Each vendor has their own policy on tune modifications and updates so take that into consideration.

I don't know if it applies to the nozzle size regardless of injector size but I would confirm if you can use the "standard tunes" library with the Hydra. If you go single shots that automatically buys you into custom tuning.

Looking back I can say that I would have kept my original injectors. Even though they had 305K on them they were still running well and providing trouble-free injection. They were old and tired and I came into some cash that I hadn't expected so I decided to go for it and got the new single shot injectors I'd been dreaming of for years. It did not turn out the be the fairy tale I had expected.

I'm sure I'm more the exception that the rule but it has still been frustrating. In case you are curious:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-and-more.html

If I had it to do over again I would have stuck with my original injectors and waited until I had an injector problem or rebuilt the engine before exploring new sticks.

I love the power but it has not been an easy transition to my Stage 2 sticks and CA has not made it any easier.

Just my .02

 

 

I bought a scope camera for my android phone for about $20 and it worked really well. It came in handy more than a few times for seeing in the passages to make sure I caught all the debris (especially for cylinders #7 and #8). I was able to snap pictures too with the free app I was using (called CameraFi or something like that).

I cut a rag so I put some kind of protection in the passages when I was removing the old Loctite. I only did this in injector holes 1-4 as 5-8 you're "blind" as you were saying. Relying on reflections in a mirror or pictures from the scope to verify cleanliness for something I put in there was well past my comfort level.

I'm still trying to finish my write-up but here's a basic rundown on what I ended up doing to clean the bores after some trial and error:

- I used a thick artist's paintbrush handle to put in the hole into the cylinder to keep debris from falling into the cylinder.
- I used a long, think flat blade screwdriver to gently break up the Loctite residue at the bottom of the bore (tapped the back of the screwdriver with my hand to chip the residue away). It doesn't take much pressure to break it loose.
- I used a shop vac to suck all of the pieces out.
- I did not have any compound left at the top of the cup so the upper portion of the bore was debris-free.
- Cleaning the bores. I got a couple of brushes from CAT and they were semi-effective. I ended up getting a flexible shaft for my rotary tool and getting some various sized wheels from Harbor Freight to clean up the bores top to bottom.
- Once that was done I vacuumed again to get anything else that might be left or created by the wheels.
- I used rubbing alcohol for a final clean before installing the cups. I used 90% and I also got some medical-style swabs (long sticks with cotton tips) to reach all of the surfaces.

Word of caution: if you go the cotton swab route make sure you test them first! I bought a couple of bags off of Amazon and one of the first ones I used the cotton tip came off the stick in the bore. Luckily I started with cylinder #2 and it didn't fall into the cylinder. After that I pulled on each one before I used it to make sure it wasn't going to come apart on me. I'd say about 20% of them did not pass the quality control test.

 

 

The oil spout and injector upper hold-down bolt don't need any further checks. It's the injector lower hold-down bolt that has been known to walk/stretch. You can also check your rocker bolts too if you feel the need.

I am a proponent of the hot torque check. I've done it several times and all of my lower hold-down bolts were loose...all of them.

When I replaced my injectors I put new injector bolts in (upper and lower). Torqued everything down, warmed the engine up, then hot torqued. 5K miles later I was getting a noticeable knock and went back under the covers for another hot torque and all the lower bolts were at least 1/4 turn loose.

There are several threads floating around with the discussion and some non-OEM approaches to battle this. Some trucks are more susceptible than others it seems.

Bolts to check if you want to hot torque:

 

 

I'm not sure where you got the cup/tool/compound from but I got mine from Riffraff.

His "kit" came with a 10ml bottle of 620 that I thought was not going to be enough but it turned out to be plenty. I made sure I had good coverage on the upper and lower portions then made sure the cup was firmly seated. Let it set for AT LEAST the minimum cure time. I was working other things so ended up not starting it for several months later so the Loctite had plenty of time to cure.

I can't find the picture of my Loctite application "skills" but it looks similar to Riffraff's instructions (Figure 6) just a little thicker: http://www.riffraffdiesel.com/conten...eplacement.pdf

I wasn't stingy about how much I used as, like you, I don't want to do this again if possible...ever. There was still some left in the bottle when I was done and I did all 8 cups.

This is what it looks like with my cup installed. You can see that there is no sealant in the injector hole and a small amount around the top:

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the links. I tried to minimize reproducing information and also tried to parcel it out so that people could pick and choose what they wanted to read, especially if they had seen any of the other threads.

I have a slight knock right now but there was nothing really physically wrong with the injectors. My biggest headache was getting them dialed in to pass smog. Luckily PHP came through for me as Gearhead was having issues at the time and P.I.S. was (and still is) a mess.

I bought new injectors from P.I.S. right before Gray's purchased them. Customer service was terrible from the moment I paid for them. I felt like a 16 year-old kid at a Porsche dealership...totally ignored and written off. I could never get ahold of anybody and support was non-existent. I know I'm not a high roller or repeat customer but I think a few thousand dollars should get me some level of service (regardless of what their profit margin is). I finally wrote them off when the owner sent me a less than friendly e-mail.

All of mine were nice and shiny when I got them so wasn't an issue.

 

 

I got them to pass but not by much (opacity Snap Test was borderline). I was under the gun (2 months past due for smog when I got the truck running) and Bill at PHP was able to whip up a "smog" tune for me to help me out in a pinch.

I bought new 160cc/80% injectors from P.I.S. I would not recommend them after the experience I had with them. My close second choice was Full Force which is where I will turn to from here on out with injectors.

Now that I've got some miles on the new injectors and GH has their act together I'm going to try and dial in things a little better (top of the heap or not GH has lifetime updates). The GH tunes are pretty clean and I suspect the only way I'm going to clear them up is either pull way back on fuel or get a 38R turbo.