Diesel Injector Cleaner

[Don Juan]

Hi all,
This is my first diesel car and not that experienced with much of the things it can be done to it; so i decided to ask here to the pro's ;-)

In my other gas Bmws , I used to use the Chevron Techron every 6months to clean any fuel/injector build up...is there anything like this for the diesel cars ?

Also. last time I was pumping, a guy in a pickup truck diesel started talking about diesel cars and mentioned that all diesels get something called diesel mold and should be used 3 to 4 times a year. He said there is an additive in the auto aprts store that can be bought to clean that up. Does anyone know anything about this for BMW diesels ?
Thanks guys!

[ard]

So you are wasting your money on your gas vehicle and want to know if the same snake oil is sold for diesels?

Yes.



A

[JCL]

Compared to gasoline, diesel is more susceptible to the formation of algae (mold) at the fuel/water interface. It causes clogged filters as the first symptom. The algae itself doesn't cause the clogging, it is components of the fuel after being exposed to the algae. Diesel fuel ages/degrades, and so people have gotten used to adding stabilizers to diesel fuel to prolong the life of the fuel.

This doesn't have much to do with combustion chamber cleaners such as you used on your gasoline engine. If you buy good quality fuel, you shouldn't need cleaners. If you are using cheap fuel then Techron could help the injectors in a gasoline engine. The same concepts exist with diesels, but what you are being warned about is not clogging of the injectors, but rather degraded fuel.

Lots of reading on the web on the subject. I would buy good quality and fresh fuel and not worry about it too much, unless the vehicle was being stored for a period of time, when a fuel stabilizer is a reasonable thing to add.

['10-X5-35d]

Originally Posted by JCL

I would buy good quality and fresh fuel and not worry about it too much, unless the vehicle was being stored for a period of time, when a fuel stabilizer is a reasonable thing to add.

Effectively, and this applies also for the gasoline engine.
You won't have the same effect as degraded diesel, but degraded gas could damage the engine internals.

Usually, when a vehicule's is stored, it's recommended to prevent fuel degradation.
This is for any type of combustible.

As for additive (I've seen people add some wierd things), not required.

[Don Juan]

Excellent thanks guys!!

In my gasoline engine BMW delaer uses a fuel cleaner every time they did a service (well at least here in SOuth Florida they do), it is exactly the same as Techron...
THe only gas I put in my cars are Chevron and Shell... and as far as Dieels there is only 1 option...

Thanks