Looks like the injectors are just a press fit with the O-rings...but when I attempt to pull or pry them out they are stuck pretty good. I am hesitant to pry (with screwdriver) or pull hard as the voice in the back of my head says the plastic will crack/break.

Question: is there a tried and true technique for removing them? Primaries? Secondaries?

Follow up: How smart is it to change the O-rings whilst looking at these basstads? Do these have a big failure rate? Fire hazard? Or should I let sleeping dogs lay?

As usual, thanks for the education.

 

if it ain't leaking, don't touch em.

 

Whats the reason(s) for extracting them..?

 

You need to twist and pull on them. If you are careful, you can turn them a bit, then gently use a screwdriver to get them started.

 

I twisted mine a bit to loosen them up and then pulled them with a large set of pliers on the flat sides of the plastic top, pulling while gently rocking and twisting them. Popped out just fine. Using a screwdriver just made marks in the plastic.

 

The reason for asking is I am in the middle of doing a vac. line upgrade, cooling hose upgrade, downpipe install, along with every "reliability" mod. known to man. I have the O-rings and I am pondering as to whether to put them in whilst I have the beast stripped down. No leaking, no injector troubles...and I'm not looking for any. As expensive as the little buggers are, I am wondering if it is worth the gamble (of breaking them) just to change the O-rings.

Convince me.

 

If you have the fuel rails out, just use some compressed air. Or take them someplace that has air. Keep your hand or a couple of fingers on them so they don't get away from you. They should pop right out.
And since you have them out, IMO, send them in for cleaning. Never be a better time. There are others, but I used these guys and was happy. http://kgparts.com/index.php?page=fuelinjectclean IIRC, about a week turn-around and they come back with new 'O' rings, pintel caps and the before and after flow test results.

 

I'd leave them alone.

 

the procedure to take them out as stated above is correct. clear every thing out of the way and twist back and forth in a upward motion and they should pop right out.

However i don't see the reason at this point in your TLC process of removing them and ask for a whole lota pain in the *** issues that might arise from removing them.
if you have no fuel issues that is. IMO

if you do take them out have them cleaned and flowed. Since you have them out. just a thought.

best of luck

 

Don't forget to lightly lube the O-rings with a light weight oil (I use 10w) before installing them. Pinch one and there will be fuel leakage

 

Personally, I'd get them cleaned and flow tested. Since they will be cleaned, I'd shoot a little penetrating oil around the top to lubricate the upper o-ring and flip them over and lube the lower o-ring in a similar manner. But definitely take your time and don't tear them up.

If your car will be down for a little while to do this project, I would time the injector cleaning so they don't spend days/weeks waiting to be used following the cleaning process.

On the other hand, your car only has 19k. Same amount of time but a lot less heat has been dumped into these pieces. So the argument to leave them alone carries a lot of weight with me.

Dave

 

Do not use pliers, you will crack the plastic. Gently work a flat screwdriver under the connector portion. Spray them down with something like wd40 and twist the screwdriver carefully as you work it deeper in until the injector pops out. Sometimes you need to start with a small flat head and go to a larger one. This would be a good time to send them out to be cleaned/rebuilt. Most likely the o-rings and pintle cap will be torn/cracked.

 

Oh, yes, the pintle cap is the plastic cap on the bottom of each injector. You don't want to press down on those much or else they will crack and not every injector shop can find replacements. Mazda does not supply the pintle caps alone. Just a word of warning.

The good news is with 19k miles the o-rings may be relatively cooperative for you.

Dave

 

I did mine about 2 years ago and they were bastards! Stuck in that rail for 15 years and 135k miles of heat.

Used a just small enough socket to push them out from the bottoms. Sent them to Witch Hunter.