I got called out to a site that has a JCB 416 loading shovel, 4.4 Perkins 4 cylinder diesel that was misfiring (or so the muppets at the site said.

Got there and started it to check, misfiring was an understatement, fuel filters all clean, air cleaner too.

Slackened injector lines off one by one 

1. RPM dropped a lot barely running, good spray

2. Same as No1

3. Ran much better with no3 line slightly loosened and rpm actually increased, bubbling air when loosened, rpm decreased on tightening injector line. 

4. Same as 1 and 2

So decided to pull no3 injector as I figured injector pintle not closing for some reason IE tip dropped off or pintle seized 

Made a slide hammer as per jcb tooling... no movement ( injector is outside rocker cover)

Found a M12x 1.5mm metric fine nut to screw onto injector pipe thread, dug out a chevy damper puller centre bolt and a 1/2 unf nut and welded that to the M12 nut, made a bridge and started to pull it out.

Loud bang and the top of the injector snapped off.

Took the head off (no easy task)  tip of no3 injector had dropped off, luckily it was imbedded into the piston, got the head back home. Got 3 out of 4 out today, all 3 tops broke off so welded hardened Washers onto the tops and then welded a Cat loader frame collet bolt to the washer and then welded 2 good weld straps down 2 sides, the collet bolt is 1" unf  so same thread as the hardened nut on my chevy puller, after maybe 3 attempts on each injector, 3 out, 1 to do tomorrow,  luckily injectors for it are quite cheap.

Been in from new, 18 years

Going to glass paper the bore..... yes with the piston still in there as the muppets ran it for over 2 weeks and there is some bore wash but it will clean up 

First picture is the injector with the missing tip. 2nd picture is the puller I made,  not quite the right angle hence the washers and 2 strips of aluminium so as not to damage the rocker gasket face

Motto of this post..... never give in and find the patience of a saint and if you have air in just one line with a dead cylinder and lots of blue smoke it COULD be a tip dropped off 

What a job, I hope you are paid by the hour. I just recently replaced a thermostat housing, Ughh plastic on a 1004 perkins. It cracked and puked out all the coolant and the engine block heater boiled dry and melted into a blob. Spent all day flushing it and the new coolant already failed lab test. Do you have any good tips to get a stuck frost plug heater out of a Cummins .

I'm thinking you already know this and know nothing of the circumstances but, can you drill and tap the plug and make a puller with a bolt?

7 hours ago, Great work! said:

What a job, I hope you are paid by the hour. I just recently replaced a thermostat housing, Ughh plastic on a 1004 perkins. It cracked and puked out all the coolant and the engine block heater boiled dry and melted into a blob. Spent all day flushing it and the new coolant already failed lab test. Do you have any good tips to get a stuck frost plug heater out of a Cummins .

Same thermostat housing on this thing, it was in the way to get to No1 injector due to the excess material on one side of my made puller which  I  wanted to leave alone in case I needed to make the bridge wider to pull something else. Took over an hour to remove as the seal is not on the face like anything normal it sits down in the bore.

Is the frost plug heater threaded in or pressed in and can you get at it ?

14 hours ago, Great work! said:

What a job, I hope you are paid by the hour. I just recently replaced a thermostat housing, Ughh plastic on a 1004 perkins. It cracked and puked out all the coolant and the engine block heater boiled dry and melted into a blob. Spent all day flushing it and the new coolant already failed lab test. Do you have any good tips to get a stuck frost plug heater out of a Cummins .

Here would be my suggestion. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086BQJD85/?coliid=I2VRUFEAK8A93W&colid

Magnetic Induction Heater which will heat that block heater up and should allow you to get the heater unscrewed. Typically I just get a big socket and long handle breaker bar and they typically come out. Ford 7.3L are no different and just down by the oil filter on the driver side. I've change 2 of those without even drain coolant. 

 

Got the last one out today, this was the tightest, actually pulled the damn injector apart, left the screw on nozzle peice behind, just pulled the threads off the thing.

 

Inspected the holes after hand reaming and no damage, tapped out the hold down bolt holes and pulled the valves on no3 .... no damage the tip didn't go through the exhaust valve, cleaned the head surface and can't decide whether to send it for a skim, biggy on that is I know the glow plugs will not come out so unless the skim can be steered around the glow plug tips it won't be skimmed, think I going to get a HG and see what material it is first