Dirty fuel injector

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I don't have any experience with fuel injectors, so I'm a bit puzzled by these results. My neighbor has a 2000 Ford Windstar which is constantly misfiring on cyl #5. We have been going down the diagnostic road for a bit now. I removed the fuel injectors and found this:
Broken-1.jpg


My concern is that this is a symptom, not a disease. The Windstar has EGR points on each cylinder, so maybe the other ports are clogged and this one is getting all the exhaust gas? Or a stuck exhaust valve? Does anyone have experience in knowing what could cause this type of build up?
 
I'm no FI expert but should fuel injectors have combustion chamber carbon build up on them? That black stuff looks like the same thing you would find on a spark plug.
 
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Most coking occurs during the heat soak after shutdown. Perhaps the injector leaks a bit after shutdown, providing more fuel to carbonize.
 
This seems like it would be a great chance to test FI cleaners. Although I agree its not fixing the cause. But still would be cool to run something like Regane through it and then rephoto.
 
As plugged as that injector is, I don't believe anyones FI cleaner will clear it up. Time for replacement and then maybe some good FI cleaner for preventative maintenance.
 
Originally Posted By: mcrn
This seems like it would be a great chance to test FI cleaners. Although I agree its not fixing the cause. But still would be cool to run something like Regane through it and then rephoto.


This injector is completely plugged. No fuel is getting through it to clean it, as you can see from this close up.
Clogged.jpg
 
If you put 12 volts to the injector, it should click. When you complete the connection to the battery, there should be a spark. If you pulse it, you can feel it click if you are holding it.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
If you put 12 volts to the injector, it should click. When you complete the connection to the battery, there should be a spark. If you pulse it, you can feel it click if you are holding it.


testing it with 12V doesn't mean much in this case for it's not the pintle-type orifice that is clogged but the whole section (to my weary eyes, this is pintle-less type) clogged up.

no point in salvaging it (IMHO) but to buy new ones and from now on, use high detergency gasoline.

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: mcrn
This seems like it would be a great chance to test FI cleaners. Although I agree its not fixing the cause. But still would be cool to run something like Regane through it and then rephoto.


Personally I think all FI cleaner bought at part stores are rip-off. It seems like the same people buying these products are the same one that love Wawa and Sheetz gas. It is best to just use Tier 1 gas such as Shell, BP, Exxon, Chevron, Texaco, or Sunoco. I would rather use mid-grade Chevron for several tanks to see how things look. If that doesn't help then go for the industrial product such as BP and figure out how to use it properly.
 
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
I refuse to let it go! It must be saved!



But it's not your car? Did you buy it from your neighbor? http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/images/icons/default/smile.gif


Not exactly. This car has been broken for a long time. Maybe a year? They have been driving it around like this. We did some testing on it a few months ago. During that testing i was certain it had to either be a stuck exhaust valve or a broken fuel injector. But they have been driving it around all this time, so we didn't have a good opportunity to wrench on it. It was driving me CRAZY!
crazy2.gif
Something was broken and I couldn't fix it. FOR MONTHS! But, they have gone to a wedding out of country. I asked them to leave the keys so I can fix it. I'm trying to fix it on the cheap for them

The fuel injector soaked all night in this cleaner. The detergents in this thing were awesome. Too bad they didn't work on this extremely plugged injector. Dirt was shedding from the rest of the injector, the bottle it was in, my fingers, anything this stuff touched. The rest of the injector is now super-super-super squeaky clean, it looks like new, however the build up on the end is still there.

Injector: 1. Wal-mart clearer: 0.
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Put a NOID (or test) light in place of that injector and see if it's even getting power when you start the engine. That injector looks like what I would expect to see if I unplugged it and drove around that way for months on end.
 
Let me soak a little longer. Could you try some Break-Free or Hoppe's #9. They sell concentrated bottle of Hoppe# 9 for 12 dollars for a 14 oz bottle, good enough for 3 generations of gun owner.
 
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
I refuse to let it go! It must be saved!

Soaking1.jpg



I would rig up a hose/pump/solenoid assembly to "exercise" the injector. And I would use something "harder" as a solvent - Berryman's B12 Chemtool sounds like an option.
 
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tinman -
Good work in finding the problem - it is obviously plugged.

Buying a whole set may be smart. They are matched and you get all the others perfectly clean, too.
I'd strongly consider this.

As to over the counter cleaners, they can be great. It is the same stuff as in top tier gas, only a lot stronger. Sure, some are weak, but good ones like Chevron Techron or Gumout REGANE are great. Amsoil has a very good one, but you have to order it.
 
Well, i got a new injector for it. I could not clean it. The deposits were hard as rocks.

I put the new injector in, and it's doing the SAME THING! misfire, Cyl #5, constant. It's driving me bonkers. I've verified that fuel is now coming out of the injector (I hooked up a compression tester too, all is ok) This is actually how I found out the fuel injector was working. I took the top (the gauge part) of the compression tester off, so it was just a rubber tube, and turned the engine over. Sure enough, on compression stroke a fine mist of fuel comes flying out the end of the compression tester tube.

I have also verified spark is present. ( Do not unplug spark plug wires with your bare hands while the engine is running. It hurts.
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)

Any other suggestions? It's doing it right off the bat upon starting. I assume this rules out EGR issues, because I believe it dose not open until closed loop. Compression is ok, at ~165-180 on all cylinders. #5 is the only problem.
 
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