The Truth About Diesel Injector Cleaner. Does It Work?

Why You Should Use a Diesel Injector Cleaner

Estimated reading time 4:00

Do a web search for diesel injector cleaner or diesel fuel additive, and you’ll find an abundance of products and information. It’s often difficult to decide between one diesel injector cleaner from another.

Furthermore, many diesel fuel additives perform different functions, which makes it more challenging to select the one you need.

Diesel has many more properties that need protection compared to gas-powered engines, such as cetane rating, cold weather performance, and lubricity. A high-quality injector cleaner for diesel is one that tackles multiple issues.

With this in mind, there is one thing that requires no debate: Protecting your vehicle’s diesel fuel system is critical for reliability, power, and fuel mileage. For this reason, you should shop for a premium diesel fuel injector cleaner additive. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you should use a good diesel fuel injector cleaner.

Diesel Fuel Water Contamination

If you own a diesel vehicle and drive infrequently, you risk both water accumulating in the fuel and tank corrosion. All in all, it’s crucial to control the buildup of water in diesel fuel. It minimizes fuel degradation and the possibility of injector blowouts. Another key point is that water contributes to microbial growth in stored fuels.

Introduction of Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel

They introduced ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuels in 2006. ULSD was developed for safe use with improved pollution control devices, which reduce diesel emissions more effectively. However, they can be damaged by sulfur.
Equally important, there is a downside to ultra-low sulfur diesel. It can negatively impact both the performance of your diesel engine and fuel mileage. If your vehicle has an older diesel engine, it is safe to use ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
Today’s advanced, high-pressure diesel engines rely solely on the fuel to lubricate both the pump and injector. To that end, a good diesel injector cleaner additive can help.

ULSD has different lubricating qualities than previous diesel fuel. While it is a cleaner-burning fuel and contains 97% less sulfur than low-sulfur diesel (LSD), the process used to reduce the sulfur content also reduces the fuel’s lubricating properties. As a result, it leads to increased wear on the engine’s fuel injection systems.

Fuel delivery systems in compression ignition engines depend on fuel to lubricate and cool sliding contacts. At the same time, the lower energy content forces the engine to burn more fuel to create the same power output, resulting in poorer fuel economy.

Diesel Fuel Lubricity

A good diesel cleaner additive increases lost lubrication. What is diesel fuel lubricity? It’s a measurement of the fuel’s ability to prevent or minimize wear in components that rely on the fuel for lubrication.

Engine components that heavily rely on fuel for lubrication need fuel with higher lubricity. For instance, rotary/distributor-type fuel pumps solely rely on the fuel for lubrication.

On the other hand, a combination of the engine’s crankcase oil and the fuel lubricates an in-line fuel injection pump. Therefore, it is far less sensitive to the fuel’s lubricity.

Diesel Fuel Algae

Sludge, or diesel fuel algae, is a microbial biomass that forms because ULSDs like to attract moisture. The algae forms a jelly-like, slimy contaminant, which settles to the bottom of the fuel tank and can clog filters, injectors, and pumps. Therefore, you not only get poor performance and fuel economy but also increased wear on fuel system components, which are less than ideal.

VP Diesel All-In-One™ Fuel Conditioner (DAIO): More Than Just a Diesel Injector Cleaner

The VP Racing Fuels experts have formulated the world’s best specialty fuels for 50 years. VP used its fuel expertise and knowledge with attention to producing a single diesel fuel conditioner that performs like a Swiss army knife among diesel additives.

Diesel All-In-One is a complete fuel conditioner. Just one bottle will:

• Clean injectors, pumps, and replace lost lubrication.
• Disperse water, which protects the fuel tank from rust and corrosion.
• Fight against the formation of sludge, clean existing sludge deposits, and keep fuel flowing in cold winter months thanks to its anti-gel properties.
• Reduce smoking and boost diesel cetane by almost two full numbers, helping alleviate diesel knock while allowing your engine to run smoother and more quietly.

Give your diesel engine ultimate protection and enjoy better year-round performance.