injector issue focus diesel

diesel_doglet

Hi All,

Recently my diesel focus started to run very rough. A friend recommended a friend of his so I took the car to him for him to have a look.

He advised there was a misfire so he set about removing the diesel injectors. He removed three no problem however he encountered issues removing the last one. He advised he could not get it out and that I would have to take the car to a garage.

I have taken to car to a local garage who managed to get the troublesome injector out however they advised that the guy who had attempted to remove it earlier had somehow managed to both split the injector so that was leaking diesel everywhere and had also managed to damage the securing bolts and the thread where they thread into in the engine head.

The garage have advised that they will either need to send the damaged injector away to be refurbished or I will require a replacement. They also advise that because of the damage to the securing holes they may need to remove the head to repair or they may need to replace the head altogether.

Of course this will only get the car back to where it was and because the garage was not there to diagnose the car initially they cannot be sure there are no other issues with the engine once this work is done.

To cut a long story short I have decided that I cannot justify spending that amount of money on the car without being pretty certain the car will run. The garage have reinstated the damaged injector in an attempt to get the car started however the car will no longer start so I have had it towed home.

They have refitted the damaged injector, wires and fuel pipes however they did not fit the securing bolts so there are still holes where they should be.

My question to anyone who has any experience or knowledge of this is whether if I purchased another injector myself and replaced without the securing bolts should the engine fire up or do the bolts need to be in place? - is there a possible lack of compression because the bolts are not present?

Is there anything else I could do or use to secure an injector in place?

Please note that I am not looking for advice regarding the original mechanic or anything like that, but safe to say I will not be using him again.

Any advice regarding the problem will be very much appreciated.

Many thanks
DD

bigjl

I would have thought without the securing bolts the injector would just pop back out.

If it is only a few hundred quid worth of diesel Focus I would stick it on eBay as spare or repairs and try and get some money back.

Only other option would be to have the damaged holes helicoiled to be honest

diesel_doglet

hi thanks for the prompt reply.

The garage advised that because the thread has gone nearly all the way down he did not think a helicoil would work.

The car is probably worth about £1k so I don't mind spending a little to see if I can salvage it but I cannot justify the cost of the garage doing the work with no guarantee the car will run ok.

I was wondering if the car should theoretically run if the injector was secured in another way and the securing holes were open?

Thanks again
DD

forgotmyname

Air locked due to having all the injectors out?

Fuel line needs bleeding all the way to each injector.

With the very high compression ratio of a modern diesel dodgy threads in an injector will soon show up as a leak or it may even come out.

arcon5

Two options.

Try a helicoil

Or

Retap the hole and use a bigger bolt - may also require an edjustment to the hole in the securing bracket.


But no... you cannot use it without the securing bolts - not unless you want 4 injectors popping out eventually.. and eventually will come very quickly now they've been out and unseized.


Why was he taking them out?

A leakoff test would have helped solve a diesel engine misfire.

diesel_doglet

hi thank you all for the advice. it is a good idea to retap the hole and use another bolt. I have ordered some new (correct) bolts and a replacement injector so I will pop it all together. Hopefully the new bolts will hold for a while I crank her over to see if she fires up. If she runs then I will look at retapping the hole and adjusting for a slightly larger bolt.

I do not know alot about cars myself so I have no idea what his thinking was behind this. I do not wish to fall out with my friend who is also good friends with the lad so I have decided to move on and attempt a fix myself or otherwise it will probably have to end up as scrap.

thanks again

arcon5

Has he overtightened them or cross-threaded them?
If not sure, is it a case when they start to become tight they get loose again.. that would be overtightened in which case they cant be fixed, only options are as above.
If cross threaded you may be able to chase the thread or even fully wind them in tight with the 'new' thread.


A helicoil should work though.

I suspect overtightened

tedted

i think the garage is telling porkies

Rolandtheroadie

Will a Focus diesel injector not need coded? As well as the other 3 checked at least, incase they're no longer where they used to be?

arcon5

I believe the TDCI do, TDDI don't.
Can be programmed with a cheapo Ford scanner off eBay... can't remember the name of the exact one that will do this do so best go over to talkford forum.

Not as simple as plug and play do, needs bleeding at the rail and priming at the filter. Not sure if Ford have an inline primer or not though, have a feeling they don't though!

diesel_doglet

Hi all, thanks ever so much for all the replies - all advice is very much appreciated.

After some more research I think that I will try a helicoil. I have ordered an injector and some replacement stud and nut to refit. Does anyone know what size helicoil kit I will require for the standard stud?

I have read that the ECU may need to be reset after reconnecting the new injector - is this as simple as disconnecting the -ve on the battery for a few hours and then reconnecting?

Sorry for further questions but am I right in assuming that I can just disconnect the wire connector and the high pressure line from the injector, replace the injector, reattach high pressure line and wires and then try and start her up?

Is it best to replace any seals at the same time and does anyone know how I prime the fuel line on the 1.6TDCI ?

Thanks again for all the assistance.