Fuel injector woes

[Ritter]

So, I was diligently swapping out my fuel lines on a 1978 2.0 FI California model when the fun began. I pulled the four injectors to change the seals and get the original metal collars off of two of them.

Problem--not all injectors are created equal. I have the following part numbers installed by the PO's mechanic(s):

cyl 1 280-150-114
cyl 2 280-150-112
cyl 3 280-150-116 (and the tip looks melted and a bit like something's been wearing on it)
cyl 4 280-150-114

I have several spare 114 injectors (don't know if they work yet) that I will swap out with the crap one on cyl 3, but why would there be wear at the injector tip? Longer part or symptomatic of looming engine catastrophe?

What is the correct part number for my use and will I screw things up using different injectors?

Thanks for any help/guidance you all can offer.

Ritter

[Westy78]

The 114's are the correct ones for your bus but there are several others that can be used. The hoses may differ on them though. Ratwell has a good write up on FI interchanges. The 116's and 112's were originally used on the Beetle. They all have the same flow rate.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Injectors.html

[Ritter]

Thanks for the info on interchangeability. Any idea why the tip might be melted?

[vwlover77]

The injectors seem to be made of a really tough bakelite-type material. I'm really surprised that it is melted!!

Maybe it experienced some significant backfiring through the intake somewhere along the line and was torched by the flames ?????

Sned those injectors off to Cruizin Performance for an inspection and cleaning if you are in doubt....

http://www.cruzinperformance.com/

[Westy78]

I can't imagine how the injector tip would get hot enough to melt unless you were running extremely high head temps. I think you would have other problems due to that before the injector melted. Usually the intake valve runs cooler than the exhaust. Do you have any pics of the offending injector?

[Ritter]

Do you have any pics of the offending injector?

I'll try to get one posted (I took some, just haven't managed to get the camera to the dl station, etc.).

The good is that the fuel line change was a success and the replacement injector seems to work fine. The job was not quite as easy as some might have made it seem, but doable by a newbie. Had some fun when my vicegrips holding the line to the tank sprung and shitout (read: broke) while I was holding the finger over the hole preventing at least 1/2 tank of gas from spewing. Luckily, my wife was within shouting distance and brought me a second pair of grips to pinch off the line. Gas in the armpit is sooooo cool. In fact, hours and a shower later, I still stink of gas. I'm dead sexy.... Oh, and don't forget to unclamp the line clamp under the gas tank on the inlet side when you're all done. The bus runith much better afterwards.....

While I was in there, I pulled out the dead weight air conditioning compressor, put in a replacement tin piece to fill the gaping void, ripped out the existing pulverized engine seal and replaced it with a nice new one (pretty easy with the fuel rails and air cleaner out of the way) and put in a replacement hot air riser for the driver side heat exchanger. Oh yes, I also cleaned up a few millimeter thick sludge of old oil, dirt and shit from most of the engine compartment. It isn't up to the gold standard, but it's a hell of a lot more pleasant to wok in than it was. A true engine compartment overhaul will continue to await an engine drop.

All in all, a productive weekend. We'll see how long the replacement injector lasts.

[Westy78]

Ah yes, the gas in the armpit. An oh so comfortable experience. That's my least favorite part of changing out the fuel filter if not careful. You might want to get a set of these hose clamps. They work super easy and don't do any damage to the fuel line like a set of vice grips can. I think you can also find them at some FLAPS.

http://www.germansupply.com/xcart/custo ... 278&page=2

[Ritter]

You might want to get a set of these hose clamps.

I uh, err, actually had already employed two of those (one at the inlet and one holding gas back prior to entry to the firewall). Come on, give a first timer a break! It was a learning experience?!