Cleaning the Fuel System
Add a fuel cleaning additive to your fuel. As cars get older, lots of dirty deposits build up along the fuel lines making it harder for fuel to get to the engine. Adding a fuel cleaning additive to your car (as stated in the instructions on the bottle) will help clean these deposits out.
Drive the car for a week in order to make sure the fuel additive has had time to clean all these deposits. It will take a little bit of time for the fuel cleaning additive to mix with the fuel and to reach the engine. If the car runs worse than before, change the fuel filter. This is because the deposits that the cleaner has removed from the fuel tank has clogged up the fuel filter.
Cleaning Fuel Injectors
Purchase a fuel injector cleaning kit and a fuel injector cleaner. These can be found at most auto repair shops or online.
Make sure the car has its engine switched off and its handbrake engaged before doing anything else.
Disconnect the fuel pump from the injectors by removing the fuel pump relay. This is because you don't want fuel from the fuel pump entering the engine or else the injectors won't be cleaned.
Crank the engine for 5-10 seconds to make sure it does NOT start. If the engine starts, there is still fuel being fed to the engine.
Disconnect the pressure regulator and open the fuel filler cap. This is to prevent excess pressure from building up in the fuel tank.
Add the fuel injector cleaner into the canister that comes with the fuel injector cleaner kit.
Connect the pipe onto the fuel rail. This is so the fuel injector cleaner can supply the supplying fuel to the engine.
Connect the air supply to the tool. This is what powers the tool.
Hang the canister on the bonnet/hood.
Start the engine and wait about 5-10 minutes. The fuel injector cleaner will now be flowing around the engine. When the engine stalls and there's no fuel injector cleaner left, the cleaner has done its job.
Disconnect all the fuel injector cleaner apparatus and place the apparatus back into the package it came in. This is so you don't lose any parts to the apparatus or (even worse) trip on any apparatus that might be lying around.
Reconnect the fuel pump and close the fuel filler cap.
Start the engine and go for a test drive. You should notice that the car's engine should feel more responsive and notice better fuel economy.
Doing a Service
Park the car on a dry, level surface.
Leave for about 10 minutes and check for any leaks. If petrol/oil is leaking, this is dangerous as petrol/oil is highly flammable. Furthermore, it is very slippery which could cause loss of control for other vehicles. Not only that, it prevents the fluids from doing their jobs correctly as the leaking fluid cannot reach the engine.
Change the air filter. Air filters get clogged up with dirt (or sometimes leaves) over the years which will restrict the amount of air that can flow into the engine resulting in less fuel being burnt in air making the combustion process harder to take place. Changing the air filter will improve air flow into the engine resulting in a better fuel:air ratio.
Change the oil and oil filter in your engine. As time goes on, microscopic pieces of metal (from within the engine) end up in the oil which causes extra friction within the engine. This restricts the engine components ability to move. Changing the oil and filter will be less viscous than the oil you took out making the engine much more rev happy.
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