How to Remove and Clean Harley Fuel Injectors

The automobile industry has taken gigantic leaps over the past few decades.   Marvelous engineering and design mechanics blend together to create minute pieces of equipment capable of powering a monstrous vehicle. Such a piece of equipment is that tiny fuel injector. So, how to remove and clean Harley fuel injectors?

You could easily spot the fuel injectors at the head of the engine, near the intake valve. Then unplug the ports of the fuel rail. Grasp the injectors and wheel them out. Clean the injectors by spraying through carb cleaners while applying a specific voltage.

Pretty straightforward, right? If you want a precise and accurate insight on this topic, then please stick with this write-up. This might even help you save quite a few bucks.

What Are the Signs of Dirty Fuel Injectors?

Like any other automobile equipment, fuel injectors can also get quite dirty. Furthermore, it’s located near the engine and is responsible for transmitting fuel. Hence, it’s nothing new for it to get clogged with grease and dirt. Here are some common signs:

Start-Up Issues

Since the injectors are responsible for the delivery of low-pressurized fuel into the combustion chamber, having a clogged injector could lead to start-up issues for the car. Mostly due to the scarcity of fuel.

Increased Consumption of Fuel

If you’re noticing that you need to refill your vehicle tanks more than usual. Then a dirty fuel injector is a reason behind this. Mostly because of the engine pulling in more fuel, as the fuel flowing through the injector itself is inefficient.

Engine Not Reaching Full RPM

A dirty fuel injector leads to less and inefficient delivery of fuel. Thus, the engine does not receive enough energy to reach its peak performance. So when you notice that the engine is not reaching full RPM, then you know who the culprit is.

How to Remove and Clean Harley Fuel Injectors?

Now you’ve reached the sweet part. Since you’ve seen the problems that could arise from a dirty fuel injector, let’s learn how to deal with them, shall we? Cleaning them is a common solution. The steps below will give you a clear insight:

Step 1: Location and Removal

Like most other fuel injectors, Harley fuel injectors are also located at the head of the engine, near the intake valves, and attached to a fuel rail. Once located, loosen the fuel rail ports using a screwdriver. As the fuel rail lifts off, grab the injectors and wheel them out.

Step 2: Use Carb Cleaner

You can get yourself a decent carb cleaner like the Gumout jet spray.  Harley fuel injectors have two rubber rings on top, which you need to pull out gently. Connect a rubber hose to the input port of the fuel injector. Make sure that the diameter of the hose is similar to that of the injector port.

Use a zip tie to tighten the connection between the injector and hose. Get a marine heat shrink tubing and connect it to the hose. Use a lighter to heat the heat shrink tube. Take your time to form a proper seal around the hose.

Add a smaller diameter hose to another side of the shrink tube and seal the end following the same method. Connect the thin hose to the pipe of the carb cleaner.  This ensures minimum wastage of the carb cleaner solution.

Step 3: Apply Voltage and Clean

Connect a 12V battery to the terminals of the Harley fuel injector using two alligator clips. While the carb cleaner is being pressed on, keep connecting and disconnecting the battery and watch the injector release all the dirt from inside. And that’s how you remove and clean your Harley fuel injector.

Can You Remove and Clean Fuel Injectors?

It’s actually pretty simple even when you aren’t willing to spend much money. Just by spending as low as $3, you could easily get it done at home. So let’s get started.

Removal

This process is similar to the case of most fuel injectors. Just like the Harley fuel injectors, you’re going to have to lift off the fuel rails by loosening the ports using a screwdriver. Then wheel out each of the fuel injectors by grabbing them.

Remove the Filter Basket

You could remove the filter basket using a screwdriver or even a filter basket remover which comes pretty cheap. If the filter basket is clogged and filled with dirt and grease, give it a good wash with any soap solution at home.

Get A Good Syringe and Cleaner

Make sure that the mouth of the syringe doesn’t have a rubber ring. The ring reduces the pressure stored inside the syringe. Get yourself a fuel injector cleaner from the dollar store. Then pour some into the syringe. Don’t get the syringe completely full though.

Apply Voltage and Clean

Connect a 9V battery to the terminals of the fuel injector using alligator clips.

Then push the syringe through the intake opening of the injector. Keeping the plunger pressed in, connect and disconnect the battery to let the cleaner solution wash out all the clogged dirt from the inside of the injector.

What is the Best Way to Clean Fuel Injectors?

There are a handful of ways to get your fuel injectors clean. Among those, the best method would be to clean them using carb cleaners by applying a voltage.

As we know, fuel injectors do vary slightly in their structures. So if your fuel injector comes with a filter basket, it’s always best to replace them as they are pretty difficult to restore completely.

Then connecting a jet spray carb cleaner to the intake port and applying voltage from the battery within specific intervals could help clean the fuel injectors easily.

How Much Does It Cost to Get Your Fuel Injectors Cleaned?

You can go about this topic in two ways. You can either clean your fuel injector by yourself following the sections above, or you can get it done by a professional mechanic in the automobile workshop.

Suppose you want to use carb cleaner, then Gumout jet spray would cost you around $6 along with the marine shrink tubing bringing it up to $12. You could also use the fuel injector cleaner from a dollar store and a syringe for around $3. And almost every American house has a battery of at least 9V.

However, if you have the money to spare and plan on getting it done by a mechanic, then it could cost you around $60 to $100 at a local automobile warehouse. But you surely won’t be disappointed by their services, nonetheless.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

A wise man once asked, “it’s all about speed, isn’t it?”. Well, it’s not entirely true. But hey! If you can’t even be on time for a meeting due to your sluggish car even though you kept pressing on the accelerator the entire time, then what good is it.

Now you see the importance of keeping your engine fuel injectors clean. It’s often quite tiresome to do this without any prior experience or proper guidance. However, if you’ve been glued to this article till now, you should be able to clean the injectors all by yourself.

As we all know, the role of fuel injectors for efficient fuel delivery to the engine.

This means that a faulty or clogged fuel injector can cause serious damage to the engines. So, you can see how taking care of your fuel injectors by yourself or by a professional mechanic can save you fortunes later ahead.