Why does nobody talk about cleaning injectors the old way vs. the new way?

I used to just dump a bottle of cleaner in the tank every oil change and call it done. Worked fine for years on my old truck. But last month I had a 2019 Freightliner come in with a rough idle that codes said was injector related. Customer didn't want to drop $2000 on new ones so I pulled them and ran them through an ultrasonic cleaner I borrowed from a buddy. Night and day difference. The idle smoothed out and the truck picked up 2 MPG on the highway. Now I'm wondering if I should invest in my own ultrasonic tank for the shop or keep sticking with the bottle-in-tank method. Has anyone else made the switch and seen real results like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannaho521mo ago

I get what you're saying, but I gotta respectfully disagree on the soak and air method. I tried that for years and always ended up with mixed results. The ultrasonic cleaner gets into those tiny passages that compressed air just can't reach. I had a set of injectors that looked clean after soaking but still ran rough until I ran them through the ultrasonic. The difference was real, especially on newer common rail stuff where the holes are super small. Solvent and air just doesn't compare when you're dealing with the baked on carbon that builds up over 100k miles.

taylor3051mo ago

Does your ultrasonic cleaner do anything special for injectors that a good soak in solvent and some compressed air can't handle? I ask because I've seen guys online swear by them but never got a straight answer on how much better they actually are compared to the old-school mechanical cleaning.

ericp671mo ago

Saw a diesel shop video saying ultrasonic breaks loose stuff that solvent just softens.