I have no change in fuel pressure and it idles fine and runs great. So without buying the injector tube removal tool, do you have any hints on how to get that out or do I need to break down and go find one?

 

Just did some more snoopin online here and figured out a screwdriver works well at poppin out the injector tubes. Come Wednesday I'll inspect the tube tips and replace the O-rings. If that don't work then I'll be right back here for more advice.

 

**TIP**When you reinstall the connector tubes, sometimes it's easier to get a good leakfree seal if you halfway tighten down the injector, then halfway tighten the connector tube, then fully tighten the injector and finally fully tighten the connector tube/injection line.

When you pull the tubes, carefully inspect the flared end for minor imperfections or damage. Be careful when you reassemble, overtightened injector lines can also cause leaks. Don't put 60-70 ft lbs on each injector line nut!

 

Thanks, I'll definitely follow those recommendations. Don't wanna deal with this happening again.

 

You'll get a snap when you install the injector, but you also get a snap when you push the connector tube into the head as well. If they don't want to snap in, then you can adjust the rotation of the injector to make sure everything lines up. If you just drop them in and let the nut on the tube push it in, there is a risk that it might not seat properly.

 

Thanks Justin, Thought I remembered that but.........?

And 'Trumm', I agree with 'Big Blue 24".... fully tightening injectors before inserting connector tube can cause problems. Not often but sometimes. Mating those two with a good fit is essential.
I use to use the half way on each before fully tightening either..... when I was changing injectors fairly regularly!

If your going back through the whole process, remove the fuel lines in two groups..... 1,2,&4 and 3,5,6.
Loosen injector hold downs and pull connectors one at a time, inspect and replace. Should solve your problem!
Small screwdriver is tool of choice. As mentioned you can't hurt the o-ring removing the tube that way.
I use a flathead eyeglass screwdriver.
Like Don said....enjoy the learning process! You'll love the Mach 4's
Good Luck!

 

I've been through my lines a few times when I was trying to track down a leak.

The other thing I've found that I had to be careful with was to make sure that the end of the line seated into the connector tube before I engaged the nut into the head. I've got two in particular that require extra attention to make sure the end of the line is centered up on the tube. If I don't check them before tightening down the nut, I always get a slow drip under the nut.

 

Bingo. You're losing prime because of a crossover tube (aka HPC) leak.

Prove it to yourself by parking in such as way as to have the back end of the truck much higher than the front (nose down). Magically the hard start will go away.

You may even have some pressurization of the fuel tank if the combustion seals on the injectors are leaking.

 

Well I took all the tubes out last night along with the injectors, inspected everything and noticed a couple of the tubes had some very minor scuffs on the tips. Since I didn't have any tubes on hand I changed out the O-rings hopin that would work and it didn't change a bit.

Ordered some crossover tubes and I should get them tomorrow, hopefully I'll be back in business after that.

Just curious about the parking nose down deal, haven't tried it yet but why would that alleviate the problem?

 

Crossover tube O-rings keep oil in the engine, thats it. High pressure injection lines can be a pain in the ***. Not tight enough, too tight, just the harmonics of the engine, fuel pulsating through them cause wear. Couple that with new injectors (new sealing surface), the problems just compound.

I think it was big blue, torque everything in steps. It might help with the angles these things seal at.

Not sure about the nose down deal??? I would like to hear theories on this also.

 

False. They keep the fuel in the fuel gallery in the head. Injector o-rings keep the fuel in that cavity and engine oil seperate.

 

Thanks for the correction, it was a long day. Was thinking of the wrong engine. They do keep the spill fuel in the return galley.

 

Well you were all right, replaced all the crossover tubes and it started up a little easier. Still took a few seconds for it to start so I did some tweakin of all the lines, reseated everything a few times, and finally she's startin up like she used to.

Now I've seen it in these threads more than a handful of times that the Mach injectors hardly smoke. My 4's will smoke from the stop light or passin a car with just a little more than normal throttle, is that normal? No haze during normal driving but I was just curious since I was expecting to have to jump on it to see smoke.

 

You're still running a 150hp injector on a stock turbo, its gonna smoke a bit. You should be able to drive smoke free, though. If that is impossible, I start looking for boost leaks. I'm not all that familiar with the VA, but if its a bit aggressive, its gonna cause some smoke. I remember in my Smarty days, it was real easy to smoke with it.

 

OK that makes some sense. I'm waiting on my turbo to get here, been waiting for 3 months now and supposedly it was lost in the mail so there is another on the way.
I just updated my sig to show the last few months of mods, so hopefully the new turbo will handle those injectors a little better.