CLEANING THE FUEL RAIL?

[RRoller123]

So in my ongoing FI saga, I have a new Fuel Pressure Regulator to install. The old one would not come off, the nut on the bottom was frozen solid, so the entire rail had to come out. PITA. The bottom line is that my existing fuel rail was bent up a little in the process and I am quite wary to bend it back into shape and use it, given that there is gasoline running in there at 35psi or so. The feed tube to the Regulator is bent, there are no breaks, but I have no way to pressure test it, and anyway, I would always worry that it would let go, which almost certainly would cause a catastrophic fire. Plus the nut connecting the pressure side of the Regulator isn't threading correctly, and I would have to force a connection. No good.

I have a spare rail in good condition, it has no physical damage and the nuts thread well, but it is pretty old and hasn't been used in many years. The question I have is what you folks think might be the best way to clean it, and flush out this old rail? It looks quite good, but there are some minor white powdery deposits visible inside that I think I should remove or they could cause problems with the injectors.

I was thinking of soaking it in vinegar overnight and then flushing it with hot water and then a pressured air cleanout. ?? It won't fit in my ultrasonic cleaner, it is too long. I suppose I might be able to get one section at a time in the UC, but not sure how well that would work.

I suppose I could spray an entire can of brake cleaner or similar solvent through it and maybe that would flush it well enough??

Rail to be cleaned: The pictures don't show overly well, but you get the idea.

[SteinOnkel]

UC one section at a time. Stick into a mason jar upright and fill that jar with gasoline. Place it all into your cleaner (weigh it down somehow) fill the cleaner with water and let 'er rip. After the first cycle, flip the rail over.

[RRoller123]

Good idea!

[redcars]

+1 on UC it will clean what's in the liquid and there is no problem with running it with the lid off.

[SteinOnkel]

I do this with mine for pretty much everything now. It makes it so easy to clean the cleaner, too. It's just water so it can just go down the drain.

[RRoller123]

Excellent technique, will log that one in the databanks.

[SteinOnkel]

I can't take credit for it. Twas a random man on Youtube

From the more informed comments I gathered that glass containers work best. Plastic is acceptable too, but it will absorb some of the ultrasonic waves. Still, a zip loc bag can come in handy.

[RRoller123]

Using the heat function with the gasoline might not be advisable, not from explosion risk, but it would cause a lot more fume production.