Oskar7

My car has the dreaded fuel smell and I believe I have located the source of it. The LIM is stained and wet directly under the #1 secondary injector so I'm assuming I have a bad O-ring. I had removed the UIM and a pile of hoses and was about to remove the injector when it occured to me that when I pull the injector, the fuel rail will drain into the engine.

Any recommendations on how to avoid this?

I also managed to break the plastic hose nipple off of one of the solenoids. I planned on finding some high temp plastic epoxy unless there is a better way.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

No matter what, you might get some fuel into the engine. No big deal, though - worst case, it will be a bit trickier to start. I wouldn't sweat that.

Dunno how far down you are, but it might be easiest to just remove the fuel rails with the hoses and all attached. The fuel injectors are in there VERY tight, and it might be easier to remove the one problem child with the whole thing off the car.

This is also a big "while you're in there" deal - might be worth changing all the O-rings, replacing the check valves, installing a new pulsation dampener, etc. But, it just depends on time and budget if you want to do all that.

I have heard of people drilling out a broken plastic solenoid nipple then epoxying a small metal tube in place. Would be a bit tricky to do, but it's a good solution, probably ends up stronger than stock if done right.

Dale

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I've glued solenoid nipples with a good thick (high-strength) superglue. Start by putting a *very* thin coat on the broken face of the nipple and glue the nipple back in place. Use barely enough glue to get it to stay still - you don't want extra glue squeezing out and getting into the solenoid. Once dry, apply a good bead around the crack and let it dry overnight. This will provide enough strength for the joint to handle normal use.

As for the injectors, they are very stubborn and it's IMO better to have the whole rail out of the car. That way you can put pressure on the pintle end of the injector while twisting it in the rail. This seems to coax it out with a minimum risk of breaking either the top end or pintle end.

Dave

books

iTrader: (8)

To avoid dumping fuel into the engine, disconnect the fuel line (source) on the coil side of the engine. My car sat for days with the injectors out waiting to install some 1300cc's, when I finally got around to starting it, there was gas drippping out of the engine. It was severely flooded.

Oskar7

Sounds like the flooding isn't too big a deal, but I'll disconnect the fuel line and drain as much as I can. I think I'll wait until the O-rings get here before I pull the injector.

Dale, I already got the injector free and moved it up about 1/4" before stopping. I got it to come out by pulling up on the connector side with my fingers and gently prying under the plastic with a screwdriver. I decided not to remove the rail if I don't have to since the leaking injector is accessible without removing the ACV.

I'll also be ordering some silicone vacuum hose since I break about every other one I disconnect. The ones on top of the engine seem to be ok, but anything under the manifold is toast. THese things are actually shattering when I try to cut them.

ichibandan

iTrader: (1)

If you can, check the solenoid first before attempting repair. There's no sense in repairing the solenoid if it's near the end of it's life already.