Have you noticed that the pick up in your car is not what it used to be? Do you notice your gas mileage performance is lower than it used to be? If you are starting to see signs of your car running differently, you might need a fuel induction service. Over time as cars start to age, fuel deposits build up and affect your engine from performing at its best.
What Is a Fuel Induction Service?
A fuel induction service is a maintenance procedure for your vehicle’s engine. This process includes cleaning the air intake valves, the throttle body, and fuel injectors. A mechanic will use special cleaning substances to manually clean the valves.
The throttle body is a mechanism that is controlled by the car’s computer. This is responsible for taking in fuel and air and mixing it to the right proportion. The proportion is dependent on the vehicle and the computer’s input. The throttle body directly links to your acceleration pedal. The air will add according to the fuel present in the chamber.
What Is Combustion?
Combustion occurs every time you start or run your car engine. Now, I want you to sit back and think about all of the times you have driven your car since you purchased it. Think about how many hours these systems have been working over the lifetime of your vehicle. These systems get very dirty over time because they are constantly running without getting cleaned.
All combustion engines combine air and fuel to be burned inside the engine. Depending on the type of the engine, the fuel and air will get mixed outside of the engine or mixed inside the cylinder. These components all meet because the air induction systems bring all of the components of combustion together.
Why Should You Do A Fuel Induction Service?
The throttle body is related to the fuel and air. Its purpose is to manage and control the air-fuel mixture so your engine can run smoothly. As you drive your car on the roads, fuel is continuously burning. There are times when traces of unburnt fuel are left inside the chamber and throttle. This can cause carbon build-ups and it leaves the throttle storing all of the deposits.
Carbon deposits can impact the cycles of your engine and affects how your car drives. You might start to notice your car doesn’t drive as smoothly. These deposits can also impact the idling of the engine. If this happens you will experience your car vibrating when you press on the gas pedal.
Furthermore, if you let carbon deposits compile up for too long you could severely damage your engine. It is very costly to fix a car engine, which is why it is important to do a fuel induction service to clean out the throttle body and any deposits.
Are My Fuel Injectors Dirty?
If you are wondering whether your fuel injectors are dirty, you can usually tell by the check engine light coming on or by smelling fuel odors. The majority of times, fuel injectors are clogged with carbon and other debris that has collected on the fuel system over time. This could be from not cleaning the system or the car going through different season cycles.
If you use your car for a while without cleaning the fuel system, you can expect to find a lot of carbon deposits on your injectors. Your engine will not work at its full capacity because of this blockage.
Always be aware of your check engine light. This light is designed to help you notice there is a problem with your engine. You should always get that checked out as soon as possible so worse issues do not arise. Your local auto repair shop will be able to diagnose the problem and give you an estimate of what needs to be done and how much it will cost.
Have you ever smelled fuel odors? This is not a pleasant smell. If you are driving around town in your car and start to smell fuel odors, you most likely have an issue with your engine. Most of the time this will happen when inefficient combustion is taking place in your fuel chambers. The fuel is not getting properly mixed with air and that is what causes fuel odors to occur.
These are all signs that your fuel injectors are dirty. It is important to get these checked out so you don’t experience worse problems in the future.
Types Of Fuel Injection
There are two different types of fuel injections. The first one is called direct injection. This injection serves all diesel-powered cars. The process includes injecting diesel fuel directly into the combustion chamber that holds the air. The reason for this is because this fuel takes longer to evaporate.
The second type of fuel injection is called indirect injection. This injection is a feature mostly on petrol-driven cars. This takes place when fuel gets injected into the inlet port where it mixes with air before combustion.
Combustion will produce carbon dioxide. As time goes on, carbon dioxide will build up in the injectors. When this happens, you will notice your car won’t accelerate as good and your fuel economy will significantly drop.
If you would like to eliminate these effects then a fuel injection service is necessary. This service will clean the injectors from all of the carbon dioxide deposits.
How Is A Fuel Induction Service Performed?
Often a mechanic will perform a fuel induction service because it can be complex. This procedure involves taking off the air filter to expose the throttle body. All of these components work directly with the engine. If you don’t know how engines work, you should not do this procedure on your own. You could end up damaging the engine even worse and then have to spend more money than the fuel induction service itself.
When Should I Get My Fuel System Cleaned?
If you think your car is not running like it normally does, you should take your car into an auto repair shop to see if you need a fuel induction service. There are a few signs to look out for when determining if you should get this procedure done. One of the symptoms is a slower pick up when you step on your gas pedal. Your car will slowly accelerate to pick up speed.
Another symptom you might notice is your car shaking and vibrating while you are driving it. Lastly, you will notice that your fuel efficiency is lower because your engine has to work harder. Take your car into the auto shop if you start to experience any of the symptoms above.
Cleaning The Throttle Body
There are special tools that mechanics utilize to clean the throttle body. They also use a liquid substance that comes in a spray can to clean out the entire throttle body. To clean this, a mechanic will remove the throttle body from the engine and spray the entire thing down. The carbon deposits will build up all around the throttle body. These deposits look like black dust and are located all around the inside and outside of this part.
If you are using the spray substance to clean a throttle body, there are certain techniques on how to clean it. There are certain sensors that are installed directly onto the throttle body. If this liquid seeps deep into these sensors, they will stop working. If they stop working, worse problems will occur in the future.
These sensors are critical to the throttle bottle and very expensive to fix if they stop working. It is best to have a mechanic clean these so you don’t risk ruining the throttle body altogether.
Cleaning The Intake Valve
The valves are cleaned with a special spray as well. A mechanic will spray the liquid into the intake valves while the engine is running. The reason for doing this while the engine is running is so the liquid cleaner can clean the carbon deposits deep inside the valves. There are spots that a mechanic can’t reach so if the engine is running, the liquid will flow through those spots.
Benefits Of A Fuel System Cleaning
There are many different reasons why a fuel system cleaning will benefit your car.
Lubricate parts of the engine: The fuel system cleaning will lubricate different parts of your car such as the injectors, valves, and rings. One of the main benefits of keeping your parts lubricated is it will ensure your engine is functioning properly. This will keep your car driving at optimum speed and lower your chances of costly engine problems in the future.
Eliminate water from the fuel system: You never want water to sit in this system because when water and gas mix, combustion does not effectively work. This could cause your car to produce toxic fumes, which is very harmful for anyone driving in your car. The fuel induction service will ensure that all water within the system gets dried up.
Improve the environment: If combustion can’t properly take place in your engine, your car will continue to add pollution into the environment. You want this system to run properly so your car won’t produce soot-filled emissions. This drastically reduces pollution.
Engine durability: Think about what happens when something is plugged up. It won’t work properly. The same concept applies here. If your car’s fuel system is clogged, your engine won’t work properly. It will have to work extra hard to function, which will affect the entire car. Once you get this cleaned out you will notice that your car acceleration performs much better.
Fuel efficiency: If your engine has to work harder, your car will have to use up more fuel. When you clean out the fuel system, you will be able to cover more mileage for every gallon of fuel. You will be able to save money on gas and enjoy driving around in your car.
Enhances your car: If your car parts are well lubricated, your systems can run for thousands of miles. This means that your engine is functioning properly and the car parts are experiencing much less wear and tear. Your car will last much longer if you keep the engine working properly.
Is A Fuel Induction Service Worth It?
You might be wondering, is a fuel induction service worth my money? The answer to that question is yes. With that being said, you don’t need to go overboard on the cleaning and get one done every 60,000 miles. However, it is important to keep up with proper maintaining because it could help you keep lower fuel costs and save your engine for a longer period of time.
Yes, fuel injections can be expensive, but they help you keep your vehicle in the best possible shape as it ages. Allowing carbon deposits to pile up will create big problems for you in the future. This could greatly impact your engine and cause worse problems. Fuel induction services are well worth the money so that you can keep your engine running great and ultimately save money in the long run.
Conclusion
If you notice that your car is not driving as smoothly as it normally does, you might need to get a fuel induction service to clean out the entire system. Sometimes dealerships will encourage you to get one when your car reaches 30,000 miles. Always refer to your car owner manual to see what the car manufacture recommends. An auto repair shop will also be able to give you advice on when you should get a fuel induction service.
A repair shop will run an inspection an answer all of your questions regarding your engine. If they see a lot of carbon deposits, they will suggest that you get a fuel induction service so that you don’t damage your engine. You want to avoid that at all costs because repairing an engine is incredibly costly.
Remember to keep your engine in great shape so if the time comes for you to junk your car, you can bring it in for some extra cash! We will pay you cash for your car so you can put that money towards buying a new one.Contact us today for a quote!