17 replies to this topic

[Exie]

Hi Folks,

Was just driving around, and stopped in at Bursons to pick up some Injector Cleaner stuff (hasnt had any for about 20K).

So I was looking at the shelf and saw this green bottle called "FuelX", thought why not. So I followed the instructions, dropped it in,
went to drive off, but the car wont start! WTF!

It turns over, but just wont fire. Looking at the bottle it says "Works less than 1 min", its not working for me! I phoned the company and they insisted a zillion times "oh, its just coincidence, it cannot possibly be anything to do with our product", typical! So the car is now getting towed to my mechanic to work out what the damage is.

Has anyone used this stuff before ? Any guesses what it might be ?

[XXB4XX]

How much fuel did you have in the tank when you added it in? From memory FUELX needs a full tank, and needs it to be used up quite quickly.. I remember from back in my supercheap days that stuff was potent.. It's been around for a while.. (next time stick with NULON injector cleaner.. Aussie made and owned and works!)

It still shouldn't stop the car from starting completely though..

If you only had half or quarter tank, try and fill the rest up with normal fuel, when you go to start the car, do it with the pedal to the floor.

[RX25SE]

I am very wary of these fuel additives.

IMO you would be better off purchasing good quality fuel fom a high turnover site, replacing the fuel filter more often and removing the injectors every 100,000kms for a service and flow test.

I would have thought I would a least try to fire on the untreated fuel sitting behind the injectors.
Perhaps it is a different fault.

Try as XXB4XX suggests. This will set the ECU to 'clear flood' mode. If it wont show any sign of a fire, start looking at the ignition system.

[skillionaire]

Hi,

I have about 230L of jet fuel that you can purchase.

PM me.

Cheers,
Nik

[aekOne]

i don't know how to solve your problem but i will just add that i've only ever used the subaru fuel additive and have never had any issues with it what so ever

[XXB4XX]

isn't the Subaru stuff rebranded and over-priced Wynns? LOL..

Well you can't go wrong with the Subaru stuff, and as I said, been using Nulon for years, and still using it in my current tank now!

[Delete This Account]

Hi,

I have about 230L of jet fuel that you can purchase.

PM me.

Cheers,
Nik

How much?

[aekOne]

isn't the Subaru stuff rebranded and over-priced Wynns? LOL..

Well you can't go wrong with the Subaru stuff, and as I said, been using Nulon for years, and still using it in my current tank now!

haha yeah it probably is. i got it from a mate who was closing down a workshop and had a few boxes of Subaru UEC, Fuel Additive, Coolant and Oil Filters to get rid of

[B4TT]

I am very wary of these fuel additives.

IMO you would be better off purchasing good quality fuel fom a high turnover site, replacing the fuel filter more often and removing the injectors every 100,000kms for a service and flow test.

I would have thought I would a least try to fire on the untreated fuel sitting behind the injectors.
Perhaps it is a different fault.

Try as XXB4XX suggests. This will set the ECU to 'clear flood' mode. If it wont show any sign of a fire, start looking at the ignition system.

So much Truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate fuel additives - I do things properly.

[RX25SE]

Hi,

I have about 230L of jet fuel that you can purchase.

PM me.

Cheers,
Nik

How much?

It won't work in the B4 Tom, it's kerosene!

[Delete This Account]

It won't work in the B4 Tom, it's kerosene!

I'll make it work.

[B4TT]

Run your car on lemon juice.

[skillionaire]

Hi,

I was joking. It's not really jet fuel, it's helicopter fuel. That bit is actually true.

Anyway, carry on.

Cheers,
Nik

[XXB4XX]

hahah I can get you a couple litres of C16?

[Exie]

How much fuel did you have in the tank when you added it in? From memory FUELX needs a full tank, and needs it to be used up quite quickly.. I remember from back in my supercheap days that stuff was potent.. It's been around for a while.. (next time stick with NULON injector cleaner.. Aussie made and owned and works!)

It still shouldn't stop the car from starting completely though..

If you only had half or quarter tank, try and fill the rest up with normal fuel, when you go to start the car, do it with the pedal to the floor.

Hey Folks,

Yeah, I used to use a bottle of Nulon stuff every 3-6 months in my old car and never had a problem. Found it had a 0.1% improvement. This is the first time I've added anything to the Subie and obviously regret it! I had over half a tank of BP Ultimate in it, I'd filled up on the Sat. before and didnt add any fuel at the time of the addative, so theres not alot of other variables that might have caused this.

I still dont have a final verdict on this, the workshop plumbed "clean" fuel out of a drum directly into the fuel line and it fired up ok, so it looks like the injectors and engine is still good. He then drained the tank and put some fresh clean fuel in, but still no joy. So on Christmas Eve he's going to drop the tank out and pull the fuel pump out and try to work out whats happening.

Of course we'll probably have no chance of getting any parts on Christmas Eve if needed, so it's not likely to be running till after the holiday. I'm hoping it's as simple as some dirt been washed up and cloged/blocked the pump or filter, but we'll find out tomorrow hopefully.

[Exie]

Hi Folks,

You wont believe it (or maybe you will?) but the problem was not the additive!

Turns out an amazing co-incidence, between pull up at Bursons, switching the engine off and going to start it the transponder in the key broke!

The mechanic was pulling his hair out, the lead-up to the problem and the test above all pointed to a fuel problem. He finally found the fuel was flowing and the injectors working, but no signal from the ECU. I simply brought my spare key in, and presto!

So he helped organise a new key, got it cut and programmed so I can keep the spare. Its such a fluke to happen whilst I was adding the stuff! At any rate I've got a new fuel filter and clean tank now also.

[faithfulforrie]

Don't waste money on additives with flashy labels. You can do the same thing or better with acetone. Yes, acetone, nail polish remover or whatever you want to call it. A word of caution though -dont race out and put a litre of it in every tank of fuel.
As stated earlier, get yer fuel from a high-turnover servo. That reduces the likelihood of shite in the fuel.
You should only need to run a cleaner through when you've been running low and the motor's a bit rough, or you've got a tank full of dirty water from a 7-11(hush my mouth), or the one where uncle Merv fills up the ute/tractor/bike etc.
Annnnyyyway - acetone at 0.7mL per litre of fuel in the tank will dissolve any water, gum, sludge and other forms of foreign shite in the tank and lines. It wont do miracles tho, and injectors will still be blocked by solid particles.
And despite the doomsayers, it won't f*** seals. I used it in every tank in my truck, but diesels are a whole different story.
I've found the Forrie does just fine on RON95 and acetone maybe every 2nd month as needed.
hope this helps
Greg
for more reading: Google
"Acetone as a fuel additive"

[Jovi]

Stay away from fuel add-ons in new-er cars from 2000 onwards they do more damage to the fuel lines injectors return regulators etc of the fuel system...

My advice to you would be drain the tank change spark plugs clean injectors and lines change fuel filter and fresh fuel and go from there...