Removed Injectors To Find No Cap

[Obey_R 23]

Just pulled my injectors out to replace with the proper 1.6 items and they all came out smoothly bar one which, one it finally came out had no O-ring or cap on the end. The O-ring was sitting in the port still but I cannot find the cap anywhere.

 

Can I forget about it, have I buggered all my chances of ever getting it running before Feb, etc etc,

 

Help!

[GLPoomobile 958]

When was the engine last running and was it OK? Did the rail come off nice and easy, or was there any bashing and shaking required to free it?

 

I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this There is a possibility that the cap has fallen off and gone down the inlet valve. Hopefully it's actually just a case that a previous owner has lost the cap and didn't bother to replace it. But I've been there, having removed the caps and then fitted them back after some cleaning, when I tried to refit the injectors/rail complete with nice firm new O rings, had a bit of hassle getting it back in, so gave the rail a few taps with a rubber mallet, which was enough to shock the cap off one of the injectors. Luckily the inlet valve was closed and I was able to fish it back out. Phew!

[Anthony 1,003]

Almost certainly came off when you pulled the injectors out and fell into the inlet. Hopefully it'll be sat on the back of the valve - DO NOT turn the engine over, but instead remove the inlet manifold and recover the cap.

 

If the inlet valve on that cylinder is open, then you could have a bit more of a problem....

[GLPoomobile 958]

To fish mine out I used the end of a pen with a dab of grease on the end.

 

If it's gone on the cylinder, I guess you could try blowing it out with an air compressor.

[welshpug 1,657]

if the valve was open, whip a plug out and get some compressed air down the hole somehow.

[Obey_R 23]

Oh poo, looks like the manifold is coming off then. Is it just the 4 bolts I can see, or is it more sinicster than that? Never done this before but I'm all for learning.

[Anthony 1,003]

5 nuts in total, and the securing brace on the underside if that happens to be fitted still (usually isn't in my experience)

 

If the coolant system is full then it will leak out through the waterways on the inlet manifold mating face!

[welshpug 1,657]

You'll need a new gasket too more often than not.

[Obey_R 23]

Gasket isn't a problem - work in a motorfactor. Just whipped it off, for fear of not putting everything back where it should be I've left all the hoses and pipes attached. I can't see any valves faces, only the 'stems', can't see the cap either....

[Obey_R 23]

 

Thanks GLP - grease on the end of a screwdriver!! Could only just see it right at the back of the (fortunately) closed valve - big sigh of relief

Edited January 18, 2011 by Obey_R

[welshpug 1,657]

goodo, make sure the gasket is the right pattern, carb gaskets look close but don't have the cutouts for the injectors, not that its a biggie to trim the shape if you haven't the injection gasket to hand.

[Anthony 1,003]

Or just do without a gasket altogether and use RTV sealant instead....

[Obey_R 23]

RTV sealant? We have three types of instant gasket at work, non hardening, semi hardening or instant gasket, blue red and green. Someone had fitted the carb. gasket before me - I can remember him making a big deal out of all the headwork he had done when the injectors weren't firing, turned out to be the ports blocked by the gasket.

 

I'll see how much it is from work but can't imagine it to be expensive.

 

I really can't explain how happy I was to get it out - thought I'd really cocked it up! First bit of engine work I've done, too.

[Obey_R 23]

So now this has happened, is there any way of making sure the 1.6 caps stay where they should be or is it just a case of hoping?

[Anthony 1,003]

The caps aren't really the problem IMO - the problem is that the O-ring gets stuck in the injector boss, and as you pull the injector out, the cap can't squeeze through it and gets pulled off the end of the injector, dropping into the engine. I'd hazard a guess that a little lube (that won't deteriorate the rubber) around the outside of the O-ring should probably do the job and prevent a reoccurance

[Obey_R 23]

So whats the best way to remove the old gasket? Half of it is stuck to the block and half to the manifold, doesn't seem to come off very easily. Is it okay to get the majority off then just put the new gasket on top?

[welshpug 1,657]

stanley blade

 

I'd get all of it off, you don't want any coolant or air leaks.

[Obey_R 23]

Just managed to scrape most of it off with a screwdriver, whipped the hoover in to get all the little bits that are hovering close to the inlet valves again!

[GLPoomobile 958]

When it happened to me it was becuase the cap was a loose fit on the injector. They are supposed to snap in place in a recess on the injector body, but it turned out that this one was a bit loose. I just added a wee tiny dab of superglue to stop it happening again (obviously be very careful if you do this, as superglue getting on the tip of an injector isn't really the recipe for healthy performance )

[Anthony 1,003]

Just managed to scrape most of it off with a screwdriver, whipped the hoover in to get all the little bits that are hovering close to the inlet valves again!

As said, get it all off so you're left with a uniform smooth surface otherwise you're liable to have air leaks.

 

A stanley knife blade (removed from the the knife body) held at an acute angle works well I find, scraping off the old gasket without digging into the alloy mating face. With a bit of practice you can pretty much remove the remaining gasket complete so that you don't end up getting little tiny pieces everywhere.

[Obey_R 23]

Ok thanks for all your help Althony and GLP, have managed to get it fitted with the new gasket - it looked smooth enough before I put it on but it won't be running for another couple of days so I won't know until then. The injectors in now are the original 1.6 items, so that's one more thing off the list!