OT : Diesel Injectors

Am I right in thinking that I could use an Ultrasonic cleaner to ,
um , clean these,
or should I not be so pikey and pay to get them professionally done?

Steve

 

IM(limited)E, cleaning 'em won't do that much. You need to check the
spray pattern, and if it's wrong, bits need replacing. The needle
thingies inside wear out.

 

What he said.

 

No, they wear, go oversize and need replacing.
Once replaced, they need to be programmed in to the ECU
with the flow rate marked on the injector so they engine
can adjust the flow correctly - no two injectors flow the
same so they need setting up ... just like carbs!

What do you need them for? I have a new set of Ford
Mondeo ones sitting here going begging...

 

Cheers but there's no ECU - we're talking of a 1983
SWB Land Rover fitted with a 2.0 Perkins Prima, as
found in the finest of Austin Montego's....

 

Ah right, proper old stuff then!

 

Are you cleaning them 'just because'?

If not, what's the lump doing / not doing, to make you think these
need a clean?

 

Its smoking.A lot.Too much for an MOT.
Doesn't do it when starting , so I don't think it oil down
the valve guides , and it doesn't do it at all throttle
positions , so I don't think it pistons/rings.
I really know nothing of Diesels but as the smoke is white
I think it could be unburnt fuel?

Steve

 

Yes. Check the basics like tappets first. I had an engine white-smoking
and I did the injectors first, only to find a tight tappet afterwards.

You should be able to get old injectors re-furbed for about 30 quid or
so each IIRC.

 

Ding.
White smoke means unburnt fuel which can be due to either fucked injectors
or low compression. A compression test will tell you which.

Take it to a diesel specialist.

 

http://www.dieselbob.co.uk/tips.shtml

 

I've had a few of these in the past - 'they all do that, Sir'.

The main cause of excess smoke etc on these is the 'EGR valve' gets
coked up.

Most people shut these off - if you go to www.maestro.org.uk, you'll
find a definitive answer on this there.

The other thing I used to do with these before MOT, was chuck half a
bottle of Millers diesel treatment in with a full tank of fuel in the
week before the MOT, and then give it a good beating down the local
bypass just before it was due at the MOT station.

Definitely sounds like EGR issues, then.

Ok... is it using any water and does the heater warm up nicely in the
car?

They have a tendency for the head gasket to weep near pot number 4
IIRC... if not, it's 1 - one of the extremities, anyway.

When this happens, it'll run fine for as long as you keep the water
topped up, but the main thing that doesn't perform as it should is the
heater due to this being the highest point of the system and the first
to suffer once pressurisation has forced some of the coolant out of
the system.

Not the end of the world on these - they're pretty straight forward if
you decide to do a head gasket change.

Also, does the white smoke smell of diesel?

See above.

HTH

 

No need to do that - these are pretty low tech and any issues with the
lumps on these are well documented over on the Maestro forums I've
mentioned in my other post.

 

A compression tester for diesels is a special piece of tool porn.
Not found in many DIY toolboxes but I have one ........
But it probably does not have the correct adaptor for a Perkins.

 

<snip loads of useful stuff>
Cheers - appreciated.

Steve