I installed rebuilt fuel injectors on the weekend and thought I would document the process a bit as I struggled to find a DIY. Of course, this was my experience, your mileage may vary.
I pulled the fuel pump relay versus disconnecting the battery or pull the fuses.
With rags or paper towels handy, remove the fuel line at both ends of the fuel rail. I left the fuel pressure regulator attached. I installed a plug on the fuel hose to prevent any additional fuel spill.
Remove the intake support bracket that goes from the valve cover to the intake under the cold start injector.
Remove the cable tie down near the firewall on the valve cover (allows slack in the cables).
Remove the injector power connectors. This can get frustrating as you don't have a lot of room to work. I marked each one with the cylinder number to make installation easier.
Remove the 4 bolts that hold the rail to the intake and remove the clips on each injector that hold them to the rail. Now, BE CAREFUL as its easy to drop these! (I ended up having to remove the starter to find one bolt and one clip hiding between the block and starter)
Now, I removed the rail from the injectors and by lifting up and moving the rail toward the firewall. That seemed to make the removal of the rail pretty easy. Move the rail toward the firewall then under the intake and out the valve cover side.
I removed each injector and cleaned the area around the injector and the hole in the intake port. If I were to do it again, I would clean the area around the injector BEFORE removing the injector (less chance of crud in the intake port). I used a pipe cleaning brush and some WD40 to clean the ports and then a rag on the end of a long screwdriver to clean up the port. And yes, I know some of the crud ended up in the port as some junk got blown out of the exhaust pipe.
On to re installation:
Now, I screwed up a bit. I lubed each o-ring on the injectors and installed the injectors in the intake. Then I tried to install the fuel rail and could not get it to seat properly. I ended up removing the injectors, installing them in the fuel rail (out of the car) and installing the clips.
Here is where cleanliness counts, as you try to weasel the fuel rail with injectors under the intake and in position to reinstall, it can be very easy to jam a bunch of dirt on the tip of the injectors. Patience is key here and like the removal, moving the rail toward the firewall with give you clearance for the rail and fuel pressure regulator.
Carefully place each injector in there hole and seat the group down evenly. The bolt holes on the rail should now line up. Again be careful not to drop the bolts as you bolt the fuel rail down.
Reinstall the electrical connectors, fuel hoses, relays and the various brackets you removed.
I started it up at this point and looked for any leaks. Everything was dry. Dropping the bolt and two clips probably cost me a hour or so of extra work so be careful and a magnetic pickup was real handy after I dropped the first two clips.
Evidently the injectors had been replaced or rebuilt in the past as the o-rings were a bit dry but not overly so. The filter baskets inside the injectors did not look clogged. The car does seem to idle smoother and pulls more evenly and a bit more responsive to throttle input. We'll see if it effect fuel mileage.
I pulled the fuel pump relay versus disconnecting the battery or pull the fuses.
With rags or paper towels handy, remove the fuel line at both ends of the fuel rail. I left the fuel pressure regulator attached. I installed a plug on the fuel hose to prevent any additional fuel spill.
Remove the intake support bracket that goes from the valve cover to the intake under the cold start injector.
Remove the cable tie down near the firewall on the valve cover (allows slack in the cables).
Remove the injector power connectors. This can get frustrating as you don't have a lot of room to work. I marked each one with the cylinder number to make installation easier.
Remove the 4 bolts that hold the rail to the intake and remove the clips on each injector that hold them to the rail. Now, BE CAREFUL as its easy to drop these! (I ended up having to remove the starter to find one bolt and one clip hiding between the block and starter)
Now, I removed the rail from the injectors and by lifting up and moving the rail toward the firewall. That seemed to make the removal of the rail pretty easy. Move the rail toward the firewall then under the intake and out the valve cover side.
I removed each injector and cleaned the area around the injector and the hole in the intake port. If I were to do it again, I would clean the area around the injector BEFORE removing the injector (less chance of crud in the intake port). I used a pipe cleaning brush and some WD40 to clean the ports and then a rag on the end of a long screwdriver to clean up the port. And yes, I know some of the crud ended up in the port as some junk got blown out of the exhaust pipe.
On to re installation:
Now, I screwed up a bit. I lubed each o-ring on the injectors and installed the injectors in the intake. Then I tried to install the fuel rail and could not get it to seat properly. I ended up removing the injectors, installing them in the fuel rail (out of the car) and installing the clips.
Here is where cleanliness counts, as you try to weasel the fuel rail with injectors under the intake and in position to reinstall, it can be very easy to jam a bunch of dirt on the tip of the injectors. Patience is key here and like the removal, moving the rail toward the firewall with give you clearance for the rail and fuel pressure regulator.
Carefully place each injector in there hole and seat the group down evenly. The bolt holes on the rail should now line up. Again be careful not to drop the bolts as you bolt the fuel rail down.
Reinstall the electrical connectors, fuel hoses, relays and the various brackets you removed.
I started it up at this point and looked for any leaks. Everything was dry. Dropping the bolt and two clips probably cost me a hour or so of extra work so be careful and a magnetic pickup was real handy after I dropped the first two clips.
Evidently the injectors had been replaced or rebuilt in the past as the o-rings were a bit dry but not overly so. The filter baskets inside the injectors did not look clogged. The car does seem to idle smoother and pulls more evenly and a bit more responsive to throttle input. We'll see if it effect fuel mileage.
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