Fuel Injection Cleaning-cracks sparkplug porcelin

[SHOHO]

I have a 2010 SHO with 48,000 miles. Ford dealer recommended fuel injection cleaning for $119. The car started surging at red traffic signals..then started bucking on the highway at 50mph. Dealer said two spark plugs were fouling out, recommend replacing all 6 plugs at $400. They finally replaced all 6 plugs and ate the $400 cost after I talked to their General Manager. Cause: possibly soft or other carbon deposits fouled plugs-overheated them causing porcelin to crack. Anybody have similar problems, or info?

 

[Dave]

$400 for plugs is an unbelievable rip off. Glad they waived it.

How's it running now?

 

[SHOHO]

Car runs Great!!!

Since the plug change...the car runs better than it did before the Fuel injector cleaning. I wonder about the intake manifold though. They do not clean the inside of that..which inturn cleans the back of the valves. I think maybe once a year I'll run a bottle of Techron in the gas to clean the injectors.

 

[SHOdded]

Did the dealer check for codes?

Hope you got an oil change done also shortly after, or all the crud loosened by the cleaning will be circulating in the oil. Can you have a trusted mechanic video-inspect the intake manifold/intake valves? That would tell you how bad the problem is in that area. Walnut shell blasting is one of the thorough ways to decarbon intake valves, but BG claims their induction service does a pretty good job also.

Also consider switching to a good full-synthetic motor oil to reduce any PCV blowby that has to be burnt off.

 

[rcryniak]

I read someone on the internet that doing intake service on these vehicles can damage the turbos? Any truth to that?

 

[Dave]

I don't think I'll be doing it. Like I've said before, the only thing I want going through my turbos is air on one side and exhaust on the other. Some of those chemicals could play havoc with the seals.

 

[SHOdded]

I read someone on the internet that doing intake service on these vehicles can damage the turbos? Any truth to that?

It's possible, if you have enough buildup in the intake tract to actually blow small chunks out the system instead of completely combusted gaseous matter. That's why doing a video inspection first is highly recommended. And a post-procedure shortened-interval oil change as well.

 

[SHOHO]

Dealer recommends plug change 60,000 miles

The dealer is recommending the police sho's have the fuel injection service and spark plug change every 60,ooo miles. I use ford's semi-synthetic oil, change every 5,000 miles. Full synthetics still flash off and condensate on the cooler intake surfaces as the engine cools down. The only real way to keep performance at it's peak is to clean the intake, but the turbo's seals are chemical sensitive, and therrfore not recommended. I may have to look into the BG cleaner to at least somewhat clean the backs of the valves. Another suggestion is to use a high quality air filter....alot of CAI filters flow more air and more dirt, so be carefull on the CAI upgrades. I also wonder how the SHO's with the larger turbos do..if they have spark plugs cracking from high heat and carbon build up. But the SHO is currently running great!!

 

[SHOrod]

I read someone on the internet that doing intake service on these vehicles can damage the turbos? Any truth to that?

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=127733

The author of the linked video is a Ford tech and claims to have talked with Ford Engineering directly regarding a different EcoBoost platform.

That being said, I performed a decarb on my wife's EcoBoost MKT at around 36k miles and did a before and after borescope view of the valves. The decarb did clean the valves pretty well and so far (at 43k miles) there have been no adverse effects. If you have a borescope with the 8mm camera head, it's pretty easy to view the valves through the second IAT sensor (at least I think that's what sensor it is) on top of the intake under the appearance cover.

-Rod