Fuel injectors

bukky · Post by **bukky** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 9:15 am

Gooday everyone,

I want to start by cleaning my injectors, but don't know how, any suggestions? This is the first step in trying to reduce high fuel consumption, also has injectors got anything to do with it?

Thank you all,

Bukky

Proud owner, 1991 volvo 480 turbo auto.

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 9:35 am

http://www.injectorcleaning.co.uk/

Did a good job on mine

or take them out and leave them in redex all night and put redex down the injector holes in the engine.

pol · Post by **pol** » Sun Mar 20, 2005 11:13 am

I cleaned mine with carb cleaner. Even hooked them up to a dead car battery for short bursts to open them up, but i've heard thats not a good idea. Oh well, worked for me.

pol

Buzzark · Post by **Buzzark** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:31 am

I was going to start a new post/plea for help, but this one will do fine

How do I actually get the injectors out!!!???

I have the B20F engine which means I had to remove the upper part of the inlet manifold. (that's not designed for easy removal is it? Had to remove about 30 connections and nuts/bolts!)

After getting it off, I loosened the fuel line to the fuel manifold that the injectors are fixed into to remove any further pressure (there wasn't any).

I unscrewed and removed the horseshoe clamp plates holding the injectors, disconnected the wiring plugs and... well, that's it really, the injectors will quite happily turn around in their housings but I can't pull them free.

I
've lost the use of my fingers now through trying to pull them out, and had to give up for the day.
Suggestions on a postcard please!

I even tried getting a little bit of leverage under the edge, but obviously don't want to crack the plastic.

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:50 am

on the b18ft (turbo) you need to pull them out on the fuel rail which is held by two bolts.

one is a pita to remove.

Big Brother · Post by **Big Brother** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:51 am

whats that thing you used Mart? did you have to take the injectors out?

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martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:52 am

volvo-bigbrother wrote:whats that thing you used Mart? did you have to take the injectors out?

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Used what?

Big Brother · Post by **Big Brother** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:55 am

You posted a link a few posts up, is that a machine or just a guide on how to do it?

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martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:57 am

I sent them away for a few days and they got cleaned by that company.

Big Brother · Post by **Big Brother** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:59 am

ahh right

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 9:53 am

hooked them up to a dead car battery

what good did that do then, hooking up to a dead battery??

pol · Post by **pol** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:39 am

Well it was dead, but enough power to open them up as i didn't want to hurt them. Made sense at the time!

pol

Buzzark · Post by **Buzzark** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:16 am

So I need to remove the whole fuel rail Martin?

Once you'd removed the fuel rail, did yours just pull out OK or did you still need to lever them out or something?

This is turning into a semi-major job!

The last time I took injectors out of a motor to look at them, it was as quick as changing the sparkplugs. Need to get something sorted tonight, either re-assembly or removal and quick clean. Need the car for tomorrow or it's a long walk and a train ride to work.

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:19 am

Did yours just pull out of the fuel rail OK or did you still need to lever them out or something?

Remember mine is a 480 turbo and not the same, Whats at the top of the injectors?

If it's a fuel rail then that's going to hold them down.

Buzzark · Post by **Buzzark** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:47 am

Oh right, yours are a top feed type then. Mine are rail feed and clamp into the rail with just the electrical connector above the rail.

Seems they are just stiff. Might wrap a zip tie around the body and use something to pull them from that. Maybe I still need to remove the rail for access.

pol · Post by **pol** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:21 pm

Try a bit of WD40 and a wiggle jiggle. It'll just be the o-rings stuck.

pol

Buzzark · Post by **Buzzark** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 11:54 pm

No luck.

I tried the WD40 and I'm sure it loosened them a bit more, they turned around quite easy but I couldn't pull them out. I applied enough force to give myself a nice collection of blisters, but couldn't get any out.

I've put it all back together for the moment, I'll have to come back to it at a later stage, still got a list of other things to do yet.

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:56 am

Get some pictures, I know they are stuck in tight but you should have them out with that force

Buzzark · Post by **Buzzark** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:32 am

Next time I tackle it I will, it's all back together now.

I think next time I'll just have to remove the fuel rail. With force they do lift a little, about 2-3mm but snap back in position. Like Pol said, it's probably just the o-rings holding them in. Chances are pulling them would destroy the o-rings following this cars' normal pattern of behaviour..

They have a small hole on each side which doesn't go all the way through (or I'd have made a loop handle) it looks like it's designed to attach a puller tool with a pin on each side. Can't see any other reason for the holes anyway.

It runs pretty well atm so I'm not in a huge rush to take it all apart again just to investigate however it does seem to need a top gasket so I'll probably do all that in one go.

Ben Harris · Post by **Ben Harris** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 6:35 pm

I swapped my fuel rail with one from the scrapyard last weekend (to see if my injectors were knakered) on my B20F engine. I was originally going to swap the injectors, but opted for just swapping the whole rail in the end.

I didn't have any problems whatsoever removing the rail from my car, or the one down the scrapyard. To remove the rail, you don't need to remove the manifold, all that you need to do are remove the two nuts the hold the fuel rail in. It should then just lift out, with no force needed at all, and there's enough room in the gap under the manifold to space to slide it towards the throttle body, and out.

The injectors, on the other hand are a complete nightmare. I did eventually manage to get one out of the rail. It took two people, and two very big screwdrivers and a pair of pliers to lever them out. They've got a circlip which goes around the middle of the injector, and once it's inserted into the rail, it's impossible to get at.

By the time I managed to get it out, the plastic around the top of the injector was quite mangled. I think Volvo don't intend these injectors to be reconditioned - just replaced, and that way it doesn't matter if you knacker them when you remove them.

After that, I gave up and didn't even attempt to remove any of the others. I put the one I'd succeeded with back in, and just swapped the whole rail. It still seemded to work OK, but when I found it didn't make any difference to the running of my car, I put the old rail back on again.

I hope these pictures help. For other people who haven't seen a B20F fuel rail, the only bit of the injector you can actually see is the plastic bit sticking out at an angle at the top. The rest of the injector is flush with the top of the rail, so nowhere to grip at all!

Ben.