cant remove fuel rail

[tjmonsen5]

hello R3V,
i am in the process of changing my fuel injector O Rings because the 5 and 6 cylinders are leaking fuel all over the place and it has a strong gas smell. I removed all fuel lines, removed 10 mm screws from rail, removed retaining clips, and disconnected electrical connections. I cannot pull the rail off of the injectors!! How hard is this supposed to be? I even tried my 2 giant screwdrivers to pry it off but that didnt work either I thought this was supposed to be a 2 hour process but its taking wayyy longer!
I have a thread in bimmerforums about this too,

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8850287&posted=1#post8850287

[fretburnr]

the injectors are clipped to the rail itself with circlip-type fasteners. Without undoing them, you'll have better luck pulling the rail out with the injectors - but that's a bitch to maneuver.

make sure to undo and remove the circlip from each injector (dont lose 'em)... they shouuld pull/slide off relatively simply.

also note that the injector harness rail / loom gets a bit in the way... you can undo the connection to it under the intake manifold and remove it first. It's a large circular connection, quarter/half turn to unlock - similar to the fitting on the o2 sensor, directly below the throttle body/manifold by 6" or so.

[tjmonsen5]

i removed those circlip things, i just cant get the fuel rail to budge at all! Im thinking of using my big screwdriver with a pole on it to get some extreme leverage.

[Tangent]

I remember it taking a hell of alot more force to pull the rail off than I thought it would when I did it. Wiggle it some to loosen it and get some good leverage...

[fretburnr]

careful not to bend the rail, it can happen.

rock it or twist it left and right (passenger to driver side) as you pull with your fingers or screwdriver etc. the o-rings are probably really old and seated/melted in place.

[tjmonsen5]

im gonna spray some WD 40 where the rail meets the injector, hopefully it will come loose after soaking for a few hours.

[2002maniac]

yank on it really hard. Eventually you'll fall on your ass and the fuel rail will be in your hands.

[MarshallM]

Get a bigger pry bar and put a block under it. If that doesn't work get another pry bar and get it from both sides. Remember leverage is your friend.

[tjmonsen5]

OK! I finally have everything removed! It was a complete bitch too jeez some of those injectors needed some force, such as number 3, omg it took forever, but some just wiggled right out. WD 40 helped alot. I looked at the holes where the injectors came out of, and theres a lot of dirt and crap in there. I would spray brake cleaner in them, but wasnt sure if it would be extremely bad if i let that dirt get down into the cylinders. I think this dirt added to the troubles of removing the injectors. How can i get rid of this dirt? just spray it down into the cyliner?

[87-325ic]

if you still havent gotten it off, Do this.

remove each injector elctrical harness, then twist each injector around, one by one. this breaks the seal theyve created over the years.

then, start at one End, slowly and carefully pry up on it with a very large screwdriver or pry-something..

working from one end to the other allows you to fight just one injector at a time so to speak, rather than just trying to evenly pop the whole thing off with all 6 injectors holding on to it.

[tjmonsen5]

I replaced everything, and now the car runs like brand new!! No more crappy idle, plus the rpms dont dip down anymore when you let off the gas!! The O rings are definetly what needed to be replaced. Because replacing the air boot and air filter didnt improve anything. After the o rings went in... PROBLEM SOLVED!!! Im so psyched to drive my car now!! All of the snow better melt and the roads better get cleared of all the salt cuz i wanna drive my fixed car!!!

[amdspitfire]

whats the easiest way to remove the o-rings on the tip of the injectors, I got the ones on the top off easily.

[MR 325]

whats the easiest way to remove the o-rings on the tip of the injectors, I got the ones on the top off easily.

I always just snip them off with dikes. I'm sure that's not the proper way to do it but it works for me.

[amdspitfire]

I always just snip them off with dikes. I'm sure that's not the proper way to do it but it works for me.

http://alliekay.com/store/images/Lead%20Dikes.JPG

is that a dike?

[MR 325]

Yes, dikes=cutters.