Fuel injectors bad/clogged - can I clean? HELP!

[djdawg]

Hey everyone,

I know how annoying it is to have people keep asking the same question over and over again so I did search hard to try and find an answer before starting a new thread. I did find some info on my problem but not enough.

I have a '99 Astro that is not starting....I originally thought it was fuel pump issues but the mobile mechanic that came out today determined fuel was fine, spark was also good. (we did a pressure check on fuel pump...60+ psi) He hooked up a diagnostic computer today and there were no codes at all. What we did find was that the fuel injectors are working intermittently. I snuck a peak at this computer and sometimes when we were cranking the engine, there would be a read out (47? is that important?) but most of the time it read zero. Out of 10 cranks there were probably only 3 times where there was any readout of the injectors working. He said he could safely say that the injectors were probably clogged.

I asked about cleaning and his opinion was that it wasn't a very good option at all. After telling me it would probably cost up to $100 a piece for each injector (x 6) and probably needing the spider part, plus his labor of around $350 to replace the whole thing, my head is spinning thinking I'm going to be shelling out over 1k to get this fixed. I immediately went online and saw some things about cleaning fuel injectors so I'm hoping this might be an option. (btw, the van is not starting at this point and I think that part might be important to know)

So all of my questions at this point are about cleaning these bad boys. What is the success rate? Is this an option? Should I have it done professionally and if so, what is the typical rate? Is it something I can do myself? I've done SOME work on Astros in the past but by no means am I rebuilding an engine. I've removed my EGR valve before (different Astro) replaced a heater core before (again, different Astro) so that might tell you something about the level of my expertise. I asked him to leave the engine cover off so the little valve that he hooked up the fuel pressure gage to is easily accessible still.

I really appreciate everyone's help....I don't have 1k to shell out on this van so I'm hoping I can find some answers here. Thank you!

[MountainManJoe]

Have a look at this video. It's not terribly difficult.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrPrPUgNLf0[/youtube]

[krsowles]

I know I'm getting old but I don't see a link to a video...maybe it's my "smartphone"?

[MountainManJoe]

It's just a Youtube video. Here's the link if that helps...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrPrPUgNLf0

[krsowles]

Thank you so much! Interesting stuff. Good luck, Djdawg, and let us know. Kelly

[JLuke]

Just replaced my injectors in my 99 safari (same thing ? ) with some bought off e-bay for $75.00 with a 30-day return policy. Took about 2hrs. to do the work ( hardest part for me was the air-condition lines in the way ). Van fired right up after done. Good Luck. Haynes Manual helped alot also.