- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
- Points
- 100
I've just spent what might be the best 75 quid on a full chemical and ultrasound clean process of my 6 injectors.
All the O rings and micro filters were replaced as well as the flow rates and spray patterns tested and checked.
The beauty of it is that after I re-fitted them earlier today, I went off to the shops for some fruit & vegs.
To say I was pleasantly surprised would be understated. I had been contemplating pulling the Throttle body out and having it tested. I was thinking the motorised throttle had some issues. Driving was a a push the pedal and then wait a couple of seconds before the motor responded to the extra fuel being injected... Well, now with clean and serviced injectors the response is immediate and spirited. It's like a whole new experience of performance.
When I pulled them out, they were crud encrusted with carbon although looking at the pintle, it seemed the little holes were clear. When I got them back, I was a little puzzled when I noticed that those little holes were now even smaller !! I then realised that they had appeared larger because a ring of carbon had built up around the holes, and gave the impression of the holes being larger.
Bottom line - after 20 something years of living in the dark, your injectors could be depriving you of a heap of performance pleasure.
Removing the injectors is easy, but fiddly. The black plastic wiring box cconnecting to the tops of the injectors is held on by small wire clips - 1 per injector. The tricky part is, the clips face downwards - ie. the open end of the clips can be seen from above. The fear is losing one or more as it falls down into the dark areas below the manifold. - Well, here's the thing - only unclip 1 leg of the clip and carefully push it over the side slightly. With all six done, you can use a stiff flat screw driver to sequentially lever the plastic box off the injectors.
Once off, push the clip legs back so they are fully locked on. When re-fitting, you can simply push the black box onto the respective injector and it will clip on as required withou having to un-hook one leg again.
Once off you will have access to the 4 M10 bolts holding the fuel rail down onto the injectors. Remove them and then look under the rail at the connection point of the injector to rail - look from the camshaft cover side.
You will see that the rail has 6 clips - 1 / per injector. A needle nose pliers works perfectly - simply get a grip and slide them off towards the cam cover side. One all out, you can lift the fuel rail off. Whatever fuel is in the rail will spill out and down the side of the engine, but it's not a large amount and impossibe to catch.
Move the rail out the way as best you can, and you will be able to lift out the injectors.
Re-fitting is easier, since the clip issue if the wiring distribution box is easy. Also, dont worry about getting the injectors lined up accurately. They will swivel easily if you use a little rubber grease on the O rings top and bottom when fitting.
Re-assembling the injectors is best done by getting them connected to the fuel rail first, and then dropping them all into their ports in the manifold. Bolt and tighten the fuel rail down, and then simply press the black wiring / connector box onto them. Reconnect the Vanos connector and the vacuum hose, and re-fit the air distribution thingy on the top of the manifold, Reconnect the hose connecter for the CCV to the air distribution thingy and replace the fuel rail cover.
Bear in mind that there is no fuel in the rail or the injectors, and there is no fuel pressure. Switch on the ignition and wait for the fuel pump to re-fill the rail. Do not crank the motor - switch off and on in the same manner several times. This will give the fuel a chance to dribble into the injector tops. After 4 or so on / offs, you can crank the motor - it will not fire immediately because the fuel will need to be pumped to the bottom end of the injector and build up pressure so it is squirted into the cylinders as it should. The motor may run rough for a few seconds until pressure is stabilised, but then it will settle down to it's usual smooth idle.
Finally - you can not turn the ignition on while the injectors are out the car !! If you do, the fuel pump will have a field day pouring petrol all over the engine out of the fuel rail...
I can't say what the cost of a service will be in the UK. Here there was a large disparity between service providers. Some were double what it cost me, and one was cheaper by a negligible amount. The people I used are a well known performance company witha reputation for excellent work.
The deciding factor was they would collect and deliver free, which in itself is a saving in fuel costs.
As I said at the start - it's one service item which has likely not been done in 20 something years and the instant rewards in sponaneous response from the pedal will make you grin with pleasure.
All the O rings and micro filters were replaced as well as the flow rates and spray patterns tested and checked.
The beauty of it is that after I re-fitted them earlier today, I went off to the shops for some fruit & vegs.
To say I was pleasantly surprised would be understated. I had been contemplating pulling the Throttle body out and having it tested. I was thinking the motorised throttle had some issues. Driving was a a push the pedal and then wait a couple of seconds before the motor responded to the extra fuel being injected... Well, now with clean and serviced injectors the response is immediate and spirited. It's like a whole new experience of performance.
When I pulled them out, they were crud encrusted with carbon although looking at the pintle, it seemed the little holes were clear. When I got them back, I was a little puzzled when I noticed that those little holes were now even smaller !! I then realised that they had appeared larger because a ring of carbon had built up around the holes, and gave the impression of the holes being larger.
Bottom line - after 20 something years of living in the dark, your injectors could be depriving you of a heap of performance pleasure.
Removing the injectors is easy, but fiddly. The black plastic wiring box cconnecting to the tops of the injectors is held on by small wire clips - 1 per injector. The tricky part is, the clips face downwards - ie. the open end of the clips can be seen from above. The fear is losing one or more as it falls down into the dark areas below the manifold. - Well, here's the thing - only unclip 1 leg of the clip and carefully push it over the side slightly. With all six done, you can use a stiff flat screw driver to sequentially lever the plastic box off the injectors.
Once off, push the clip legs back so they are fully locked on. When re-fitting, you can simply push the black box onto the respective injector and it will clip on as required withou having to un-hook one leg again.
Once off you will have access to the 4 M10 bolts holding the fuel rail down onto the injectors. Remove them and then look under the rail at the connection point of the injector to rail - look from the camshaft cover side.
You will see that the rail has 6 clips - 1 / per injector. A needle nose pliers works perfectly - simply get a grip and slide them off towards the cam cover side. One all out, you can lift the fuel rail off. Whatever fuel is in the rail will spill out and down the side of the engine, but it's not a large amount and impossibe to catch.
Move the rail out the way as best you can, and you will be able to lift out the injectors.
Re-fitting is easier, since the clip issue if the wiring distribution box is easy. Also, dont worry about getting the injectors lined up accurately. They will swivel easily if you use a little rubber grease on the O rings top and bottom when fitting.
Re-assembling the injectors is best done by getting them connected to the fuel rail first, and then dropping them all into their ports in the manifold. Bolt and tighten the fuel rail down, and then simply press the black wiring / connector box onto them. Reconnect the Vanos connector and the vacuum hose, and re-fit the air distribution thingy on the top of the manifold, Reconnect the hose connecter for the CCV to the air distribution thingy and replace the fuel rail cover.
Bear in mind that there is no fuel in the rail or the injectors, and there is no fuel pressure. Switch on the ignition and wait for the fuel pump to re-fill the rail. Do not crank the motor - switch off and on in the same manner several times. This will give the fuel a chance to dribble into the injector tops. After 4 or so on / offs, you can crank the motor - it will not fire immediately because the fuel will need to be pumped to the bottom end of the injector and build up pressure so it is squirted into the cylinders as it should. The motor may run rough for a few seconds until pressure is stabilised, but then it will settle down to it's usual smooth idle.
Finally - you can not turn the ignition on while the injectors are out the car !! If you do, the fuel pump will have a field day pouring petrol all over the engine out of the fuel rail...
I can't say what the cost of a service will be in the UK. Here there was a large disparity between service providers. Some were double what it cost me, and one was cheaper by a negligible amount. The people I used are a well known performance company witha reputation for excellent work.
The deciding factor was they would collect and deliver free, which in itself is a saving in fuel costs.
As I said at the start - it's one service item which has likely not been done in 20 something years and the instant rewards in sponaneous response from the pedal will make you grin with pleasure.
