Dang, turning over by hand would be hard - would have to take the two belts off I expect. But, if that's what I gotta do. So, please confirm:

1. Remove valve cover.
2. Remove #2 injector.
3. Turn over the engine - if by hand, how many times?
4. Once no more fuel comes out, clean tube/bolt hole, and install new injector
5. Should I check anything before I try to start besides the battery level? Like doing a bubble test to confirm no other injectors are leaking and that I got the new one properly sealed?

I'm thinking that I will plug the block heater in before/while doing this - it'd be nice if I could feel it while working. The high is supposed to be only 20 degrees here tomorrow.

 

Dang, reading old threads. Read something that would have saved me a lot of pain. Before I drove it away from the storage location, and after pulling the codes and seeing the p0266, should I have just disconnected the #2 injector, and limped it away? Another poster said he drove his truck 11000 miles after a contrib code by doing that. Had to put up with rough idle and low rpms on the highway, but I could have done that and limped all the way back to Texas where I could work on this in the warm weather.

 

Well, guys, I wouldn't wish this on your worst enemy. Quite it bit harder than the service manual described. Had to disconnect the coolant bottle, PCM and FICM to get their harnesses and hoses out of the way. Had to remove the PCM. The aftermarket package on here relocates, I think, the vacuum pump, and it was in the way of getting the oil dipstick flange off the valve cover stud.

I broke my air intake bracket, just like I did on the last Eseries I took apart. Can't see in there and mistake nuts holding a harness clamp blacket to the air intake bracket as the nuts holding the air intake to its bracket. There's a second set of nuts underneath the harness bracket that do that. But, I pry it apart instead with a big screwdriver and pulled the studs out of the plastic on the air intake. I can maybe superglue them back in. I don't think that bracket has a lot of stress against it.

I'm down to the EP sensor/tube and the middle valve cover bolts in taking that off. My hands started cramping. Not sure if hat's from lack of food/salt/? or the cold outside. I actually don't feel the cold too much. Hope to get the injector out today and back in tomorrow.

Good news! White Bear Lake Ford is here, although it's across town. Might be worth the drive to save a few dollars.

 

Questions:
I read some recommendations to turn the engine over by hand to clear the fuel out of #2. I think it said to turn it backwards. Standing in front, does the engine turn clockwise? Do I need to take the tension off all the belts? How hard will it be after that? I only have a small breaker bar. Am I going to be able to do that?

My code was for #2, is there any reason to believe other injectors could be bad? Or that there's fuel in any other cylinders? I assume simply being able to turn it over indicates that the other cylinders are clear. And vice versa, if it still won't turn over after removing #2, I must have other problems, right?

How risky is it to bump the starter instead? If there's only fuel in #2, and that injector is out, could the starter pump out the fuel without damaging anything? And if there is other cylinders locked, would a quick bump to see be risky.

And if I could give it a bump to see if it'd turn over, do have have to reconnect the harnesses, and the coolant lines. Or is that why I have to crank by hand?

 

You can bump the starter - just keep anyone away from the #2 injector glow plug hole.

 

Great. Thx, Mark.

Another question - wonder how I can bump the starter? My PCM is out, FICM unplugged. This van doesn't have batteries under the hood, and that click connect wire to the start is buried anyway. I guess I hot wire from that starter wire to the battery? I'm thinking there's a positive terminal next to the fuse box under the hood, so maybe just a short wire from the start wire to that. Dang, that starter wire is hard to get to. Do I need to unplug anything else, fuel pump relay maybe? How many times does it have to turnover? I have my degas bottle out to with the hose just off to the side, so the water pump would shoot coolant out there if I spin too long?

New topic: I'm struggling to get the valve cover off. It's all unbolted but I can't get it over the oil rail. Arrgggh. I haven't taken off the EP sensor and tube; it looked like it wasn't in the way even though the service manual said to remove it. After wiggling and pulling one way for an hour, with what I thought was progress, it stopped solid. Finally looked under the valve cover and see it catching on the oil rail. So, I start wiggling and pulling another way, and that is where the sensor tube gets in the way. I think the fraction of an inch more it'll move without the tube lets it clear. If not, I'm hosed. There's nothing else to take off except the air breather - boy that would create plenty of room to come off, but it'll need to buy some tools to get it off. There's no space above to get to the screws, so I'll have to buy a short star bit and use an open end wrench - what a PITA. I'm gonna try the EP sensor again - it's all rusted on.

 

Done for the night. Never got the valve cover off. EP tube is soaking in PBlaster. I'm hoping that with the valve cover off, there will be more room to get at the oil rail. It does appear that there's a narrow window to get a torque wrench at #2, if only it has a tight range. Most loaner torque wrenches are the clicker type, and they often need some room to swing. Putting this all back together is not going to be fun.

 

You might have to do like suggested earlier and remove motor mount on that side and loosen other. Lift or drop that side just a little and give you that inch you'll need ?????

 

I sure hope not. I don't have a lift or jack to do that, nor can I do that in this parking lot. The motel manager already came by to ask what I was doing.
It's been a couple of years, but I took that same valve cover off another van just like this one without messing with motor mounts, that and the service manual saying it can be done, I just gotta think it can come off.

I bought a bit set when I went to get the PB blaster that should let me get to those screws holding the air breather to the valve cover - if the PB blaster doesn't work, or removing the tube doesn't provide room. Worst case scenario, I might chisel off the air breather and buy a replacement valve cover.

 

That sucks. Wish I was closer and could offer some tools or help. But reading your posts, I have confidence that you pull it off.

 

thx, VS. Yes, I should be able to get this, but why does it always have to be so hard? If this motel had been 3 miles closer, if that guy hadn't lived 15 miles outside of town, I expect this wouldn't have locked up, and I could have just driven it to a tech and paid him to do this.

Why does an engine with 80k miles blow an injector? How does an insurance company end up with a car with mechanical issues - SYK, when a vehicle at auction is owned by an insurance company, it has almost always been in a wreck or stolen, and not totaled/paid due to mechanical failure. In both cases, the vehicle was almost always running at the time. This vehicle wasn't stolen, and there is evidence of the wreck on the crunched door, but it's not running (well enough to have been driving). Dayum my luck.

Makes me wonder if setting up for the 2-3 months it usually takes to hit the auction make the injector foul. Maybe I could have poured some Archoil in it and cleared this up before I drove it. Live and learn.

 

BTW, it's almost impossible to do this job without screwing up the glow plug harness. You can't get your hand between the firewall and lower valve cover bolts without pushing on those wires. I'm not sure if I did it or it was already broke, but I got under the truck to try to reach the EP tube connection and see the GP harness on #4 is broke off flush at the head. The wires are still going inside - is it possible that it still works? The reasonable thing to do at this point, I suppose, while I'll have the valve cover off (hopefully), is replace it while I can push the GP out from inside the head. Probably should replace all of them and install a new harness.

Not sure how easy it is to push them out the head, or whether I'll have enough space above the head for leverage, or whether I can even get to all of them (I think I can). As much work as it is to get the valve cover off (if would, of course, be a lot easier the second time), it's still real tempting to just replace the injector and worry about the GPs when I get back to warm weather, and I expect that I'll do that, just because of my physical condition and those here.

 

take some pictures if you can. I think people here like to see them. Hope you get the tube out soon without problem. The glow plugs wires, if easily pushed out, I would do it now so you won't get in it again.

 

Well, good and bad news. Got the valve cover off. Messed with the EP tube for an hour first and never could get a wrench on it. Went to see if I could get the air breather off and while I was wrestling with it to expose the screws, I got it over the top of the oil rail somehow and then it came out with some more wrestling.

Got the oil rail off, and the hold down bolt was easy. Hung up a while trying to get the injector connector out of the head, but finally did. Jumped the starter and fuel came out of #2, then it would turn over just fine. Got the new injector in, and that's when I ran into problems.

There wasn't enough room to torque with the loaner wrench from OReilly's. It was the big one and they didn't have any smaller. It's min setting was 25ft/lbs and then it jumped to 28, so 26 was going to be a guesstimate at best. I could get it on the hold down bolt, but there wasn't enough space left and right for the ratchet to catch. It hit the top of the engine compartment one way and the radiator the other way. So I took it off, switched to a 3/8" ratchet, moved the bolt a smidgen, got back on it with the torque wrench, got it to catch and move slightly, but not enough to click. I did that a few more times, until I couldn't get the 3/8" ratchet to tighten it any further. That was tighter than the bolt was when I took it off, but that injector failed, so that's not a good comparison. I didn't know what else to do, cold, tired, so I put it together. Fingers crossed that it seals.

Maybe another problem? The injector tip was broken, part of it missing. I expect that was the clicking noise I was hearing as I drove it. Is that going to cause me problems? What are the chances the piece blew out the injector tube with all the fuel that shot out?

Otherwise, it should be downhill from here, albeit more like moguls than bunny slopes. The GPCM bracket was a pain to get off, nothing else was easy, but I expect I'll have it together tomorrow.

I assume it's going to smoke a lot when it starts, until the fuel in the exhaust burns off.

I was tired and cold and greasy, so I didn't take any pics. Would y'all like to see the injector? Maybe you can tell something from what's left? I'm curious why this injector failed with only 80k on the engine. I know a weak fuel pump can cause failures, but usually those begin at #7, or the passenger bank anyway. You'd think #2 would be the last to fail, not the first. I know the hold-down bolt didn't seem very tight, but not sure if that's to be expected about an exploding tip. If not, I'd say that caused the failure, but I wonder why that injector would be loose unless someone had been in there. Not a typical factory defect. And if someone was in there, what else did they mess up?

 

Yea, I kind of knew the greasy, cold, tiresome wouldn't be ideal to snap pictures. It depends on the tip size, the piece may be still in there, and scatching the wall, or who knows what. That's the problem working away from home. With a USB cam, you maybe able to peek inside and see if it's there and maybe even fish it out with a small magnet.

Now, it's all up to chance. Wish you good luck going back home. Loose injectors can definitely be a problem, and breaking is a possibility. I think at 80k miles, without proper maintenance, it's about the time things go wrong on this truck. Some fails even earlier.

It's possible that people have been there before.

For awhile after I did all major services to my truck, I carried enough tools and equipment to replace injector's oring and high pressure orings away from home. Now, I am starting to get lazy looking at running parameters.