[jcourcoul]

Bimmer succumbed last week in what turned out to be one very dead fuel pump. Today, a week after replacement, it got cranky in the morning and did a number by refusing to start. It would crank fine, catch and turn for a second or two then die, finally managing to start after half a dozen tries. Two separate times it repeated the act.

Given that I absolutely cannot be car-less this particular weekend, took it to the nearest mechanic capable of doing something about it, aka The Dealer (couple of blocks from home, could have pushed it in a pinch...). Making Murphy proud, the car refused to fail in their presence. Then, miracle of miracles, dealer refused to take it in, saying that since there were no codes, no warning lights and no failures, result would be depriving me of the car with no warranty of ever finding a failure. "Maybe a speck of dirt got stuck somewhere and caused the fail, probably passed thru and is history" is literally what they said.

So, after this long rant, the focus of the thread: what additive have you ever added to a Bimmer's gas tank to clean out the injectors, remove contaminants and make it better? Did it work?

P.S. Fast Bob's idea of a stuck check valve in the fuel rail becomes ever more attractive, although the original pump was quite dead. Tried to energize it after draining the fuel and it will not go.

 

[AlboBMW]

It's hard to say if additives do work, because I haven't seen any data. I still use Techron here and there, hoping it dome some good.

 

[SJBimmer]

I second the techron. Best bang for the buck IMHO

 

[Fast Bob]

Techron is about the only thing I would consider using....good luck !

 

[Starless]

I used Techron once. Great noticeable results while in tank, car feels much peppier. But after refill, it gets back to where it was, which made me upset. Once you know how it can run, you do not want to go back...

They say that cleaning the engine with seafoam produces longer lasting results...I'll be doing it next time I change plugs and fuel filter.

 

[jcourcoul]

Well, Techron is the easiest to obtain locally. Seafoam is unknown in these parts.

I'll be doing it next time I change plugs and fuel filter.

That's a good point. If the tank is in an unknown condition, a shot of cleaner will probably dislodge debris that will end up in the filter, hence a change will be mandatory afterwards.

 

[Solidjake]

Chevron techron

 

[MicahO]

Techron gets a yes, pretty much any time. Gas doesn't spend enough time in my tank to get me worried about h2o vapor build-up and the need for drygas. If the car sits a lot, or if the gas spends much time in the tank, you might want to consider some Sta-bil or something. Not sure what gas is like in Mexico, but the ethanolated crap that we have in the US now doesn't last a month without absorbing water.

Looking back, I've also run a can of Ventil Sauber and then Jectron in the tanks of gas leading up to an oil change, not every time, but 3-4 times over 80K miles.

 

[conzbmw]

I drove my car till the warning light was on and gased it with Chevron 94 and put a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in there..I felt a slight difference afterwards.

 

[roverT]

I've used this a month ago to clean things out on a 600 mile highway trip. Never had a problem with it so far.

 

[Rich_Jenkins]

It's hard to say if additives do work, because I haven't seen any data. I still use Techron here and there, hoping it dome some good.

:stupid: Although, it's more of a hope than science I'm afraid.