Hi All,

After having trouble getting the injector screws loose, I have come to my next impasse. The injectors refuse to come out of the rail. They will not twist or pull up at all with hand strength. You can't get a decent grip on them other than on the connector anyway. I tried WD-40 and PB Blaster and they had no effect.

In desperation, I decided to try prying the dead injector out with a screwdriver. It would come up no more than 2 millimeters before the screwdriver shaft bent and the connector started cracking, then pop right back down after I relieved the pressure. Even that didn't loosen the injector when twisted and pulled with hand strength afterward.

I am at a loss. Is there anything else I can try to get them out? Its almost like they are superglued down in there. If no one has any ideas, is it possible to crack the plastic off and pry the metal part of the injector out and just replace it? Or will that probably get crap down in the cylinder?

Thanks, Colin.

 

Pull the whole rail and tap them out from the bottom

 

The FSM says to "push" them out. This will bust the pintle cap completely. If you are going to replace the injectors, then it's not a big deal. Just push them out. Remove the fuel rail, use like an 8mm socket lying on the floor and push down on the fuel rail against the socket to push the injector out.

WD40 does help. Try twisting it and prying it lightly a few times before pushing on it. Don't bust your knuckles.

You CAN pull them out, but you will probably bust up the plastic connector housing. They will pop out, but it's not easy.

If you need replacement pintle caps, try your local injector service shops. Hopefully, you'll get someone with decent customer service b/c they usually don't sell pintle caps by themselves.

If all else fails, you can contact http://www.ccfuelinjection.com/cc/contact_us.htm. They are the ones that mailed me the pintle caps I needed. I supplied him with these photos for him to know which ones to ship out...

 

Vice grips from the top worked for me. Ditto for the injector screws.

 

I tried vice grips to remove 2 dead injectors, using a pulling and rotating motion. It completely destroyed the top of the injectors, but got them out.

Now I would like to remove the other 4 to be cleaned and flow tested without destroying them. I pulled the rails as suggested. Then I WD-40ed the injectors and twisted using pliers, without pulling, to break loose. That scarred up the top of the injectors.

I tried tapping the injectors out and nothing happened. I tried pushing them out with a socket, using about 100 lbs of force. The injectors lifted up a couple millimeters, but as soon as I released the pressure, they slid right back where they were.

@Aaron92SE
3rd gen VG injectors appear to not have pintile caps so I didn't have to worry about that.

@Nismology
I tried vice grips on a frozen 4th gen screw. Unfortunately the screw didn't budge, but it did tear up the head. I ended up having to drill the head off.

Has anyone successfully removed an injector in serviceable condition? I don't see how its possible in a 3rd gen. I removed a 4th gen injector recently without buggering it terribly bad. The injector sockets in it were smooth. In the 3rd gens there is a ridge that I believe requires too much pressure to push the o-ring over to allow the injector out without significant damage.

 

If you have a shop in the area that does fuel injector cleaning (like the website mentioned above), and I assume you want to have the good ones cleaned, take the fuel rail in to them and they will probably pull them for you. They must have some magic way of doing it, because they pulled them out of the fuel rail, cleaned them and reinstalled them for me.

 

Are you sure? Maybe you should double check.

 

he should, they do have pintle caps

 

I have. I just crushed my pintle caps because I pushed them out. It probably took about 30lbs of force. It wasn't easy. When they start to come out, you have to push them even further to pop them out. The Orings are a tight fit and they will stretch. Also, the more you grease them up with WD40 and twist them, the better.

The 3rd gen VE30DE injectors are the same as the 4th gen VQ injectors. But AFAIK, the VG injector replacement job is the same process and the same pain in the butt.

 

This is by far the hardest part of the job. I have done three injectors now (2 under the plenum and one in front) and I dread getting those injectors out of the fuel rail. I removed all three from the top, without removing the rail. I used PB Blaster and a rag wrapped around the plastic connector on top of the injector and spun the injector back and forth. I also used a rubber cushion wrapped around the plastic connector and some channel lock pliers over the cushion to wiggle the injector back and forth in the rail. Then I lightly tapped two small screwdrivers on either sides of the injector and pried it out of the fuel rail. Be careful not to damage the fuel rail during this procedure. I would rather damage the sides of the bad injector than the rail itself. If you lose patience, walk away for a while before something breaks. It has been done before, stay patient, keep at it and you will be successful. Good Luck.

 

@Maxpower & Internetautomar
Either all my pintile caps broke off and fell into the intake manifold, or these injectors have big and strange looking pintile caps that I can't tell are replaceable.

Picture of injector, the "[img]" tag did not work.

RE: Aaron92SE
If these are pintile caps, I don't see how you could break them off trying to push them out with a socket. I used a 10 mm shallow well socket that rested on the metal sholder of the injector. Thats when I put so much force on the rail trying to push the injector out that my feet were lifting off the ground and I could feel the rail flexing in my hands. The injector did not appear to get damaged doing this.

I think I tried every suggestion here without success. I guess I just got an unlucky set of extremely tight injectors. I am going to see if Accurate Technical Services is willing to remove them for me. If they aren't, I think I won't do anything to the injectors that appear to be good.

One of the remaining 4 injectors has a resistance of 40 ohms. Do yall think I need to replace it? I know nominal is 10-14 ohms, but this car was running (crappily) before I disassembled it. I was suprised to find 2 injectors bad, if it was running on only 3 cylinders, I would be totally amazed.

Thanks, Colin.

 

[QUOTE=colinnwn
One of the remaining 4 injectors has a resistance of 40 ohms. Do yall think I need to replace it? Thanks, Colin.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, replace it. it is working but only part way. The high resistance is keeping the solenoid coil from developing a full strength magnetic field and therefore the injector is not opening up all the way to allow a full shot of gas.

 

I just took a big adjustable wrench and kept tuning it counter clockwise. Pulling it up at the same time of course and it eventual popped right out. And remember to put some petroleum jelly on the new o rings and a little inside the rail when you re install the new one

 

Your pintile caps are the brown plastic on the bottom of the injector. Yours apear to be intact, so no worries.

 

For anyone needing pintile caps, just wanted to let you know Courtesy Parts offers them, search for 16600-CAP01 on their website. Works on Bosch 62005 injectors.

Good point. Also for those of you who want to replace the cruddy injector cap screws, on all 3rd and 4th gen injectors, it appears the size is M5 x .8 x 16mm. The .8 part is the pitch and seems to be "standard" for that screw size. I used socket head allen screws and lock washers.

 

Those are for the VG.

NAPA has some that "looks" like they will fit the VE. My NAPA didnt have any though to know for sure so they are getting some in for me to look at. I should know in a day or two. Its not in their computer system but in one of their books.

 

give me the NAPA #.
it'll give me something to do.

 

those caps are for the 89-92 VG only

 

I didnt write it down . He said they should be in tomorrow (getting it from Memphis) so I will let you know.

It was in a big book that was for injectors. Probably about half way through it.


I have my doubts because it says for european and domestic but it looks just like ours...we will see if the dimensions are correct when they come in. He said I didnt have to pay if they were not correct.

 

I've had very good luck using mulitple (2 or sometimes 3) very small flat head screwdrivers to pry the injectors out. Like the size you would keep in your pocket pen protector if you were a handyman wearing such an item. Insert one in between the rail and injector and apply just a little pressure. Then insert a second and apply pressure to them both. If it doesn't want to give then use a third and it will usually come out without any damage.

-MP

 

I have done this way too many times and Brian can attest that.
To do it, first take out the fuel rail. Then i used a towel to cushion up the tip and then tapped it carefully but with a very fast and short strike, using a mallet or wood brick.
the injectors popped out in split second without any damages. Just catch it with some towels/zip-locks to avoid dropping on the ground.

 

I took mine out today.

I took the fuel rail out like you guys. Then, pushed the injectors into a plywood, holding the rail, until they popped out. Took alittle force to push them out, but it did not damage the injectors.

 

They came in today and are not correct. I didnt bother with the part number since there was no need to.

 

I'm slowly getting the car back together, hopefully finishing tomorrow. I noticed putting the injector connectors back on, they are extremely loose. There doesn't feel like any resistance indicating the pins are engaging the sockets. I am worried there was so much corrosion I removed, there will be no electrical connection with the injectors and I will have to replace the pigtails. We shall see.

If that happened, or one of the o-rings didn't seat and I hydrolock the engine on fuel and have to take it apart again like I did to a 4th gen recently, I may blow my lid. This is going to end up being a +12 hour ordeal if everything else goes perfectly. I certainly value the experience I had, but if you are not into that kind of thing, I would recommend taking it to a mechanic. I probably would have paid $800 dollars for 4 new injectors and retightening the valve covers.

 

colinnwn,

Did you buy new or used fuel injectors? How much did you pay and where did you buy them?

 

They were labeled new Beck-Arnley injectors at PartsAmerica. They were $66 each (free shipping) if I have to eat the core charge, as I expect I will since I buggered them up somethin fierce getting them out. I noticed they had hand engraved numbers on the body. InternetAutomar said this means they are remanufactured.

I decided to just use them and not make an issue of it, since the price is on the low side even for remanufactured injectors. He said remanufactured injectors don't last long. I guess its a calculated risk since I got them for $265 rather than over $400. That's a lot more palatable since there is no guarantee I will get the car running satisfactorily ever again. I did get it running today and it's better. But one of the new injectors is either dead or the connector isn't engaging. I certainly hope its the latter.

 

Does anyone know where to get replacement injector pigtails or connectors? I checked AutoZone, Oreilly, NAPA, and PartsAmerica. None have them listed on their website. Unforunately Pepboys and CarQuest don't have comprehensive websites, but I plan on calling them tomorrow. Am I stuck waiting until Monday for the Nissan dealer? What about a place to get a reasonably priced noid light?

Thanks.

 

harnesses are usually going to be dealer only.

I will look for a part number later today when I have time...gotta go now.

 

well its kind of hard for me to tell which harness it is that goes to what in the diagram on FAST. I got 3 PNs but am not sure which is the one you need. None of them are very expensive from a discount dealer. I got these prices from nissanparts.cc.

24078-85E01 Harness - Engin -$33.05

24079-85E00 Harness Assy-eg -$23.04

24075-85E00 Harness Assy-en -$68.36

You might go by a dealer and ask to look at their diagram or download and look at FAST and see if you can make heads or tails of it. Its in section 240.

 

Thanks for the numbers, looks like I may not need them.

I went out this afternoon and pulled that connector. I stuck a jeweler's screwdriver down between the connector and the plastic shell to crimp the connector back in. Then I shot some circuitboard cleaner down in the terminals. The car is running much better now. I wish I had done that to all of the connectors because that would probably fix the slight remaining roughness. But I don't know if I want to deal with all that tediousness now since the intake is back on, unless it turns into a bigger problem.

Woo hoo, one month later it looks like it's finally over, knock on wood.

 

RE: removing Fuel injectors without damage to pintile caps.
There is a slot in the red plastic on the connector side, you can see it in the pictures above. I used a medium flat head screwdriver and 6 mm allen key to leverage the fuel injectors just enough to get a small flat head in there and slid it around to he other side. I collected 6 fuel injectors from various cars at the junk yard and found some injectors are a pain but all possiable

 

I guess you have a 1992-1994 SE (VE engine) if you have those fuel injectors? The fuel injectors I have seen or worked on other 3rd gen Maximas (VG engines) are pink or yellow, with shorter connectors, and no slots in them.

On my particular set of fuel injectors with 270k miles, they were so stuck (and plastic so old) that when I tried a screw driver along the side the injector barely budged, the plastic top just shattered.

Thanks for the comments though.

 

These may fit your inectors.. a lisitng from Ebay Item #290026247808

 

These may fit your injectors.. a lisitng from Ebay Item #290026247808

 

That looks like the correct connector. I should have thought to check eBay before, thanks.

 

colinnwn, I have exactly the same problem as you. Bought 6 new injectors from Beck Arnley for my 90 Maxima. After replacing all 6 of them, before reinstalling the intake manifolds, found out that the 2 pins on the new injectors are a little shorter than the original Nissan injectors' pins. I don't think the harness connecors are making good contact with the pins because the connectors feel very loose when I put them on the new injectors. I hate to reinstall the intake manifolds and find out then things don't work. I'm planning to crimp the metal contact of the connectors as you said, but am very interested to know your findings and suggestions. I haven't reinstalled the intake. By the way, how did you know which new injector is not working in your car? I assume all of them tested OK by measuring resistance. I wonder if I can test if an injector is working at all on the car before reinstalling the intake collectors and all the other stuff? Appreciate your sharing experience.

 

the only correct and truly new injectors are from bosch.

 

Out of my curiosity, how can a big company like Beck Arnley claim its injectors "new" if they're not? The ones I got carry their parts # 158-0654. On Beck Arnley's website, it says this is a new injector. They also carry a remanufactured one with a different parts #. All 6 I got have hand-etched # on them. You have previously said hand-etched # meant remanufactured. I would like to learn more from you since you're probably more experienced than I in this area. On the other hand, I was surprised that they made these pins on the injectors a little shorter than Nissan's. You'd think they should have already discovered this problem and corrected it.

 

they are made by a company named python and the quality from what I have seen thus far is SUB-standard.
They are new, but almost as bad as any other rebuilt injector.

 

Vasy,

I am sorry I didn't reply right away, but I never got the email notification another message had posted here.

There are only 2 easy ways I know to check fuel injector operation. If the car will not run, resistance over 15 ohms indicates a bad or suspicious injector. All 4 of my bad injectors were at 40 ohms or greater. If the car will run, you can pull the sparkplug to see if the engine stumbles and recovers. If there is no change, the injector or wiring is likely bad. This is how I initially diagnosed the bad connector, and the injector that went bad yesterday. You could also use a noid light, but the injector connectors are so hard to get at with the intake on, I haven't used one.

I noticed as you did, the Beck-Arnley injector pins looked a tad shorter. By crimping the connectors down a good bit, I had them working fine.

InternetAutomar is usually right, and he demonstrated it once again. One of my Beck-Arnley injectors failed today at 187,000 ohms resistance. Looks like I will be going through this sweet hell of pulling the manifold again. I hope I can get the injector out in good enough condition to claim the 1 year warranty on it.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at one@thegebharts.com.