Why do diesel injectors fail?
While there are multiple types of injectors for diesel engines, they all are affected and suffer from similar issues. The main purpose of the injector is to supply atomized fuel into the combustion chamber near the end of the combustion stroke where pressure and heat combusts all the fuel. Keeping a diesel engine operating correctly relies on the supply of air and fuel into the system working as intended by the manufacturer so keeping your fuel system (especially your injectors) working properly is a necessity to extend the life of your components and avoid premature failure.
There are two main reasons for injectors to fail:
Deposits
There are two types of injector deposits; injector nozzle deposits (coking) and internal diesel injector deposits (IDID). Deposits on your injectors affect the spray pattern by reducing the effective flow rate of the nozzles and the atomization of the fuel into the combustion chamber. Atomization of the fuel is incredibly important to the combustion process because it’s necessary for it to mix with the oxygen to achieve a complete and rapid combustion. Deposits on your injectors will reduce atomization, creating a weak or late combustion and then creating more deposits and unburnt fuel left within the exhaust instead of being converted into maximum power and torque. The injector spray pattern should look more like a mist than a stream, allowing each particle to combust on time. When the spray pattern looks more like a stream, the fuel takes longer to combust.
All these deposits can be safely cleaned and reduced by continued use of Archoil AR6500 Diesel Treatment (or AR6400-D if you need a rapid clean up of your fuel system). AR6500 incorporates a powerful dose of detergents, Archoil's proven combustion modifier technology and a strong cetane boost. The chemistry in the product leads to reduced soot and carbon build-up, cleaning up any injector deposits, restoring injector spray patterns and improving fuel quality to ensure a complete combustion, increasing power and MPG while reducing the creation of deposits.
The image below shows the difference in spray pattern before and after use of Archoil products.
Excessive Wear
The quality of diesel fuel also plays a big part in how your truck runs and the lifespan of your engine components. The diesel fuel system relies solely on fuel to lubricate the internal parts of injectors. The issue with lubricity of diesel at the pump is that the EPA regulates standards to a much lower level than that of the Engine Manufacturer’s Association. This means the fuel you are getting at the pump is unlikely to meet the lubricity level your vehicle requires.
Another issue faced by diesel owners - creating excessive wear in injectors - is from water contamination causing your fuel to lose even more lubricity. The best way to combat water contamination is to treat your fuel with an additive to disperse the water and protect the system by preventing corrosion, adding lubricity and maintaining your water separator filter.
One of the key benefits of using Archoil’s AR6500 Diesel Treatment is increasing lubricity to above the required standard. Click here to read our blog about the importance of lubricity in fuel
AR6500 also disperses water in diesel fuel while creating protective barriers with anti-corrosion properties, protecting your fuel system and injectors from excessive wear caused by water contamination.
AR6500 protects your injectors from the two main causes of injector failure, keeping your diesel on the road and out of the repair shop.
