in mind that, not only do these products clean, but they also lubricate too. The 10% alcohol that's in most regular gasoline these days makes for a much "drier" fuel year-round (which BTW makes "dry gas" additives redundant and unnecessary) and components like fuel pumps rely on the fuel for both cooling and lubrication.