3M 08963 Do-It Yourself Fuel System Tune Up Kit

[XLNTShine]

Vehicle Info:

2004 Chevy Cavalier 2.0L Ecotec 5-speed Manual
107,384 Miles

Plugs and plug boots were changed at 103,000 miles as well as oil and air filter. The car runs Mobil 1 synthetic oil just for those that care. To make sure that the test was accurate I elected not to change the engine oil and filter until I go through one tank of fuel after using the 3M kit.I also did not clean/change the air filter nor did I check or change tire pressure. I wanted the car to be the same before the kit and after to evaluate any benefits of the kit in MPG. Prior to the kit the car was filled with Exxon 87 octane and the MPG was 22.7 !!! The car in the past has gotten over 32MPG so even the tune-up at 103K miles did not improve fuel MPG.

Tools Used:

3M Fuel System Tune-Up Kit
Screw Drive - flat head
Vise Grips - Needle nose as well as Std
Black Electrical Tape
Shop Towels

Using the kit:

This is the engine before I started.

First locate the throttle body, here is the clamp holding the air box to the TB. (On the Ecotec it is under the black air box you see in the pic above)

Remove the clamp holding the air box to the TB.

Next using the regular vise grips remove the crank case vacuum hose from the valve/cam cover. I prefer to use vise grips with the spring steel clamps found on most newer vehicles. There is a tool made just for these clamps but a vise grip plier works well. Be careful not to grip the clamp so hard you bent the travel limiting tab.

After removing the intake hoses, unplugging the IAT sensor and the vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator remove the air box from the TB. Here is the TB before cleaning.

Next unpack the kit, it includes three products instructions on paper and a DVD showing how to use the product.

This is the intake system cleaner. Note the hose attached to the can, this is not removable.

The directions tell you to un-coil the hose and then place the end of the hose 1/4" in front of the TB blade. The directions say to place the hose end at the 12 o'clock position. I chose the 6 o'clock position to keep the liquid from being pulled into the IAC port and servo. The instructions also tell you not to trim to much off the end of the hose to make clearance in-front of the TB blades. I elected to bend the hose into a smaller U-bend and hold the bend with black electrical tape. I also used black electrical take to hold the hose in position in on the TB. The instructions say the intake boot can be used to do this but not on this application. (The pink you see on the TB blade is the cleaning solution after doing this step)

After the cleaner hose is is place, reinstall all the intake hoses, plug in sensors, and connect lines.

Next Start the car and allow it to reach operating temperature. ( I did this by driving the car before starting) Using the needle nose vise grips clamp the throttle body shaft/cable/fuel pedal to raise the engine RPMs by 500 above normal idle. Instructions say to increase to 1000RPM but this engine idles higher then 500RPM so I set the RPM to 1200 RPM. (This is to move product through the intake manifold as well as ensure the product has room to be pulled past the TB blade and not pool or be pulled into the IAC servo motor and port.

Here is the car with the RPM set.

Next you want to depress the locking tab on the cleaner can and run the car until the can is empty. This should take approx. 15 minutes. (MAKE SURE THE A/C AND HEAT ARE TURNED OFF)

Then the can is empty shut off the car and remove all the intake boots, hoses, connectors, and lines to gain access to the TB. Remove the cleaner hose from the TB. Here again is the after pic from the intake cleaner. Also remove the clamp or vise grips you used to hold the engine at RPM.

Next get the can of TB cleaner.

Prep the can by removing the blue locking tab and inserting the red straw into the spray head.

Spray the cleaner into the TB opening. Spray the face of the blade, some into the IAC port, and the pivot points for the shaft.

Next use the needle nose vise grips to hold the TB blade wide open and spray cleaner on the back side of the blade.

Next work the TB blade open and closed while spraying the cleaner on the shaft going through the TB. Do this for 10-15 seconds and then continue to work the TB blade open and closed for 1 min.

Take a rag or shop towel and spray some cleaner into the TB while holding the blades wide open. Make sure you spray all the way around the TB housing and hit the blade for good measure. Then take a towel or soft brush and wipe away the carbon and oil. I did this until the towel was coming out clean. (Here is the towel after)

Here is the TB after cleaning.

Reassemble the intake system, and be sure to hook everything back up and plug in all the sensors. Make sure all the clamps are tight!

All put back together...

Next grab the fuel cleaning additive.

The additive treats up to 20 gallons at a ration of 1:20. Additional additive is available at most NAPA stores. Add this to the tank. Then drive the car for 10-15 minutes.

Keep in mind that when starting the car for the first time after cleaning the TB it may be hard to start. If you can not get the car to start after cranking for 10 seconds wait 5 minutes for the starter to cool off and then start the car using the flooded process. Press the throttle all the way to the floor and crank the engine. This shuts off the fuel injectors in an attempt to clear out excess raw fuel. Be ready to back off the throttle after the engine starts!!


Initial Results:

The engine feels like it is running smoother. Part throttle tip in seems to be improved as well. Stay tuned for a MPG update after running the fuel additive in this tank of fuel. We will see if I gain any MPG from the cleaning kit.

Impressions:

Overall this system is pretty easy to use. I would say of you can change your own spark plugs, its thougher then oil, or you have a repair manual for your car our should be able to use this kit with out any issues. The intake system cleaner is an unknown as you could not get a visual before and after due to the position of the TB and I also do not own a bore scope. (Anyone have one they want to loan out and I will do this on another vehicle.) The TB cleaner spray is effective but the can is not full. They say you don't need much and they are correct! The fuel system additive is a tough one as well. With out putting the injectors on a test stand a looking at spray pattern and flow before and after there is no real way to tell.

The Seat Of your Pants test tells me the car idles smoother and accelerates smother. Sorry for the lack of live engine data, someone took home the laptop with Autoenginuity installed on it Friday and didn't tell me. I will attempt to use this kit on another vehicle and capture that data.

ALSO ON SOME VEHICLES YOU WILL SEE A STICKER THAT SAYS NOT TO CLEAN THE TB!! DO NOT USE THIS KIT ON THOSE VEHICLES!!! The TB is coated and removing this will cause excess build up in the future. I have seen this most often on Ford and Mazda vehicles. This kit does not warn you about this!

CATALYTIC CONVERTER ISSUES: Also some catalytic converters are not compatible with some intake system cleaners. I know certain Toyota vehicles are not, and they will melt down and spew molten material from the seams (HOW DO I KNOW?? LOL) . This kit did not say anything about compatibility issues.

 

[XLNTShine]

BTW a big thanks to Autogeek for giving me this product to review!! Im the MAN

 

[sohail99]

Wow! Nice review!! :xyxthumbs:

I'm really looking forward to more results!

Need a kit like this for self servicing!

 

[fancyfootwork]

Very well written and informative write up! Good job!!

 

[XLNTShine]

Thanks guys. I got another kit at NAPA today for $34.. so its not a bad deal at all. I think one of the benifits to a kit like this is the fact you dont have to invest in any equipment. This product advertises to clean the intake, valves, and combustion area using the intake cleaner. I would say this works as I have used systems like this before.

Call me a skeptic but I have never been a big fan additives you pour in the tank to clean injectors. This will be the test that confirms they work for me. If I can see an increase in MPG I will believe it works. My driving style is consistant, and the car goes to and from work 5 days a week. Never leaves for lunch runs, and almost never leaves the drive way on the weekend. All in all any change in MPG should be observable with in reason.

I have never added anything to this cars fuel, but I always try to run name brand fuel!!

 

[ride5150]

Thanks guys. I got another kit at NAPA today for $34.. so its not a bad deal at all. I think one of the benifits to a kit like this is the fact you dont have to invest in any equipment. This product advertises to clean the intake, valves, and combustion area using the intake cleaner. I would say this works as I have used systems like this before.

Call me a skeptic but I have never been a big fan additives you pour in the tank to clean injectors. This will be the test that confirms they work for me. If I can see an increase in MPG I will believe it works. My driving style is consistant, and the car goes to and from work 5 days a week. Never leaves for lunch runs, and almost never leaves the drive way on the weekend. All in all any change in MPG should be observable with in reason.

I have never added anything to this cars fuel, but I always try to run name brand fuel!!

$34?! you really can get all 3 items at any auto parts store for much cheaper. of course they wont come with a DVD, but if you semi-know what youre doing you wont have a problem. im assuming the "air intake cleaner" is something like seafoam deep creek, you can use any brand you like of throttle body cleaner and fuel injector cleaner. ive heard good things about lucas fuel injector cleaner.

total itll be $20 tops...i know the oreilly's i worked at sold this 3M kit for around $50...definately not worth the money IMHO

 

[XLNTShine]

$34?! you really can get all 3 items at any auto parts store for much cheaper. of course they wont come with a DVD, but if you semi-know what you're doing you wont have a problem. I'm assuming the "air intake cleaner" is something like seafoam deep creek, you can use any brand you like of throttle body cleaner and fuel injector cleaner. ive heard good things about Lucas fuel injector cleaner.

total it'll be $20 tops...i know the oreilly's i worked at sold this 3M kit for around $50...definately not worth the money IMHO

I think these kits are for up-selling the customer, and displays. Also there are a lot of folks that do not see the need in spending $80+ at Jiffy Boob and $100+ at a dealer to do a fuel system cleaning. This kit is for those people who don't know everything there is to know about cars and what THREE products to buy off the shelf. Also any additive that can be run in diesel fuel as well as gasoline is a waste of money IMHO! <--- see Lucas. Lucas does do a good job marketing their snake oils. Find a dedicated product!

3M has always made quality products. I see this as being the case with this product.


This kit does what I expect it is marketed to do! Give the DIY person something in one box and tell them how to SAFELY use it!

After many years as a Technician I can keep going on and on about this.... but we would need to start getting into how injectors are designed, hot engine shut down... Do we have to go there??

I would be happy to explain how each part of the kit works and what issues it is looking to resolve and why they are issues in the FIRST PLACE! :xyxthumbs:

 

[sohail99]

^I'd love to hear about the issues and how it resolves them! :xyxthumbs:

 

[IID]

I think your review was very helpful,detailed,and informative XLNTShine.
Thank You for your time doing it.

 

[XLNTShine]

For the sake of time I will borrow some info from another source so I don't have to type all of this. We must first look at oil, as this is a major cause of deposits in and on your throttle body as well as your intake manifold.

Part 2: Motor Oil Breakdown What really Causes It?

First off, all oil breaks down. That generally will include base stocks and additives. Without focusing on performance characteristics, the most significant difference from one oil to another is how quickly breakdown occurs. Although there are many factors that contribute to the breakdown of an oil, heat is one of the most important. Depletion and decreased effectiveness of oil additives is also important, but that will be discussed later.

Petroleum oil begins to break-down almost immediately. A high quality synthetic, on the other hand, can last for many thousands of miles without any significant reduction in performance or protection characteristics. Synthetics designed from the right combination of base stocks and additives can last almost indefinitely with the right filtration system.

As alluded to above, the first major difference between petroleum and synthetic oil is heat tolerance. Flash point is the temperature at which an oil gives off vapors that can be ignited with a flame held over the oil. The lower the flash point the greater tendency for the oil to suffer vaporization loss at high temperatures and to burn off on hot cylinder walls and pistons.

The flash point can be an indicator of the quality of the base stock used. The higher the flash point the better. 400 degrees F is the absolute MINIMUM to prevent possible high consumption.

Today's engines are expected to put out more power from a smaller size and with less oil than engines of the past. Therefore, the engines run much hotter than they used to. That puts an increased burden on the oil.

Even the best petroleum oils will have flash points only as high as 390 and 440 degrees F. Some actually have flashpoints as low as 350 degrees. For today's hot running engines, this is not nearly enough protection. Just about any synthetic you come across will have a flashpoint over 440 degrees. Premium synthetics can have flashpoints over 450 degrees with some even reaching as high as 500 degrees. That's a big difference.

As a result, I think that it's quite obvious that these high- tech oils offer a substantial benefit when it comes to potential breakdown due to burn-off. Nevertheless, even though synthetics are MUCH less prone to burn-off than are petroleum oils, there is still some burn-off during extremely high temperature operation.

Thus, it becomes important to discuss the manner in which petroleum and synthetic oils burn off. As a refined product, petroleum oil molecules are of varying sizes. Thus, as a petroleum oil heats up, the smaller, lighter molecules begin to burn off first.

Since the ash content in many petroleum oils is higher than synthetics, deposits and sludge are left behind to coat the inside of your engine. Detergent and dispersant additives are used to keep these deposits to a minimum, but only so much can be done. Unless you're changing a petroleum oil every 2,000 to 3,000 miles some deposits are going to be left behind.

In addition, as smaller particles burn off, the larger, heavier molecules are all that is left to protect the engine. Unfortunately, these larger particles do not flow nearly as well and tend to blanket the components of your engine which only exacerbates the heat problem.

Synthetic oils, on the other hand, because they are not purified, but rather designed within a lab for lubrication purposes, are comprised of molecules of uniform size and shape. Therefore, even if a synthetic oil does burn a little, the remaining oil has the nearly the same chemical characteristics that it had before the burn off. There are no smaller molecules to burn-off and no heavier molecules to leave behind.

Moreover, many synthetics have very low ash content and little if any impurity. As a result, if oil burn-off does occur, there is little or no ash left behind to leave sludge and deposits on engine surfaces. Obviously, this leads to a cleaner burning, more fuel efficient engine.

As a side note (as it really has little bearing on when to change your oil), synthetics do a much better job of "cooling" engine components during operation. Because of their unique flow characteristics, engine components are likely to run 10 to 30 degrees cooler than with petroleum oils. This is important, because the hotter the components in your engine get, the more quickly they break down.



You can read more of his article here : Motor Oil Breakdown What really Causes It? : Motor Oil

Now that we know a little bit about oil we can see that the breaking down of oil results in gases, fine mist, and other things being evacuated by the crank case evacuation system. Another producer of dirt and sludge inside your intake system is oil being sheered by fast moving engine parts at high speeds. The oil can become somewhat of a mist just from the crankshaft and other parts moving through the oil. All of the above are not vented to atmosphere like old engines, they are pulled into the engine to be burned by the ignition event to reduce emissions.

There is no real way to eliminate these conditions 100% but there are things that can be done to reduce them. First off some manufacturers do a fine job in separating out solids and liquids before they are pulled out of the crank case. Other do not do a great job and if you look into it, there are some people who will put a type of catch can in-line with the vacuum line between the engine and the intake to allow material to be collected before it is sucked into the engine. These are drained when the collect material.

The use of quality oils and synthetics reduce many of the problem areas regular petroleum motor oils present. See above about flash points! Also see above about reduced operating temperatures. Regular motor oils can contain many things, heavy metals, friction modifiers, BEES WAX (Ever wonder why Pennzoil is dark coming out of the bottle? I know this was true as little as 5 years ago!!) all can contribute to engine deposits and vapors that need to be burnt off through combustion.

Both the 3M throttle body cleaner and intake cleaner both are in the kit for the purpose of cleaning up the deposits left behind when the hot vapors are cooled in the intake passages. I wish I had a bore scope so I could have provide visual evidence of the deposits being removed.

This is just a SMALL explanation of how motor oils factor into intake deposits.

 

[XLNTShine]

Lets look at fuel injectors and how they become inefficient or dirty....

Fuel is supplied by your fuel pump at say 40psi as an example. In the picture above you see the return spring, this spring is what holds the injector closed against the fuel pressure. When the injector is energized the solenoid is lifted allowing fuel to flow down the injector to the nozzle or tip. When this happens in a good injector we should see something like this.....

Over time an injector can become weak mechanically, but most often an injector becomes dirty. This dirt most often is a collection of deposits left on the injector tip when an engine is shut down. This happens over time, its just the little bead of fuel that happens to be left on the tip when shut down. This drop of fuel can be caused by other deposits on the injector, or by a mechanically weak injector. This is often what happens when you hear someone say an injector is leaking down. This problem is compounded when injectors accumulate enough deposits to interfere with the spray pattern. The heat in the engine causes the liquid to evaporate and what is left behind are the solids.

Example of dirty injector spray pattern :

Here is a dirty injector, what you are looking for is the dark color in the center of the injector. These are deposits left on the tip. This type of build up can cause a narrowing of the spray pattern.

Below we can see other types of deposits causing fuel spray pattern issues. These injectors are showing both external deposits and internal deposits.

In addition to cleaning deposits from crank case fumes being deposited on the intake system, the 3M intake cleaner is also cleaning these external deposits by turning what is a "DRY" intake system into a type of atomizer to move the cleaner over, around, and onto the external parts of the fuel injector.

The internal deposits are being cleaned by the 3M additive we pour in the tank. I said I am a skeptic when it comes to tank additives cleaning the internals of an injector and with out putting them on a test stand to prove results I will still be a skeptic. Even if I do not 100% think the additives are effective in cleaning the internal parts of the injector as effectively as ultrasonic cleaning and solvents, I do not think they are going to hurt either.

 

[XLNTShine]

Filtering the PCV system has benefits in many applications. Here is what a common filter looks like. This type of device is what I was referring to in the earlier post.

This one is by Lingenfelter but there are others, and many people make their own.

 

[Meghan]

Great review!!! Thanks

 

[XLNTShine]

Your Welcome... sorry I went a bit overboard on the explanation. I could keep going but I figured I would leave well enough alone. If anyone wanted more info they would ask.

Hope you had a nice Holiday!

William

 

[XLNTShine]

Prior to the kit the car was filled with Exxon 87 octane and the MPG was 22.7 !!! The car in the past has gotten over 32MPG so even the tune-up at 103K miles did not improve fuel MPG.

Update:

As noted above the car was getting 22.7 MPG when checked before the kit. After running 1/2 a tank of treated fuel through the car I decided to fill up today and check the MPG. As of this morning the fuel mileage was 29.1 MPG. The treated fuel was from the same station Exxon and 87 octane, nothing else was changed during the testing. The oil, air filter, tire pressure were not changes, cleaned, or adjusted before during the test.

Other things worth noting... The car seems to start easier. This is not observed with a scan tool only by ear and feel. The car cranks and fires almost instantly, seems a bit faster then before the kit and cleaning. Idle seems to have smoothed out s bit and the acceleration from a dead stop and highway speeds when passing all seem to be improved. I would not say the average driver would notice a huge improvement but I notice a difference.

Overall I would recommend the kit to others. Follow the directions and you should be fine. This kit is every bit as good as anything a dealer or quick lube place is going to offer at about half the price.

One thing I would recommend, change your fuel filter after running the treated tank of fuel. Any deposits, varnish, or oxidation that was in the tank or lines that the cleaner did break loose should be trapped in the filter. This would be to ensure that the filter did not become clogged and is bypassing to allow fuel to reach the engine.

Thanks again to Autogeek for providing this kit free for testing and review!

 

[XLNTShine]

rops: WOW I know there must be some other variable causing these results to be as extreme as they are. Did the calculation and that is a 28% increase. Temperatures this week have been hotter than the previous week, but the humidity has been down from the 70% range to the mid to low 50% range. I will update this again after I run another 1/2 tank of fuel and see if the results stay the same. My driving distance, and habits did not change from week to week.

Funny it did seem like the gage was staying up quite a bit longer then what I have observed recently.

William

 

[IID]

Wow,you can not get a more detailed review than that.Great Job XLNTShinerops:

 

[XLNTShine]

Thank you Sir!

 

[LegacyGT]

Wow you guys sure chose the right person to review this system!

 

[TurboToys]

rops: WOW I know there must be some other variable causing these results to be as extreme as they are. Did the calculation and that is a 28% increase. Temperatures this week have been hotter than the previous week, but the humidity has been down from the 70% range to the mid to low 50% range. I will update this again after I run another 1/2 tank of fuel and see if the results stay the same. My driving distance, and habits did not change from week to week.

Funny it did seem like the gage was staying up quite a bit longer then what I have observed recently.

William

if its been quite a long time since cleaning the fuel system and all that i wouldn't doubt it... having the injectors spray a finer mist and atomize the fuel better on every single intake stroke will definately increase the power per stroke and increase the fuel economy by restoring power. not to mention the effects of cleaning the spark plugs to get a much better spark. i am always sure to clean my fuel system once a year and people who have the exact same car and setup as me get nearly 10 mpg less than i do when driving on the interstate.