Fuel injector refresh

[Gypsie]

Any suggestions out there about getting a non-functional fuel injector to be functional again. It has continuity through it's coil but will not open to allow fuel through. the pintle appears to be movable but I didn't want to mess with it too much.

This is for a '73 type 3 (Hammie's squareback lives!)

Anyone have a spare?...

Hammie check out this page : http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/DIYFuel ... eaning.htm

Could the dried up fuel have made a 'varnish glue' to freeze up the innards?

[dtrumbo]

Don't know about DIY, but this guy does fantastic work, quickly. Yes I know, those two properties are mutually exclusive but Rich manages to pull it off.

http://www.cruzinperformance.com/

[hambone]

I should just kick back now and let others do my dirty work. I JUST created a thread on this very subject! Funny.
I think I should replace the injector. It looks like it has many miles on it.

[dtrumbo]

I think I should replace the injector. It looks like it has many miles on it.

Just sayin'... Rich can bring 'em back from the dead and then they're still original instead of questionable aftermarket. Do all four and the cold start valve while you're at it. His pricing is very reasonable and you get charts and graphs as a bonus prize!

[hambone]

Are there times when they can't be brought back? It would be frustrating to send 'em to Michigan and wait, to be told they're dead.
Right now I can't afford all 4. What I really want to do is to get this engine running at a bare minimum without getting too fancy. I have many fish to fry before the rain arrives...
After the car is stabilized then I can dive in with greater detail.

[Gypsie]

Are there times when they can't be brought back? .

I understand this concern. I do believe that we ran it through paces when we attempted to make it squirt and move it's innards but the pros may have more ideas.
Try this guy:
Dr. Injector of Portland:
610 1st St.
Gladstone, OR 97027
(503) 513-5070
When I used him to rebuild/clean my injectors it was $20-$25 per injector. You may be able to take it to him and ask him to test it (maybe with no charge) to see if anything can be done to get it moving again.

This is a sweet deal:
http://compare.ebay.com/like/2607615144 ... r&_lwgsi=y


Also look around for other vehicles with the part #311906031B
70ish mercedes i believe and a few others. Might be worth a trip to the u-pullit to grab a set....

[Bleyseng]

You can buy them NEW from Busdepot for $56.......don't waste your time rebuilding.
http://www.busdepot.com/details.jsp?par ... 311906031B

[Amskeptic]

Any suggestions out there about getting a non-functional fuel injector to be functional again.

If electrical is OK, a GumOut bath can un-glue the solenoid.
Do a wet test before reinstalling, following all precautions.
Colin

[Gypsie]

If electrical is OK, a GumOut bath can un-glue the solenoid.
Do a wet test before reinstalling, following all precautions.
Colin

We did attempt to make it work while it was still on the fuel loop with a known functional connector. No go.

Then we tried a bit of juice directly through the elect. No go.

Still has continuity.

The injector bath idea is a good one. There was fuel in the upstream side (Mmmmm tastes like gas...). It has a good seal as it would not let me suck any air backwards through the thing, though the pintle may not allow such things anyway.

My gut says it is glued in place and just needs to be freed to move then we can pump some fuel and solvent through it to clean it out...

Pennies are very tight on this one...

Here's my wet test...Hook it back up to the fuel loop and electrical injector connector, disco the coil so no spark is delivered. Crank it and look for spritzing. That's how we did the first round of looking. Any concerns with this?...

Yes we had a n extinguisher handy. (Ask bob how fire extinguisher powder tastes....)

[hambone]

A couple of questions if ya don't mind. Just the injector tip in the bath? I'd imagine immersion is a bad idea due to the electric parts.
I have some of that Berryman's solvent stuff, that may work well. Overnight soak and then try again.
Or by "bath" do you mean "soak for 10 mins in a cap of Gumout"?

[tristessa]

K. Found a set of 4 yellow-top D-Jet injectors suitable for the car, Bosch P/N 0 280 150 007. No idea if they work or not (never tested them), but there's gotta be at least one that's better than what you've got.

[Amskeptic]

A couple of questions if ya don't mind. Just the injector tip in the bath? I'd imagine immersion is a bad idea due to the electric parts.
I have some of that Berryman's solvent stuff, that may work well. Overnight soak and then try again.
Or by "bath" do you mean "soak for 10 mins in a cap of Gumout"?

You are correct, soak tip in cap of GumOut, no immersion. Spray carb cleaner lightly into fuel nipple. Seal it with your finger. Shake it up and down about a minute. Drain onto a clean paper towel and look for varnish stain. Spray into the nozzle area hard. Redo electrical spray test under full fuel rail pressure.
Even if tristessa comes through in a pinch AGAIN, try to free up injector for posterity and enlightment of all of us.
Colin

[hambone]

Very nice mini procedure, thank you.
Hal is the Portland miracle man. All I have to do is imagine some obscure part and somehow he manifests it.
I will clean and test all of them and see how it goes. Hopefully there is 1 good out of 4.

[dittrich]

Old thread, but just posting here for posterity-sake. I had a similar problem with gunked injectors and used this process to fix them on the cheap (under $15).

1. First I ordered new filter screens & pintle caps from a place called injector-rehab.com. They were like 55 cents a piece.

2. I removed the filter screens from the injectors using the 'wood screw' idea from this DIY site: http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/DIYFuel ... eaning.htm. I actually just used a standard deck screw & some vise grips. I also pulled off the pintle caps.

3. I bathed them in carb cleaner for a few hours & toothbrushed them clean. I watched them carefully at first as I worried the plastic would dissolve. It didn't, but YMMV! Perhaps FI cleaner or something safe for plastic would've been better....

4. I hooked up the injector to a 12v wall wart with a pushbutton switch & a small resistor in the circuit. The resistor was there because I was doing LJet injectors (the blue-green plastic ones) with external resistors. Because I was super paranoid of burning out the solenoid I used the highest value resistor I could while still getting it to actuate. Trim pot would likely work well.

5. I back-flushed the injector by connecting a piece of FI hose to the pintle-end of the injector & filling the hose with carb cleaner. I then attached a bike pump to the end of the hose & applied pressure while clicking the pushbutton switch to open/close the injector solenoid repeatedly, forcing the cleaner through the injector.

6. Connected the hose to the 'normal' end of the injector & did the same pump trick.

I repeated the backflush/flush twice for each injector, tapped in the new filter screens & pintle caps & reinstalled onto the rail.

I got the backflush idea from this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFJlTfHyrUk but didn't have the syringe, hence the FI hose/bike pump method.

Anyhow, hope this helps someone financially challenged who'd like to clean their injectors...

[dittrich]

Unfortunately I didn't do before/after measurements to see if there was a change in the volume of fuel delivered. I did check the spray patterns though & they were much improved...more even conical spray instead of the sad cockeyed streams I had. As good as a full-on hi-tech ultrasonic space-age professional cleaning complete with blinky lights, computer printout & complimentary refrigerator magnet? Not likely, but it'll suffice.