Injector maintanence

[mostly_gas]

I was looking at the owner's manual for my '79 Ford 1700 and one of the items was bench testing of injectors every 600 hours. Does this need to be done and if who would do it?

 

[showcattle]

We have a 1980 Ford 1100 that has about 2000 hours. I've never pulled an injector. Take that for what it's worth. I suppose your dealer could bench test it, or a place that works on semi trucks. Don't use the 1100 much now, my sons consider it their tractor.

 

[Jerry/MT]

I was looking at the owner's manual for my '79 Ford 1700 and one of the items was bench testing of injectors every 600 hours. Does this need to be done and if who would do it?

A shop that specializes in diesel engine repair or one that does injector pumps should be able to check them. You dealer might be able to do it also or might send it out to be done..
If the book says to do it every 600 hrs it's your call whether to do it or not. But there must be a reason why they call it out as a maintenance item.

 

[rayikeo2]

My 1700, a 1979 is going on 32 years old with 1100+ hours. I bought it new. The injectors have never been touched and the tractor runs great. As long as that continues, I won't be pulling them to check their efficiency.

 

[Gary Fowler]

+1 to Raykieo comments. Why would you spend money to work on something that is running and cranking as it should. This sounds just like a "give some of your money to the dealer" advice. I have never heard of pulling an injector for "checking" As someone here on TBN said, you can make an injector look like it is fouled by using low pressure and then they can sell you a new one. Just keep on running it as long as it cranks and runs smoothly. If it starts to miss, hard to start or produce black smoke excessively, then I would check the injectors . If you keep clean fuel in it there is no reason for an injector to wear out anyway.

 

[mostly_gas]

Thanks for the replies so far. There is 1300 hours on my tractor and it still runs good no problem starting. Not the original owner (at least 3rd) and no idea if done at 600 hrs. What I didn't know if anything short of rebuild/ replace is possible on the injectors. If not then why pull and test?

 

[Andrewnewy]

Bench testing injectors is good maintenance, maybe not every 600hrs prob more like every 1200, at the very least I'd do it every 2500. The point of bench testing is to check the spray pattern, the correct spray pattern mean the fuel is delivered to the cup of the piston, which gives maximum 'bang' if the nozzle is blocked or firing off center you will get less
Of a bang, either way you probably won't notice the reduction in hp till it's to late, then you'll be up for new injectors or at minimum new tips. The nice thing about ford injectors is they are serviceable, so if while testing a problem is noticed you can adjust it , clean it, or replace the tip, all of which are low cost, just had mine checked tractor Has done 15,000hrs, only needed new tips but all up only cost au$150 for the whole job. Which is much better than the au$600 for a new injector!

 

[JC-jetro]

Thanks for the replies so far. There is 1300 hours on my tractor and it still runs good no problem starting. Not the original owner (at least 3rd) and no idea if done at 600 hrs. What I didn't know if anything short of rebuild/ replace is possible on the injectors. If not then why pull and test?

If it ain't broke , don't fix it. The minute it starts acting up then you'll know as the performance deteriorate fast. I'll keep the filter clean and leave it be as long it runs.

JC,

 

[NH33]

The down side of putting it off is eventually the injectors will just be dripping fuel rather than atomizing it as it's sprayed in, which is how it's supposed to work. With that many hours you're probably somewhere in between. Over time the motor performance will deteriorate. If unburned fuel works past the rings you end up with diesel in the crankcase and lubricity problems.

Pulling injectors and having them tested / rebuilt usually isn't very difficult or expensive, however I'm not sure where to have Ford injectors rebuilt. I send my Yanmar injectors to Mac Boring in NJ. Perhaps your local tractor dealer can help. You need a pressure test bench to do it right, so it's usually not a DIY job.

The biggest mistake people make when pulling injectors is bending the fuel lines out of the way. You are supposed to completely remove them or at least remove all clamps and loosen both ends so you don't have to bend the lines. Other than that it should be straight forward.