Changed my oil today and while checking things out I noticed that all of my injectors are leaking. The front 3 aren't that bad but the back 3 are pretty caked up with oily residue and grime. It's been a cold winter so I haven't been under the hood much so I don't know how long they have been leaking. I am going to call the dealer on Monday but I was wondering what the normal proceedure for this is. Do they need new O-Rings or can they just be tightened up. If all they are going to do is snug the fittings I'd rather just do it myself and save a trip and day with out my truck.

 

If I'm not mistaken hit them with a 19mm clawfoot on a torque wrench set to 28 ft/lbs. It's very important to torque them to the correct value.

Does anyone have the correct fuel injection line nut torque numbers???

Vaughn

 

Vaughn, the p 14-88 of the DRM says to alternately tighten the clamp bolts to 10 N-m (89 in. lbs.) torque.

 

If you take the valve cover off to check the torque on your injector bolts, can you reuse the valve cover gasket or do you replace it?...and what is a clawfoot? Never heard of it and I can't find one anywhere on the web to see what it looks like.

 

AK - I think Vaughn is refering to a tube wrench. Looks similar to an open end wrench except the opening is much smaller so you get more wrench contact on the fitting.... ...cannot remember hearing clawfoot before...I maybe way off base here.....JKE

EDIT: I remember now. Looks like the end of a tube wrench except it has a a hole for your ratchet or torque wrench on the end of it. Fits on the torque wrench like a socket (sort of)....CRS ...

 

Now I'm confused. I'm reading the service manual trying to get an idea of how all this looks. It would appear that the injectors are inside the valve cover, so if they are leaking, how do you tell? It has to be nasty in there so I wouldn't think you would be able to detect a slow-leaking injector. What am I missing?

 

The high pressure connectors (with high pressure fuel lines going to the fuel rail) are located on the side of the cyl head. Maybe thats whats leaking?

 

Chris,

Did you have this on your rig?

John.

 

John, I was just looking at the pics in the manual. I can't say I've looked for them on my truck - I'm not sure I really want to mess with injectors yet.

I'm not a diesel mechanic, but its not the "one-stop shopping" setup that I expected.

Like posted earlier, the fuel injectors bolt vertically into the top of the cyl head and point straight down into the cylinders (centered between the four valves), and the high pressure connectors mount horizontally into the cyl head and fit into their matching fuel injectors about halfway down the fuel injectors' length.

The fuel is fed from the high pressure rail to the connectors, and the connector passes fuel into its injector.

The fuel injectors only have two ECM control signal wires connected to them on top.

hth.

Yes, both the injectors and connectors require their own special removal tools.

 

Thanks,

I have not looked to see if mine leak. Maybe I should . The truck runs great though and I hate to jack-it-up (mess it up) unless I was going to install NEW injectors. I guess we are in the same "boat".

John

 

I have priced injectors (in lieu of doing a box), and have found that our injectors seem to cost more. Maybe thats the reason? I dunno.

Yeah, I don't want to "fix" something that isn't broke either - unfortunately I do have experience in that area ...... "ummm, not sure its idiot proof...."

 

well, I would be in trouble then ....now where are my tools and that drink ...John

 

You only need the special tools to avoid scratching the high pressure connector end tip that goes into the injector and to pop the injector out of the hole. If you are careful, neither is needed.

An internal leak of an injector (cracked injector housing), would leak diesel fuel into the crankcase oil and increase the crankcase oil level over time.

External leaks are usuall diagnosed by smell or sight (dye in fuel).

Injectors aren't that bad, except for #5 and 6, they are partially blocked by the cowl. There are holes in the cowl to lift the injector far enough up to get them out of the cylinder head.

Yes, you can reuse the valve cover gasket. Be very carefull not to pinch/roll it though.

 

CumminsBill,
I think your problem is oil. Mine has the same oil and dirt around the rear 3 lines at the entrance point. The front 3 have it but not as bad. It's not fuel. It also has an oily film creeping around on the other side on the valve cover to head mating area. I posted this b4 and several reported the same findings. I'm goin to let mine go and just wipe it off every now and then. It seams normal.

 

I have the oil around the valve cover gasket too with some dead bugs by the injector lines. Looks like maybe some fuel film somehow got there. It is very light, so I am not real concerned yet. Just gonna keep an eye on it.