Injector problems ....
 

Well, I took my truck to get it tuned. No help on the lean codes and the unuaually harsh idle. We came up with an assumption that since the blower unit sat for a while after being run, the injectors are probably gummed up.

More than likely I think what is happeneing is the injectors are dripping instead of spraying gas in the intake runner. Since they are just dripping, the gas isn't getting burned completely and the o2's see the raw gas as a lean condition since there aren't as many exhaust fumes as it should be. It starts dumping more gas in the cylinder, just increasing the gas that is blown by as well as what's burned, now causing a rich condition. That would explain why it smoothes out, then gets rough again, and keeps on like that.

My question is, how can I clean these injectors without having to send them off?

I took one off of my old manifold, and can hear it open and close with a 9 volt battery. Will that burn them up or should I be safe with just 9 volts?

You can try soaking them for a couple days in gas. I am not sure if it would hurt or not but maybe soaking them in injector cleaner/gas mix?? Might be reachin on that one. lol

You can buy a can of cleaner at NAPA that you get an adapter line for and hook it to the fuel rail. You pull the fuel pump fuse, and run the truck on the can of cleaner. I've heard it works really well. Thats what they used at the dealership to clean my injectors on my old truck.

Have you actually seen a lean condition with a wideband or efilive/autotap?

No, but it smells extremely rich, like there is raw gas getting blown by. When I romp on it, it's blowing dark colored smoke.

I've run several sets of injectors that have been sitting idle for extend amounts of time. My current injectors are from a Radix kit that had been removed 6 months ago, and I have no problems with them. I ran some stock LS1 injectors that had been sitting for 2 years without issue.

As for the dripping theory, I dont buy it. At WOT, its very likely that the injectors are spraying at the back of a closed intake valve. That is necessary to supply the needed amount of fuel. So fuel will actually be piled up behind the valve waiting for it to open. Your intake valve may be opened 270* of the total 720* available between intake valve openings. That means your intake valve is open 37% of the time. If you are using more than 37% of your injectors flow rate, then you are spraying at the back of the valve for some of its injector on time. If you have fuel puddled up behind the valve waiting for it to open, this couldn't be much different than drips of fuel. But with 60 psi pushing the fuel through the injector, I just don't see any dripping.

I do see how the injectors could get clogged up however and that would be an issue. I'd definitely look into some fuel injector cleaner / solvent. Worst case, pull the fuel rails and fill the injectors with solvent alone and let them sit.

Are you getting misfires on certain cylinders?

I do get random misfire codes. I figured it was from the cam though.

Peeped at your plugs and/or wires yet? Have an intake manifold leak/IAC/EGR leak?

I have a set of injectors that are 16 years old and 115K mi on my F150 and have no problems with them at all...years ago I had a set of FMS 24lbs/hr's that I ran on a car that were on a shelf for like 9-12 months before I go them. Tossed on new o-rings and ran them to their appx 320whp limit (at a 40psi FP). :D

3M makes the best kit I've seen to clean injectors. It uses a can that screws into that schrader valve on the fuel rail and uses a fuel/cleaner in the can to clean them. It's around $90 or so.

RC Engineering has the capacity to flow test and clean injectors also...

OK ... I have checked for vacuum leaks everywhere. I haven't found one. I just got done pulling the blower off the engine to check the gaskets with my own eyeballs. I don't think that was the problem, but they could stand to be replaced.

After replacing them, that will completely rule out a vacuum leak ... period, no where else for an air leak.

The injectors sat through the winter, outside in a non climate controlled shop. I know that cold weather will make gas gel up, I was/am thinking that would be what the deal is, if it is the injectors.

On a side note, I ran some 'Sea Foam' through there, the whole bottle to about a half of a tank. The intake runners are amazingly clean.

The only other thing that would cause a vacuum leak is the wires from the knock sensors being to fat and causing it not to sit lush on the heads. They are pretty thick, and I guess it could be possible that could happen, but I would think the tape would squish down some before that would happen.

Here is the folder with all the pics I just took:
http://bettie.homeip.net/atvpics/truck/RADIX%20Gaskets/

The knock sensro wires:
http://bettie.homeip.net/atvpics/tru...s/100_0964.JPG

Overall top of the engine:
http://bettie.homeip.net/atvpics/tru...s/100_0965.JPG
Look how clean the intake runners are! That was from the Sea Foam

Down into an intake runner:
http://bettie.homeip.net/atvpics/tru...s/100_0966.JPG
I'm still impressed with how clean.

One gasket:
http://bettie.homeip.net/atvpics/tru...s/100_0967.JPG

Another gasket:
http://bettie.homeip.net/atvpics/tru...s/100_0968.JPG

The gaskets I took pictures of were the worst ones. The second one, you can see a couple of cuts/slices on. The first one is just bugered up pretty good.