Cleaning the Fuel Injectors

After further testing, I've been able to determine that I have 1 stuck injector and 1 partially stuck injector. I took the injector from 1 and swapped it with 3. Then I jumped the RPM relay to run the fuel pump with the air plate fully depressed. Now the #3 line isn't flowing but the #1 line is.This is good news because it means the fuel distributor is good.

I decided I would take all the injectors and put them in a carb+brake cleaner bath for a day or two fully submerged. Then I'll test them again to determine if they need to be replaced.

Fuel Flow Testing Part II

With a new battery installed, I've resumed working on this. I also ordered and connected a Battery Tender brand trickle charger/maintainer. Having a fully charged battery makes all the difference in the world (imagine that).

The flow test seems to have indicated one failed injector and possibly a second. The injector @ the #1 cylinder isn't flowing at all. It drips a little and that's about it. The injector at cylinder #2 is sporadic. It kinda sounds like a faucet with air in the system needing to be purged. I know this isn't the case though as the system is air-tight and there are no leaks anywhere. If any air was trapped in the system, it would be expelled within the first second or two of operating the system.

I'm going to research and see if I can soak these 2 injectors in some sort of a chemical/cleaning bath. If that doesn't correct the issue, I'll have to replace them @ $60 each. It's probably worth a few bucks to try cleaning them first.

Here is a video I took last night illustrating the problem:

Fuel Flow Testing

I started fuel-flow testing last weekend after finishing the last fuel line and checking all lines and connections to make sure they were tight. I charged the battery for several hours on trickle and a couple of hours on the intermediate 10A mode.

I rigged up an RPM relay jumper to manually trigger the fuel pump and pressurize the system. You can see it in the picture below. I used a board and mounted a 2-way toggle switch on it so I could operate it from the back of the car. I found one leak at that compression fitting in my previous post. I tightened it up and got it leak-free as of now. No other leaks were found. Initially the injectors were somewhat flowing ok but the battery just would not take a charge and appears to be dead now. I'm replacing the battery in the next few days so I'll have to wait and finish the flow testing then.

If all goes well I should be able to install the injectors into the cylinder heads with the retaining clips and see if I can get her running. I feel like we're pretty close here barring no major setbacks.

Last Fuel Line Finished

Well after 3 months of a heavy work schedule, I finally made some time today to work on this and get the car a step closer to being back on the road.

I was able to get the final fuel line connected and the compression fitting seems to have worked like a champ. I'll find out for sure when I flow and pressure test everything. I'm charging the battery now so I'm hoping to get to that part this weekend or in the very near future. More to come soon!

Last Fuel Line Part II

 It was 75 degrees and mostly sunny today here in Dallas. I had to take advantage of the first nice weekend since last November.

After struggling and fighting I finally gave in and cut off the line as close as I could to the fitting.

 

I filed down the rough edge from the hacksaw cut and prepped the end of the line for the new compression fitting. Then I examined my replacement parts and started scratching my head a bit. I'm either not seeing the connection correctly in my head or I'm missing a part. Either way I'm going to contact my parts vendor and see what he says.

In the meantime I got the injectors ready for the flow test and installed the "pipe of agony". I also tested the idle speed motor (ISM) and it worked without issue, which is excellent news considering this is a $200+ part if I had to replace it. We're getting closer.  I went ahead and stuck the trickle charger on the battery so I can jumper the RPM relay to do the flow test. I'm going to have to wait until I get this last fitting connected though and then go back through and make sure everything is tightened up. 

 

Last Fuel Line

Well I have one last fuel line to replace and connect before I can flow test everything including the injectors. It's the return line that runs from the fuel distributor to the fuel accumulator. There is a soft line that comes off the fuel distributor and connects to a metal hard line by means of a compression fitting.

Last night I was able to remove the soft line by holding a 14mm wrench on the soft line side and a 17mm wrench in the middle. I had already removed the cupped-nut on the far right (orientation relative to the pictures below). So now I have the soft line removed and the far right nut loose. My next step is to figure out how to get the middle section with the 17mm fitting loose, as my replacement parts look to replace this fitting.

Here are the pictures. I'm trying to be as careful as possible so as not to damage the metal line. That would be a royal pain if I had to replace that.

In the picture above, you'll see a 17mm wrench on the middle fitting of the line. It's below the ignition coil and stabilizer bar.

Here is a picture of the same fitting up close. Notice the nut on the far right is loose.

Now the soft line with the 14mm connection has been removed. The middle section with the compression fitting to the hard line is still in tact. It spins freely on the hard line but I cannot get it to pull or push loose.

This is a picture of the replacement fitting.

Fuel Filter Change

As part of my fuel system rebuild, I decided to change the filter itself. Seeing as how I was going to have to remove it anyways to replace the fuel line between it and the fuel distributor, it seemed like a no-brainer. Plus the part was only $12.50.

Unfortunately DMC put the filter in a strange place and so changing it out is kind of a pain. The location is on the inside of the left side of the frame towards the rear of the car not far from the engine compartment. So to change it out you have to lift the car, take off the left rear tire, disconnect the fuel distributor fitting on the top, disconnect the metal hard line elbow fitting at the bottom, and remove 2 nuts and bolts that fasten the filter bracket to the inside of the frame. It wasn't terribly hard to get loose. I did have to tap on the elbow fitting with a hammer and use a little PB Blaster to get the hard line fitting loose. Oh and you better have a bowl handy to catch some gasoline when it breaks loose. Here's a picture of the filter removed.

I reused the bracket, replacing the padding with a new strip, and fastened the fuel line that runs to the distributor on my work bench. After I took this picture I had to loosen it up and re-adjust the positioning of the line relevant to the location of the fuel distributor. Then I tightened it back up.

With that completed, I mounted the new filter on back on the car and connected the hard line at the elbow. The trick here is to use 2 open-ended wrenches against each other and facing straight down. If you try to get on the back of the elbow, you'll bend the bottom of the filter a bit (like I did a little). You can work it back in the other direction to straighten it out best you can but you don't want to weaken the metal too much so be careful.

I used a little bit of Teflon tape where the elbow fits to the filter only. I did this because I noticed old tape on the threads when I removed the elbow from the old filter.

Here's a picture of how high I had to lift the car in order to get access. If you're doing this job with jacks on the ground (like me), make sure you lift the car properly and use jack stands to hold the weight.

New Floor Mats

Big props to DMCToday.com for the $50 gift certificate I won in November. I applied it to a new set of black floormats. I think it really looks good against my grey interior.

I'm still in progress on finishing the fuel system rebuild. I have a couple more lines to connect, one of which requires me to jack up the rear of the car to access the fuel filter. With hunting season coming to a close, I may not get this wrapped up until the 2nd weekend of January. More to come soon.

In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Fuel System Rebuild Phase 2 (Cont)

Recent cold weather has slowed down my progress in the garage. Nonetheless, I did make some progress yesterday. I was able to finish cleaning all the injectors and mount the new seals on then. I also completed the new fuel line install for the frequency valve. I still have a couple of outstanding fuel lines to install. First is the line between the fuel filter and the fuel distributor. That line required my to raise the rear end of the car to gain access to the filter, which is mounted on the left-rear side of the frame. Second is the return line from the fuel distributor to the accumulator. I'm going to try and knock these out this week.

 

And here are most of the new fuel lines installed:

 

Fuel System Rebuild Phase 2 - New Parts installed

Last night I was able to check the gap on all the new plugs and get them installed. I also replaced the cap & rotor on the distributor. Finally I installed all new ignition wires. Here are some pictures. Notice the 3 ignition wires that are burnt. These were damaged during the fire. They have been replaced.

The 3 pictures above were old parts that have been replaced. Here's a pic of the new parts installed.

Progress!

Fuel System Rebuild Phase 1 (Cont)

I pulled the spark plugs and fuel injectors last night. The fuel injectors were pretty dirty on the outside with baked on buildup and crud. I'm assuming these have never been pulled before. The rubber seals that fit over the injectors had baked onto the injector although they would spin. I had to end up using pliers and a razor knife to get them off. That process took longer than expected. I'm using emory cloth to clean the outside of the injectors but leaving the inside alone after discussing with my parts vendor. Once I do the flow test in the near future, I'll determine if any need to be replaced. They're $60 each, so replacing all 6 would run me $360 plus shipping. In this pic, you can see the one I cleaned with emory cloth on the far left.

The spark plugs were very tight. I had to carefully remove them using a little WD-40 and a cheater bar. They broke loose and all the threads look ok so I'm not too worried about the threads in the head. The plugs were AC Delco brand meaning they have been replaced at some point since the car was new. These plugs are not recommended by the vendors so I'm glad they're coming out. I didn't see any evidence of problems with the old plugs. They are worn but no red flags. I numbered them to each cylinder where they were installed.

Fuel System Rebuild Phase 1

I placed the order a couple weeks back and got all the parts before Thanksgiving. I was tied up with holiday obligations so last night was my first opportunity to tear into things and start working to get it sorted.

I snapped this picture before I got started for point of reference.

  

Next I started to remove pieces for access. The air filter assembly came off. Several electrical connections were unplugged. I used masking tape and a Sharpie to label everything so I wouldn't be lost on reassembly. 

The individual fuel lines were loosened and removed. Finally the metering assembly was ready to come out. 4 bolts at the Y-pipe and 3 hex-head #5 metrics at the rear for some brackets, and the thing came loose. 

Here's the metering assembly removed. I went ahead and ordered a replacement gasket, which should be here today or tomorrow. 

Apologies for the crummy picture quality. It was a little out of focus.

Tonight and tomorrow I plan to clean the exposes pieces, pull the injectors, label and remove the spark plug wires, replace the distrubutor cap & rotor, pull the spark plugs, and gap and install the new plugs.That will leave the fuel line replacement for later in the week. Stay tuned.