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injectors

4K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Senior 
#1 ·
i am starting to have a problem with the injectors on my truck and i was wondering wat is the best thing to clean em any ideas please help thanks
 
#3 · (Edited)
Since this is asked/referenced a lot, I'm going to make this into a post that I can reference from now on.


So you think you have an injector problem, or so someone else thinks. Early Symptoms of an injector problem starting are some of the following:

-Hard Starts
-Obvious misses when cold.
-Rough Idle when cold.
-Rough Running when cold.
-White/Light Blue Smoke when cold. (Stuck open injector dumping fuel).
-Fuel Smelling Exhaust when cold. (Stuck open injector dumping fuel).
-Injector Related Codes
-Other symptoms related to getting too much, or not enough fuel in a cylinder.

If you have these problems, but they go away once your truck warms up, your injectors may be having problems. However, generally, if they DO go away once you warm up, they're generally treatable WITHOUT replacing the injectors. However, leave them untreated, and you WILL eventually have to replace them.

99% of Injector problems are usually caused by one of 3 things:

Cause #1) FICM Problems.

Check your FICM voltage. People disagree on what an 'acceptable' voltage is, but they're built from the factory to work at 48v. Some will say that a little drop during cranking is okay, and I don't generally disagree, but if you see below 45v, it might be time to look into a rebuild. Some here have seen as low as the 30's, or even lower. That is DEFINITELY a problem.

Check the FICM Relay, Related fuses, and wiring in to/from the fuse box. Check the Input Voltage to the FICM as well as the output voltage.
Corrosion, bad contacts, etc can cause source voltage (12V) to the FICM itself to be low, resulting in a low FICM Voltage as well. Low voltage in means Low Voltage out!

Have your batteries tested, make sure they're holding voltage properly. Check your alternator. Once again, low voltage in = low voltage out. The FICM is one of the most voltage-sensitive items on our trucks. If there's a battery/alternator voltage problem, it may be the first and only thing to show it until it gets worse.

Also, just because the FICM voltage is correct, doesn't mean it's still not causing problems. Checking the voltage is one way to easily verify that it is bad, but it does not guarantee that it is good!

Solution for a bad FICM: Repair/Replacement/Upgrade

There are some do-it-yourself troubleshooting and repair guides out there for FICM's, but I only recommend them if you are knowledgeable in electronics. There is a decent risk of making it worse than it is, if you don't know what you're doing. Also, most shops will refuse to repair a FICM/issue a core credit on one that has been fooled with by the customer. On the other hand, if your current FICM is too fargone, and if you're resigned to buying a new one, and not getting your current one refurbed, then you might as well try, the worst that can happen is that it still doesn't work, right?... Ok, not 100% true, as a complete screw-up could result in.. well... bad things happening. Just.. don't go beyond your ability level attempting to fix a FICM. Most people can probably re-flow the common points, and brillo-pad the screw contacts without screwing it up. Just don't go trying to re-solder SMT parts if you have no idea what you're doing.

Another option, Swamps Diesel, will refurb your FICM back to stock voltage (with better rated parts that are less susceptable to failure), OR upgrade it to a 58v setup. So far, no negatives have been found (that I know of) of this 58v upgrade.


Cause #2) Injector Spool Valve Sticking due to Gunk/Varnishing/etc.

Our trucks use the engine oil at 1500+ PSI to fire the injectors. Typical engine oil is not actually designed to do this, and as such, the cheap stuff performs very poorly at it. The passageways inside the injectors are small, and doesn't leave a lot of tolerance for bad oil or junk in the oil. Dino oils are also known to leave more residue inside the injectors just as a matter of being a dino oil.

As residue builds up, this causes the injectors to start to gunk up internally, and, when the engine is cold, perform sluggishly, or just plain stick open or closed. Once they gunk up completely, however, and start misbehaving when they're up to temperature as well, then they're pretty much dead and need replacing. Fixing the situation when they first start to show problems is key.

The Fuel side of the injector can have the same problem, especially with poor quality fuels. Our trucks were built before the 2007 Low Sulfur Diesel that is now in use. The old fuel had a lot more lubrication in it than newer fuels do. This lubrication kept the fuel system running smoothly and flowing free. Restoring this lubrication is important to a properly running fuel system.

Here's another article written about it:
http://www.revxoil.com/tech.asp?powerstroke
Keep in mind, it IS written by a vendor trying to sell their product, so it is a little 'sell-heavy', but the information is sound, and the solution has been tried, tested, and verified by dozens of forum members.

Solution for injector sticking/gunking:

-Change the oil to a real full synthetic & Change the filter.
(use a proper Motocraft filter ONLY. Aftermarket ones will not work properly..)
-Add 2 jars of Rev-X to the oil when you're topping it off for the change.
(See the Numerous Rev-X Threads in this forum for why, needless to say, it DOES work.)
-Add a Good Fuel additive that increases Lubrication & Cetane of the fuel system like Opti-Lube XPD.
(See the various threads on fuel additives for Comparison and more information. XPD Is what I use, and is generally rated the best in all of the comparisons, but the trade off is it's cost. ~$4 per fillup. There are cheaper alternatives, just do your research!)
-Change both fuel filters. (Also check/drain the Water Separator)
(This should be done Every 2 oil changes, period.)
-Continue to add Rev-X at the 2-Jar amount every oil change until your satisfied that your problems are either gone, or are not getting any better, then, depending on who you talk to, cut down to 1 Jar, or stop using it completely.
-Some recommend shortening oil change intervals during this time due to the fact that the Rev-X Cleaning out your system will cause your oil to dirty faster, therefore needing changing earlier. This is a personal call.

If the injectors are savable, the above will do it. If you're still having problems after doing all of the above with an injector or two, chances are it's damaged beyond repair and needs replacing. However, Most people that only have problems when cold, will see those problems fixed by the above treatment.

Cause #3) Injector Failure

Things DO fail eventually. Injectors have moving parts, and face it, things sometimes just break. In addition to that, if they become so gunked up that the above treatment does not fix them, then you are left with no recourse but to replace it.

Low fuel pressure is also known to permanently kill injectors. Fuel pressure dropping below 45PSI at any time can cause permanent, irreparable damage to injectors.
There is an upgraded blue spring kit for the Fuel Pressure Regulator to raise your idle pressure above 60psi. There is no way to monitor this on a stock truck, or with just a ScanGuage or CTS, you need to install a fuel pressure sensor in the test port on the regulator. It's not hard to do at all.

Solution for Injector Failure:

-Injector Replacement
--Better preventative maintenance of your truck in the future if it was caused by gunking.
--Regulator Spring upgrade / Fuel Pressure Gauge installation if caused by low fuel pressure.



In the end, the 6.0's injectors usually fare quite well, as long as they're taken care of properly. Change your oil on time, use synthetic oil, use a fuel additive, and change your filters properly, and you should not have any problems. Take care of your truck, and it will take care of you.



To everyone else, please let me know if something stated herein needs more clarification, or anything. I want this to be a good post to reference in the future, since we all see so many injector threads.
 
#4 ·
Nice post Dicion!!

Also want to mention fuel pressure, when fuel psi drops below 45psi at idle to WOT, you stand a good chance of destroying injectors.

You will need a fuel psi gauge to check your psi. If you are going below 45 psi, you can update the fuel pressure regulator spring (blue spring mod).
 
#6 ·
hey I thanks for headsup.... when i had the head gasket replaced and the egr delete kit put on wich was just a few weeks ago.. i also had them bench test the injectors two were shot so i bought new ones.. the checked and cleaned all of the otheres and said they were fine...i had taken it back to shop after picking it up... they said it was because the water seperator was full..... they emptied it and it seemed to fix it for the most part.... it does not smoke when first started only when its been drivin for awhile and only at idle.....
 
#9 ·
I had what I thought were shot sticks, hard to start-really rough idle-missing, but turns out no. I bought my truck with 142,000 and my first oil change I sent a sample to be tested. The recomendation, and after much reading, I switched to Rotella T6, added 2 bottles of RevX and changed all fiters. Within 750 miles she started easier and ran much smoother. I have repeated the above steps twice more and she starts like new. Sure, I've spent about $500 in oil, filters, and additives, but alot cheaper than new sticks. Another +, I gained abot .5 mpg city,1 hwy and the engine seems to have a quieter chatter 75 mph.
 
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