What's the normal time to change injectors for those of you who do it all the time?

 

Yesterday I changed injectors, set valve lash, and installed a Vulcan banjo bolt eliminator kit from filter to block mounted pump. Took about nine hours, though had Dirty Jobs and Strange Inheritance on in the background to distract me a few times.

 

 

On a hot engine, I can do it in under 1 hour. Ask @hex0rz . He showed up at my place at 6pm and had him rolling with my spare set by 7pm heading south. I will admit I didn't get #2 line tight enough and was leaking. 

 

8 mm socket (inch-pound torque bar)

10 mm socket

11 mm socket

13 mm socket

15 mm socket

19 mm wrench

Small flat blade

 

Pull the APPS sensor roll to one side with the 13mm.

Loosen the boot clamp with the 11mm and then pull the dipstick 10mm and the 4 10mm grid heater bolts. Roll this to the driver side.

Stuff a rag in the manifold hole. 

Remove the 4 10mm bolts holding the injector line to the manifold.

Remove the 2 15mm bolts for the rear hoist ring.

Loosen the 5 10mm bolts for the valve cover. Slide to the right and over the heater hose and then bring it forward to remove. 

Loosen all injector lines with the 17mm wrench. 

Using a small flat blade screwdriver carefully pry the crossover tubes out just enough and carefully flex the line so it can sneak past slightly. The line will hold in place. 

Now using the 8mm socket remove the injector hold downs.

Using the short grid heater bolt screw into the top of the injector and pull up. To remove the injectors. Check that all coppers are on the old injectors. If not fish them out before installing new injectors. 

 

Just reverse to install. 

 

8mm bolt is 89 inch-pounds on the injector hold downs. 

The cross over tubes is tightened before the injector hold downs are torqued. This allows the crossover tubes to center the injectors to make a good seal. 

Injector line torque I will just snug at the beginning. Once the engine is running I'll loosen till the miss is heard then snug till it stops. Then add about another 1/8 or 1/4 of turn at most. Over torquing is not suggested. 

 

The average time is about one hour to change injectors. 

 

Edited February 3, 20196 yr by Mopar1973Man

Takes me longer than Mike. Going swap out my injectors today, I am figuring about 2.5 hours including breaks and interruptions.

Practice grasshopper, practice... 

7 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Practice grasshopper, practice... 

Getting a little since I swapped some O rings last week. Still got issues and just going to swap in my old RVs for now and hope they work until I pull the head. So maybe I will do it in less the 2.5 hours. Ahh, Grasshoppah no want to stress himself today.

Just now, dripley said:

Ahh, Grasshoppah no want to stress himself today.

 

Too bad you not closer. I would break out the beer and we would do a nice long injector change at about 3 to 4 hours. I would have to invite @JAG1 to just drop bolts in miscellaneous tubes and holes in the engine. 

2 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Too bad you not closer. I would break out the beer and we would do a nice long injector change at about 3 to 4 hours. I would have to invite @JAG1 to just drop bolts in miscellaneous tubes and holes in the engine. 

Maybe we need to change @JAG1 s name to Blessed Bolt Dropper. This does sound like more fun than by myself in the drive way plus I have beer in the cooler too.

Heck, I could break out the "high cetane" drink. Nothing would get done. I don't know if we could get all the injector installed...

 

 

Mike injector lines are 19mm.  But I agree with your hour.  I did crossover tubes and re-seated all injectors in that hour yesterday.

14 minutes ago, trreed said:

Mike injector lines are 19mm.

Opps. I typically grab a 3/4" wrench. I was trying to remember the mm version. 

2 hours ago, trreed said:

Mike injector lines are 19mm.  But I agree with your hour.  I did crossover tubes and re-seated all injectors in that hour yesterday.

Just for reference 3/4=.750. 19mm=.747992. Pretty close.

4 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Too bad you not closer. I would break out the beer and we would do a nice long injector change at about 3 to 4 hours. I would have to invite @JAG1 to just drop bolts in miscellaneous tubes and holes in the engine. 

It called hide and seek LOL..... BTW, what was it they found in M73M's bladder....

An hour?! I think it took 10 minutes to get the valve cover off, fighting the heater hose, worried I'd tear the hose. I also took all the lines off, clear to the VP44. I had your directions printed off, I thought that's what I was supposed to do...

 

I hope I never have to do that again, but I know next time would go WAY faster.

43 minutes ago, LorenS said:

I also took all the lines off, clear to the VP44.

 

That is the shortcut I showed above. The article is the proper way of doing things but like everyone they have there own shortcuts and tricks to making jobs better or quicker.

2 hours ago, LorenS said:

An hour?! I think it took 10 minutes to get the valve cover off, fighting the heater hose, worried I'd tear the hose. I also took all the lines off, clear to the VP44. I had your directions printed off, I thought that's what I was supposed to do...

 

I hope I never have to do that again, but I know next time would go WAY faster.

I have in the past done just as you but it is pretty easy just to remove some of the blue blocks and the lines will move out of the way to pull the cross over tubes. You dont even have to pull them out far for the swap I did today. Dont worry you will not tear the heater hose. Mine are still oe and survived todays adventure. If it was not for #6 I could do it in 2 hours, but alas it took 3.

 

If you keep the truck long, you will do this again and maybe again. 

 

@Mopar1973Man and @trreed are well versed in this adventure.

8 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

he cross over tubes is tightened before the injector hold downs are torqued. This allows the crossover tubes to center the injectors to make a good seal. 

...Wish I'd remembered this yesterday. Do leaks wind up in the oil, thus destroying my engine? I'll check oil level every 30 miles or so for the next few days, is that sufficient?

31 minutes ago, LorenS said:

Do leaks wind up in the oil, thus destroying my engine?

 

No. The only leak that can is the injector o-ring. The crossover tube is going to leak into the return rail. No harm other than the loss of pressure to the injectors. 

Thats why I had to change mine. Apparently they were all leaking. 

Im right there with Mike when I had a 24v, about an hour. Ive got a big problem with not leaving anything alone and nothing is ever good enough. 2wd truck with a stock bumper is faster than 4wd and ranch hand bumper.

55 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

No harm other than the loss of pressure to the injectors. 

Woo hoo! I hought that's what the fitting at the rear is for. She ran smooth as butter on the 30 mile drive home last night, so I'll assume none are leaking and down on pressure.

I wouldn't beat myself up about how long it took me as much as I would if it wasn't done properly.  Take all the time you need the first time...9 hours is just fine.  My first time was about 5+ hours while double and triple checking my movements.  And anytime I pull the valve cover the valves are getting checked/adjusted too.  So about 2-2.5 hours now for injectors and valves with accumulated experience.