I've recently replaced my fuel pump to correct a bad fuel leak and because a mechanic told me that I wasn't get enough pressure to my fuel injectors. The leak is fixed but I still have some vibration issues. I thought the vibration was just at idle but it seems to be throughout the acceleration process. Someone told me it might be a fuel injector or broken rocker arm so I wanted to take the valve covers off to inspect. When I remove the valve covers will that damage the gaskets? Are they designed so that you have to use gasket sealer when they are installed? I dont' want to spring $50 or $60 buck for gaskets if I don't need to.

 

Nope. The gaskets are reusable and seal with an o-ring type seal that is built into the gasket. Take them apart and don't worry that you might hurt them.

While you're at it, look closely at the electrical connections in the valve cover gasket, the pigtails on the outside, and all the connections in the Under Valve Cover Wiring Harnesses (UVCWH's). A burned connection at one of these points can cause a miss that will make the truck shake. You can also run the truck with the covers off (with the gaskets laying in place and the wires all connected) and watch the oil spitting out of the spill spouts. If you have one injector that seems to be spilling a lot less oil, or none at all, chances are good that one is your issue.

 

50 wont cover the cost.luckily IF they are ok.they are reusable.but check the connectors for burnt pins and burnt connectors and faulty glow plugs as well while u r in there.also u can check the resiztance across the coils in the injectors

 

Check engine light on? Bulb check ok?

 

I was hoping I could get them for $50 or $60 apiece. I'm getting no indications in the truck, no lights at all. I told a buzz tes might help figure out if I have a bad injector. Don't know how to do that. Any suggestions?

 

If u do the affordably priced doormans u can do for about 60 per side and that comes with under cover harnesses and external pigtails.there are mixed reviews on them but i have them and they are ok.IF i had the money when i did them last time i would have done the oe ones but i was in a time crunch and broke down at work in the shop and i had to get it back together.
a buzz test can help to isolate an injector fault.but no two problems are the same.you will need a scanner or i believe a scan gauge may be able to do it.i dont have one myself but lots on here have them.they will chime in here in a min.

 

Last night, on your suggestion, I pulled the flat wiring connectors attached to the valve cover gaskets to see what they looked like. One looked OK but the others looked like the ends were burnt or fouled. I didn't even see connectors at the ends in a couple of them. The truck starts and runs fine (except for the vibration). What should these connectors look like? Do new gaskets include new wiring harnesses? What exactly do these connect to? I'll take pictures this afternoon and post them so you can see what I mean.

 

I think you find out your issue, as mentioned above that can produce a miss. I think you have to change the gaskets and new wiring harnesses (they come separately). and maybe the UVCHs too. There are some kits that come alone with the pins and a tool to change them, maybe they can be used.
The scangauge can make the buzz test.

 

I know exactly what they look like! I just replaced a pigtail on mine last week. The issue is that the glow plugs draw a lot of current and over time the pins in those connectors get loose. Well loose connections + high current = heat and the plastic gets all melted and eventually the bad connections can actually affect the pins and connections for the injectors as well. I bet the vibration you're feeling is a miss.

If the connectors are burned up, it is best to replace the valve cover gasket as well since the pins that the connectors attach to are likely fouled as well and it is next to impossible to clean them up well enough to ensure a good connection (although I am trying it).

You can go basically two ways here. One is to replace everything at the same time and the other is to replace just the items that need to be replaced. Then your options for parts are to get OEM (and spend quite a bit of $$) or to go the more economical route and get Dorman parts. The Dormans get a mixed review. Some guys have issues with them, other don't. It wouldn't be a big deal, but to replace everything with OEM parts is going to set you back about $415 and to do it with Dorman parts is around $100. So you can see the issue at hand...

Here are some links courtesy of Riffraff Diesel for OEM and Rock Auto for Dorman:

OEM Valve Cover Gaskets
OEM Replacement Pigtail
OEM UVCWH

Dorman Valve cover gasket set Rock Auto sells these for about $50 a side and they include everything. The choice is yours.

I am also including this link for the GP's in case you need them.
Motorcraft ZD11's

The reason I included this is that I suggest you test the GP's while you're under the valve covers. If you ohm them out to a ground you should see about 0.8 to 1.5 Ohms each. If they're above that by much they're likely bad. Don't skimp on the glow plugs. Cheap ones (or Autolite GPs especially even though they're more expensive) swell up and can get stuck inside the head, which means you have to pull the head off the engine to remove them...no fun.

Good luck with the decision.

 

Here are some numbers for you:

Valve Cover External Harness Repair Kits (contains 4 hard shells w/seals, w/o pins)
(Ford) F7TZ-14489-BA (94-96) w/o pins
(Ford) F7TZ-14489-AA (97) w/o pins
(International) 1830829C91 w/o pins
Female Pins, no wire lead (International) 1661875C1
Female Pins, with 6” wire lead (International) 2501055C1
Individual Wire/Pin seals (International) 1661872C1
Pigtail with 5 Wires and Connector (Performance Specialties) 99288

 

I went ahead and got the Dorman valve cover kits with the pigtails. Found one at Advance and had to order the other. I'm hoping I have it before the weekend so that I can get this job done. I'm anxious to see how the truck runs with all the connections working properly. I'm planning to buy one of these at Harbor Freight: CAN OBD II Code Reader/ EOBD Scanner
CAN OBD II Code Reader / EOBD Scanner.
Would this type of scanner be capable of doing a buzz test?

 

I really doubt that reader will connect with the PCM in our trucks AT ALL. It takes a pretty high end scan tool to communicate wit our trucks because they are an odd version of the OBD II protocol. You're welcome to try it but about the only things that are known to work well are Snap-On readers (big $$$), Aeroforce Scangauges (around $250), and Auto Enginuity (Around $400 PC Based scanning software).

 

A generic OBD-II reader like that will pick up speed and RPM, and that's about it. Def. won't do op tests like buzz or contribution. Every time I've tried to retrieve trouble codes with a generic scanner, it stalls the truck ( moment).