BG44 vs diesel

OK, I expect a lot of the same think I am thinking which is "are you really that stupid to believe this". Having said that, someone with real knowledge and not just the natural kneejerk hell no, please let us know if and why it works.

What the hell am I talking about? Here goes...

I asked a mechanic friend of mine about BG44. If he had used it, liked it, recommended it. He told me that he put anywhere from 1/2 to 1 gallon of diesel, then finished filling up with regular gasoline to get the same result. He does this once every 15K miles. When I inquired in disbelief, he basical said he had been doing it for years with no ill effect. Apparently since diesel burns slower, it burns hotter. The hotter burn is supposed to remove the buildup on valves and in such, similar to the BG44 additive. Since it is used in a small amount, again similar to the BG44, then it won't clog up the fuel system, etc., etc. Any chemists out there? Is this guy on crack or is there some credence to his story.

Running diesel wont clean fuel injectors though, and it will lower your octane rating, possibly leading to detonation.

Another trick to clean carbon out of engines is to drip water into the intake manifold, although I've only seen it done on carbureted engines.

I used to do that very thing with my first car!

It was a '72 Plymouth Road Runner and it's Holley carb'ed 440 burned (leaded) Premium gas! Waaaaaay too much horsepower for a 17 year old kid, I'll tell ya! Lotsa fun though!

I can't recall where I heard that diesel thing was a good idea, but I would guess I heard it from a mechanic, since I wouldn't have dreamed it up myself. I remember that the thinking was that it would "clean off" the valves and "lube" the seals in the carb, or something along those lines. I remember doing it like every month or so.

I don't know if I'd do it with a modern engine like the "X" has, with all the fuel injection components and emmissions stuff, though. Might trip a sensor and get the SES light...

Just my 2 cents, I could be wrong...

Diesel may affect your oxygen sensor or coat your platinum catalyst in your cat converter. Bear in mind that a diesel engine runs at higher compressions than your unleaded engine. Diesel fuel has an extremely high octane rating, as compared to an unleaded engine. There is even a different scale by which they're qualified; ie. C-tane is to diesel as octane is to unleaded. In other words, diesel is far less prone to detonation than unleaded. Throw a lit match into a puddle of diesel once. The result is less than spectacular. Throw a lit match into a puddle of unleaded. If you're too close, you'll be saving money at the barber for some time, and be winning lots of Freddy Krueger look-a-like contests.

But once diesel starts burning it's HOT.

Well I am no more or less convinced than I was when I wrote this, but it does give some lagitimacy to my friend. From what I have read in your replies, since diesel is higher in relative octain it should fully burn and not coat any parts downrange of the exhaust manifold, correct? I don't think I could bet several thousand on a rebuild to save $20 every 15K or so. Now if someone could tell me that it has the same base ingredience as BG44, kerosene or something...

Diesel is dirty.
Most FI cleaners are petroleum distillates.
Use kerosene which is cleaner than diesel.

You don't need to add .5-1 gallons. Adding 8-12 ounces at the oil change intervals is good enough.

Biodiesel is cleaner than both, but sometimes more difficult to locate. At $3 a gallon, B100 can clean your injectors, valves, and engine carbon deposits for a long time(8 ounce dosages every 5k miles).

Octane and cetane are almost inverse. High cetane diesel has low octane. High octane gas has low cetane. Diesel has higher BTU's per gallon compared to gas. Diesel will lower the octane when added to gas.

Please use superunleaded during any injector cleaning with any distillates to prevent detonation/preignition.

Not to sound stupid but is BG44 a fuel injector cleaner?

Back in the day when I was young, stupid, and didn't care about getting 5 miles per gallon, I used to use a spray bottle with water. I would spray it into the carberator, being careful not to stall the engine. When I'd pull the heads to replace a blown head gasket, my valves were always clean.

BG44k is a very good FI cleaner that should be used every 50k-100k miles. It is too expensive to use at every oil change.

STEAM is the best topend(valves/pistons/CC/intake...) cleaners. But, it will do nothing to your injectors. You can't put steam into the fuel line. Too much steam and your catalytic will glow pretty colors.