Pitfalls of replacing fuel injectors?

[gregintenn]

Are there any to look out for? I'm about to give it a go on my Tacoma. It looks pretty simple, but I've thought that before.....

[Alleycat72]

Lube the o rings. 

[TomInMN]

36 minutes ago, alleycat72 said:

Lube the o rings. 

That's just good general life advice right there.

Is this the kind of high-pressure system that you need to take care to not inject fuel into yourself through your skin? If so, probably be sure you don't do that...

[Erik88]

Go with OEM or equivalent parts, not aftermarket. 

[peejman]

What they said.

Replacing them is easy, it's getting to them that can be hard. 

[E4 No More]

15 hours ago, peejman said:

What they said.

Replacing them is easy, it's getting to them that can be hard. 

Especially in a foreign car. The fuel rails in my Mustangs were pretty easy to get to.

[DaveTN]

It’s been 24 hours. You get the hood open yet?

[gregintenn]

13 minutes ago, DaveTN said:

It’s been 24 hours. You get the hood open yet?

Parts haven’t showed up yet.

[peejman]

1 hour ago, E4 No More said:

Especially in a foreign car. The fuel rails in my Mustangs were pretty easy to get to.

It can be a pain to get at stuff on the backside of any transverse V6.   One thing that's universal among auto makers is a total disregard for ease of service. They only care how fast they can put it together the first time. 

[Ronald_55]

10 minutes ago, peejman said:

It can be a pain to get at stuff on the backside of any transverse V6.   One thing that's universal among auto makers is a total disregard for ease of service. They only care how fast they can put it together the first time. 

 I used to have a Dodge Neon (POS) that you have to unbolt the engine just to replace the serpentine belt. I kind of think they engineer them on purpose to ensure work for their dealer service departments. 

[E4 No More]

18 minutes ago, peejman said:

It can be a pain to get at stuff on the backside of any transverse V6.   One thing that's universal among auto makers is a total disregard for ease of service. They only care how fast they can put it together the first time. 

True but in my case they were all V8's: GT, GT500, and BOSS 302.

[Alleycat72]

I laughed and now I have to put a head gasket on my daughter's 4.6l Ford. Guess I'll pull the top end off this weekend. 

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, alleycat72 said:

I laughed and now I have to put a head gasket on my daughter's 4.6l Ford. Guess I'll pull the top end off this weekend. 

Ugh! If it’s an f150 like I have, it looks like you’d nearly have.to pull the cab off to get to the head.

[Alleycat72]

13 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Ugh! If it’s an f150 like I have, it looks like you’d nearly have.to pull the cab off to get to the head.

2003 mustang 

[gregintenn]

2 minutes ago, alleycat72 said:

2003 mustang 

Ok. That might just be doable.

[peejman]

20 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

 I used to have a Dodge Neon (POS) that you have to unbolt the engine just to replace the serpentine belt. I kind of think they engineer them on purpose to ensure work for their dealer service departments. 

No, they just don't care whether it's easy or not.

[E4 No More]

23 minutes ago, peejman said:

No, they just don't care whether it's easy or not.

Back in the 80's, Plymouth/Dodge advertised that their Horizon was engineered to allow trouble free maintenance. They lied!

[abusfullofnuns]

The two pitfalls that come to mind are pinching an o-ring or heat soak. A little lube will prevent most pinch risk. Heat soak depends on the motor design and how many miles. The electrical connectors are often brittle and crack/crumble when removing. It’s usually the lock mech that cracks and then the continuity is suspect to fail. 

[abusfullofnuns]

Oh yeah, good way to prevent connector breakage is to use a pick tool to operate the lock mech. Replacement injector connectors are pretty widely available for this reason. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by abusfullofnuns

[gregintenn]

Many thanks for all the advice and encouragement. This job turned out to be easier than I was expecting. My little Tacoma is back together and running like new!

[gregintenn]

On 4/22/2020 at 2:58 PM, alleycat72 said:

I laughed and now I have to put a head gasket on my daughter's 4.6l Ford. Guess I'll pull the top end off this weekend. 

How’d that turn out?

[Alleycat72]

13 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

How’d that turn out?

Well, the engine is out. Going to put a clutch, timing chains, and new gasket/seals in. Heads are at the shop. 

[gregintenn]

4 minutes ago, alleycat72 said:

Well, the engine is out. Going to put a clutch, timing chains, and new gasket/seals in. Heads are at the shop. 

Oh my!

[hipower]

On 4/23/2020 at 10:59 AM, E4 No More said:

Back in the 80's, Plymouth/Dodge advertised that their Horizon was engineered to allow trouble free maintenance. They lied!

LOL!!! Back in the days when I ran a parts territory I would laugh at the techs screaming about how damn hard it was to service so many of the vehicles of the last 30 years.

Always praising the 50s and 60s cars. "Back then they were simpler, easier, and had room to work on 'em!!"

[E4 No More]

10 hours ago, hipower said:

LOL!!! Back in the days when I ran a parts territory I would laugh at the techs screaming about how damn hard it was to service so many of the vehicles of the last 30 years.

Always praising the 50s and 60s cars. "Back then they were simpler, easier, and had room to work on 'em!!"

I feel for them. I'm a big dude with really big hands, and there are many things that I can't do because of those hands. It's why I hate working on cars. 

I remember in 1983 opening the hood of a new Toyota and not being able to see the pavement anywhere. I knew that I was pretty much so out on working on any new car engine. I can keep to things like brakes, (as I did this very weekend replacing the brakes and rotors of my daughter's Ford Fusion), and exhaust. I put shorty headers on my 2008 Mustang GT which was difficult enough to get me to hire someone to put the long tube headers on my GT500.