Has anyone used engine cleaners before or have any thoughts on how effective they may or may not be? I once used some system cleaner in my previous car from a brand called Forte which was recommended by a local mechanic, and the product claimed to get all the way through to the cat.

There are loads of other brands out there to, which all claim to regain lost BHP and reduce emissions.

Effective products?

I have used Forte before and found it the best i have ever used. I was going to bring this topic up about engine flushes, and how safe they are to use on turbo engines. Any time i have done my own oil changes i always leave the sump plug of for a long time to get as much of the old oil out. The bit that worries me is the oil feed pipe to the turbos, do they freely drain all the oil out when the engines not running, so theres no oil flush left in the bearings.

I just used Forte as an example but it helped me get through an MOT with my previous car. I was also wondering how safe they are on turbo cars, although I haven't seen anything anywhere that says they can't be used.

I was just wondering how effective or safe people thought they were. Hopefully someone will come along with more knowledge

Most manufacturers stipulate in their manuals that fuel or engine additives should not be used.

An engine that is serviced correctly and run on good quality fuel shouldn't ever need an engine cleaner / flush.

Any debris / deposits you remove are going to do more damage as they pass through the system than they would left in situ.

Stay well away would be my advice.

Silver I think you missed the point on this one, we are talking about engine flush ( goes in the oil) not a engine additive. It get used before you drop the old oil, you let the engine run for about 10 mins on idle to break the oil down and any gunk build up.

I did say fuel or engine additives.

An engine flush being an engine additive.

From the manual...

Caution!

You must not pour any additives into the engine oil - risk of engine damage!

Damage, which results from such product, are excluded from the warranty.

See here too:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=21313

It's not a additive in the context you mean. The flush is there to help clean the engine for a oil change., so once you have drained the old oil with the flush in it. You then put new oil with no flush in. What they mean by additives, is chemicals that go in the fuel/oil on a day to basis.

I always use engine flush when doing oil changes

I apologise, I probably didn't make myself very clear to start off with. I was talking about cleaning products that you put in the petrol tank (which was what I was referring to when I mentioned a cleaner reaching all the way to the CAT). I was also talking about the engine flush kind of product that meta55b is.

I didn't want to waffle on for ages trying to explain myself, so I kind of put them under the same umbrella. My apologies! Please continue, as I'm interested to know

You should not need engine flush at all, regular oil & filter changes keep the internals clean.

I did say fuel or engine additives.

An engine flush being an engine additive.

From the manual...

Caution!

You must not pour any additives into the engine oil - risk of engine damage!had a read over this post again and see we're your coming from now, to me engine cleaner is the flush, to others it's a chemical to add to the oil or petrol/diesel to clean parts like the valves and such.

Damage, which results from such product, are excluded from the warranty.

See here too:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=21313

Sorry iPads playing up ^ Silver get what you mean now. You see engine cleaner as a chemical to clean the parts like the valves and such, to me I see it as the oil flush.

Volkswagen use an injector cleaner on services!! Its a £10 option!

So there!

Volkswagen use an injector cleaner on services!! Its a £10 option!

So there!

Luckily the OP drives a Skoda.

Seriously though, this has been discussed on here before, and the outcome was - they shouldn't be using it.

It voids the warranty and will put the dealer in a sticky situation in the event of issues within the warranty.

It's like screenwash and a top-up bottle of oil - any reason to slip an extra tenner on to the bill.

Its actually a main volkswagen dealership not a franchise and its on the vw service plan!

Interesting, do you know whereabouts this is listed?

I can't see any mention of it here...

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/fixed-price-servicing

They like to hit you with extra charges when you take your car in, for options you never thought of before. Happens in a lot of main dealers now, my last encounter was with a Toyota Stealer, "Flush Sir? to keep your engine nice and clean" £30 extra there .

Also offered there was Full car valet, MOT, First aid kit, European travel kit and Air filter, I kid you not, air filters are extra and not included in a service except on the major service every 4 years.

Edited 29 November, 201213 yr by Soot1e

Interesting, do you know whereabouts this is listed?

I can't see any mention of it here...

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/fixed-price-servicing

I will post a pic of invoice but they only mention it when the car goes in on the day of the service. The missus wanted it as it 'sounded good' so i had to get it! Grrrr

Use this

http://www.powerenhancer.co.uk/product.php/226/bg-44k-injector-cleaner--fuel-system-cleaner-and-carbon-remover