Very good point, I think the injector isn't seated all the way, everything points to that as the problem

 

ok, so we checked to see if the injectors where level with each other and they seemed to be so we pulled #7 anyhow and inspected it, then oiled it and dropped it back it. we used a rubber mallet to tap it down and heard it thud back in place, hooked everything up, pulled the glow plugs and blew oil out of the chambers to be safe, replaced the glow plugs and fired it back up and the knock is still there but goes away when you rev it up and let it settle back down but still knocks at idle. we agree that it doesn't sound mechanical but wonder if the problem may have something to do with the fact that #7 is new and that at 179K miles the truck had 20 gallons of gas go through it, it now has 199k.
#2 and 6 do seem a bit weaker, could they be contributing to the problem?

any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Have you tried swapping 5 with 7 to be sure it is the injector and not an oil, fuel or electrical problem.

2 & 6 are in the other head and doubt they would contribute to a problem with 7.

 

Well when I got this message I had already put the valve cover and intercooler tube back in place.

Another theory we got from a friend is that you have to work all the air out of the oil rail for it to go away. so we're going to try that and see how it goes. If that still doesn't work we'll order a O ring kit and swap the injectors.

 

It can take up to 100 miles of driving to work all the air out of the system. It was pretty close to that when I did mine I noticed.

 

Most of the advise has been given already, but here goes...

When swapping injectors pull the #7 and #8 first, then remove all the glow plugs. At that point all the fuel and oil will have drained into the two back cylinders. Remove the remaining injectors and prep the new ones (new O rings and coppers). Check to insure all the cups are clear and the old coppers came out with the old injectors.

Lube the new injector O rings and reinstall. Press in as much as you can then with a dead blow hammer seat them. You will hear when they are fully seated. TQ to spec. Lay a 2' level or straight edge across each side. They should all be seated evenly.

Reinstall the valve covers with one or two bolts and turn the motor over by hand or by bumping the start selonoid on the passanger fire wall (this keeps the fuel pump from running).

Do this 3-4 times until the oil and fuel clears.

Remove valve covers, reinstall glow plugs and wire harness and button it up.

Turn the key to the run pos but do not crank. Listen for the fuel pump, once it turns off turn the key off and back on again. Do this 3-4 times and then crank. 15 seconds at a time, should fire off on the 3-4th time.

It will run rough and start hard for the first 50 or so miles, the only way to shorten this it to take it out and ROD on it, getting the air out takes lots of throttle changes.

Sounds to me like you still have air in the system.

 

Sounds good guys, I will relay the information and report back when we have 100+ miles on it.

 

If you have any white smoke...


STOP DRIVING!!!

 

Why do you say that Joe? When I changed injectors I had some white smoke when I got on it for the first few miles as I burned off the oil film that had gotten into the cylinders.

 

The oil film in the cylinders was gone on the first compression stroke, generally white smoke indicates a severe over fueling issue and can also indicate blown injector o rings, HPOP starvation, ect...

 

I realize it was more than just a film Jim, but after sucking out what i could, then cranking the motor with the IDM relay pulled and the glow plugs out, I removed about as much oil as I could from the cylinders. I let it idle for a minute then took it for a spin. First mile was going easy on it. When I got on it after the first mile I thought I might have lost the turbo for all the white smoke, but it thinned out quickly. Repeated romping on it had the smoke down to almost nothing in about 5 miles.

Not saying you or Joe is wrong. Heaven knows Joe's had his share of engine issues. Just sharing my experiences.

 

Exactly. Whitish/blue smoke for a few miles is somewhat normal due to the oil burning off the cylinders and exhaust.

White smoke (fuel) means an injector is not seated, has a bad copper or broken nozzle.

 

That oil is coming out of the exhaust but most of the s'more you see is due to insufficient fuel atomization as a result of incompressible oil and compressible air causing improper injection pressure!

 

its either not in all the or air

 

I have to agree, smoke at first is all right. When we started it, it was smoking a blue haze for a bit so I took it out for a spin and I left one hell of a trail of smoke for about a mile, maybe a bit more but after running it around for a few minutes it started to clear and is now gone.
We were worried too, it had me scared that we had blown a O ring, but once it cleared up I knew it was just due to having not enough pressure to the injector and all the oil I put on the injector.

As the update, it is currently still knocking, not as loud but still knocking a bit. My buddy has driving it almost about 100 miles and even took it to the local dealer for a oil change, inspection and to ask them about the knocking noise. The ford mechanic said "It's a diesel, they do that".
So we'll see if it suddenly clears up any time soon, but I'm sure having crappy oil didn't help any. I told him that he needs to change his oil, it was starting to look like sludge.