Customer tried to tell me how to clean a DEF injector with vinegar

Ngl, I had a guy last Tuesday bring in his International and swore up and down that soaking the DEF injector in white vinegar would fix his clogged spray pattern. I just stood there for a second, then showed him the $280 bill for the three injectors I replaced the week before on a similar rig. He got all defensive, saying his cousin does it on his farm truck and it works fine. I explained that vinegar can actually eat away at the internal seals and cause more leaks down the road. Has anyone else dealt with customers pushing weird home remedies for emissions parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.val1mo ago

Gotta push back on that a little, @lily_torres31. I've actually had good luck with vinegar on DEF injectors on older farm equipment, as long as you flush it out really good after and don't let it sit overnight. The seals thing is overblown if you know what you're doing, it's more about the guy not wanting to admit his cousin might have a workable hack for a specific situation.

lily_torres311mo ago

My uncle tried to clean his EGR valve with a pressure washer once. Ruined the whole assembly and cost him a pretty penny to replace. I guess some folks just don't want to spend the money if it sounds like it might work.

max2231mo ago

Oh man, @lily_torres31 I feel you on the pressure washer thing. I had a customer try to clean his DPF filter with oven cleaner once - said his buddy swears by it. Took me a whole afternoon to flush that mess out and still ended up replacing the whole assembly. People get stubborn about these shortcuts, I guess.