How much to clean a throttle body and fuel injectors?

[colt45er]

How much to clean a throttle body and fuel injectors?

Well I had to take my car to the dealer this morning because I was getting an ECM failure. Luckily it is covered under warranty (2007 Chevy Cobalt).

The dealer called and said that the tech. noticed that the fuel injectors are gummed up and so is the throttle body. Car has about 48,000 miles on it. Is this normal?

How hard would it be to do myself? While I do not know a lot about cars and I mechanically inclined and can figure out just about anything.

He said it would be $129.99 for the fuel injectors and $59.99 for the throttle body cleaning. Is this high? Good? Should I try it myself?

Thanx INGO!

 

[Buckaroo]

Does it run bad? Will they guarantee that this will fix the problem (or refund your $ if not)? Most of this is BS and just a way to take you hard earned $ IMO.

Buckaroo

 

[LEaSH]

That's not a lot of money for a newer car. The relatively low mileage makes me wonder, though.
Try a canister of BG's 44K. It was the only thing that I used in my 22RE and it gave me 400k miles and is still going to the guy I gave it to.

Of course, try not to buy gasoline where you have been. they might have bad tanks or supplier.

 

[Sailor]

Buy a can of sea foam for the injectors, dump it in the tank.

Get a can of throttle body cleaner and find an online forum for how to clean the TB. Thats what I did. Easy as pulling of the air intake and spraying it in. Sure there are no dirty sensors? MAF?

 

[jtmarine1911]

My question is if you took it in for an ECM failure why they had the injectors out of it? And if they didn't have the injectors out, how did they know that multi-port injectors were gummed? As for the throttle body, on these engines no fuel passes through those, it is more of a air throttle plate than a throttle body.

EDIT: Now if it were an older 2.2L like what I have in my 91 Cavalier then it would be more believable since the injectors in it are in a throttle body which is like a carb where the air and fuel are mixed.

I would tell them no thanks, sounds more like an attempt to make some $$.

I recommend that you just start running some fuel treatment or injector cleaner on occasion. WARNING: Don't use injector cleaner with great frequency like every fill up, it can actually cause damage to the injectors if too much is used to often by dissolving the glue that holds the injector solenoid to the injector body.

Hope this helps!

 

[JustGone]

Sea Foam is cool if you use it through the intake..puffs white cloud out of the exhaust for a bit

 

[No Time to Shoot]

Dodge did the same thing to me with my 2005 Durango. I told them no went to Autozone bought a bottle of Sea Foam and put it in the tank. Also bought a can of carb cleaner took the throttle body off and sprayed it clean wiped it off and put it back on. It was gummed up really bad but I wasn't going to pay someone for something I could do for $10. You will be surprised at how dirty your throttle body can get on a fuel injected car!

 

[Buckaroo]

Sea Foam is your friend indeed!

Buckaroo

 

[jtmarine1911]

Sea Foam is your friend indeed!

Buckaroo

 

[danielocean03]

I'm calling BS on the fuel injectors, they're trying to make some $$$

 

[danielocean03]

Buy your fuel at Shell or BP, or anywhere with a lot of "pump-action" that will get fresh fuel delivered often. Also, get 2 cans of BG 44K additive and run those through the next couple of tanks of fuel. If you injectors are "gummed up", that should do the trick, that stuff is magic. As for the throttle body, get some sensor-safe throttle body cleaner aerosol cans and some Scott Shop Towels On A Roll (Blue fabric-like paper towels, almost no lint). Spray down the SSTOAR's with the TB cleaner, wipe it out, the bore and the throttle plate, you should be good to go for under $40.

 

[danielocean03]

Here are some online stores for the BG 44K, it's not typically available in stores. Trust me, this is some of the best fuel additive out there.

BG 44k - Google Product Search

 

[tyler34]

Buy a can of sea foam for the injectors, dump it in the tank.

Get a can of throttle body cleaner and find an online forum for how to clean the TB. Thats what I did. Easy as pulling of the air intake and spraying it in. Sure there are no dirty sensors? MAF?

big ditto on this!

 

[fireball168]

You're being upsold.

Take the warranty repair ECM and thank them for the time they spent "looking" at the rest of the vehicle.

 

[DHolder]

Were do you get the bg 44k? I have used Sea Foam for years but if there is something better. By the way, keep in mind guys... if your car has a real problem, mechanics dont come in a can. The products mentioned here will clean an injector, help clean carbon. But only a trained mechanic can fix a problem.

 

[WoodWizard]

A can of injector cleaner to a full tank about every other fill up will clean them up,
then a can for maintenence every few months. A whole lot cheaper than the dealer.

 

[danielocean03]

Were do you get the bg 44k? I have used Sea Foam for years but if there is something better. By the way, keep in mind guys... if your car has a real problem, mechanics dont come in a can. The products mentioned here will clean an injector, help clean carbon. But only a trained mechanic can fix a problem.

See above for the bg 44k, it's available online. I've had great luck with the stuff, it's approved by many manufacturers.

I've had good luck with seafoam as well, they'll likely render similar results.

And you're 100% correct about the technician/mechanic being the real fix. In this case, it just sounds like a dealership trying to re-coup some losses after getting shafted on a warranty repair.

 

[Remington1100]

You will need to get a bottle of Wynn's VIC, the stuff blows seafoam out of the water, and a fuel injector cleaner kit. A couple of weeks ago we did this at my school, and it make 90's vehicles run like they are brand new. If you do this, do not dump it in your tank because it is so powerful it will eat up the sock on your fuel pump and then you will really have problems, it has to be injected via the fuel rail.

 

[fireball168]

See above for the bg 44k......it's approved by many manufacturers.

Many dealers and manufacturers hand the bill for subsequent catalyst failure due to the use of 44K right back to BG.

Catalyst efficiency codes often show up within the first 2000 miles after a "treatment", far less if the customer drives within the guidelines required to run the catalyst monitor.

This stuff was wrecking catalysts 20+ years ago, and is still doing a knock up job today.


There is no need for this kind of garbage to be introduced on a modern well maintained vehicle.

Stick with what the manufacturer recommends, and leave it at that.

 

[danielocean03]

Many dealers and manufacturers hand the bill for subsequent catalyst failure due to the use of 44K right back to BG.

Catalyst efficiency codes often show up within the first 2000 miles after a "treatment", far less if the customer drives within the guidelines required to run the catalyst monitor.

This stuff was wrecking catalysts 20+ years ago, and is still doing a knock up job today.


There is no need for this kind of garbage to be introduced on a modern well maintained vehicle.

Stick with what the manufacturer recommends, and leave it at that.

Care to reference that? I've never heard anything close to that, but I'd love to know more.