I have been trying to remove the fuel rail and injectors on my 1988 F350 with a very tired 351W. I have removed the four bolts for the rail (is there a sneaky fifth?), undid the two clips, and made sure there was no pressure (which even after removing the clips there was, is that normal?). The injectors wiggle plenty but the rail and injectors wont come out. After this truck was exempted due to age I have not other records so they have been in there a long time. I am assuming the o-rings are fused.

I have used WD40 and PB Blaster and progressed to rubber mallet tapping (research said it could "shock" the o-rings). I tried gently prying with a long screwdriver. And now I have borrowed a slide hammer before I just get a mobile mechanic to give an opinion.

My concern is that they will break off in the engine or leave something behind. Does anyone have any other tricks? Or did I miss a bolt or clip somewhere?

Also, what are some good sites to look at for crate motors? Specifically, stroked 351 motors that I can mostly swap out with mine. It is tired and the original plan was to tootle around before swapping motors anyways. I am approaching that great point where I need to decide if continuing to keep it going while I save is worse than just storing it and biting the bullet to geta crate motor. I am also open to other suggestions for motors. My plan is for this to be my daily driver (I don't haul/tow often) and also do to some 4x4/Overlanding in it.

 

You’re spraying where the injectors go into the intake? Gently rock the rails forward and aft and in circular motion while pulling up? Mine was a pain, but the long screw driver did it.

 

No..only the four little bolts. Maybe depending on how you relieved the pressure?

I would stick with the wiggle and pull method. Don’t get too aggressive or you might break the rail.

 

I use carb foam on the interface to lube the o rings up as you wiggle it around
Then
Pull like a gorilla with your fingers only

 

Between the old hardened injector O rings and the oxidized aluminum in the injector mounting holes, I suspect you are not pulling hard enough. I also believe the injector pintle caps will stick into the injector hole once you get the injector out. Maybe not all of them, but at least one. The junk yard core motor I took apart had at least 3 pintle covers stuck in the injector bore, but I don't believe they can fall into the port.

I elected to build my own 408 and the parts/machine shop costs were much more than what I could buy off the shelf. I am building it for a supercharger and will be using it for towing. I did not find anything on the shelf for my exact requirements.

 

as said above, the o-rings are old and dry, creating a tough barrier to break. i used a small prybar on the 4.6 in the crown vics after 100,000 miles to pop the rails off. take your time and exercise patience, they will come off sooner or later. just dont use too much force because the rails are easy to damage with a prybar.

 

I teach in NC so in my county I get a 12% bonus at the end of each school year. So I would have a budget of about $4,000 to start with before I save anything. I also live in a condo so have to work on the truck in my parents driveway or in a storage lot. Figured if I could find a decent stroker, or even more modern ones that fit, it'd be a good time over the summer to do it.

 

My only concern is at 6'5" my leverages/weight get me into trouble when prying things or removing stuck bolts.

 

while i am only 6 foot, i was also 335-350 lbs most of my adult life with most of it as muscle. so i know your pain.
i have snapped of WAY TOO MANY lug nuts when just "snugging them" before hitting with a torque wrench

 

Or bending perfectly good breaker bars/wrenches. Thats why, with this tired motor, I have the mean to pay for a crate motor around May/June when I get my bonus. After it was exempted by odometer in PA there aren't anymore records I can find online. So I actually don't know how old the injectors even are? Or other parts that do not appear in the records.

 

my bet is they are original. i have seem many engines with over 300k miles that still had original injectors

 

Funny thing is for a 35+ year old truck it only had roughly 132K on the odometer when accounting for the rollover. It lived on the farm it seems with only occasional outings. But it also sat for quite some time before I got it.

 

I have removed injectors from several engines that have most likely never been that far apart since new and never had them so stuck that I needed a pry bar. Post some pictures. Maybe you forgot to remove something.

You should be able the turn the injectors when installed. Have you tried turning them to help break them free?

 

When I get back over to my parents I can take some pics. I have the four bolts removed, both the hose clamps, pressure released, and injectors plugs disconnected. They turn and move but just won't come out. I can wiggle the rail back and forth, and even in circles, but when I pull up it wont move upwards at all.

 

As soon as you get back to it, give the deals a good squirt again. Let sit for 10-15 minutes and try again.

At some point they give up or break. It may not be a horrible idea to have a shop vac if you have one there. Once it starts coming up.” Vacuum around them to suck up any loose debris like dust and dirt!