Golich
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2017
- Messages
- 10
- Location
- Scotland
- Car
- 2019 Vito 116 sport long manual, 2008 Vito Dualliner Sport 150 compact manual, 2019 Transit Connect
Good write-up. I had the same issue with my Vito W639. If you can't get the above spray. I found Wynns carb and fuel injector cleaner from Halfords worked far better than any of the so-called diesel injector cleaner sprays or carbon dissolving sprays from various companies every one of them was useless - even Wynns own one - bizarre!
Also, Mr. Muscle oven cleaner at circa £5 a tin is by far the most effective and cheapest carbon dissolver. But it warns not to be used on aluminium. I only used it on the injector. Carefull not to risk getting it on the tip in case the very aggressive chemicals etch the VERY fine injector tip.
With regard to pulling an injector. The furthest injector in the Vito 2.1 (W639) engine is so far under the body you can't get a slide hammer on it. So I slackened the injector securing bolt a full turn figuring it would eventually loosen itself. It took 8 months! That said, it was only ever so slightly leaking. Slackening the bolt made no difference to the leak rate - at the time. There was virtually no residue from it, as it was only ever so slightly leaking. Very minor occasional bubbles could be seen. But the residue from the other leaking injectors coupled with the dissolved sound proofing filled the recess that injector sat in with that horrible hard tar. So seized the injector in place. But even cleaning it as much as I could, and it was pretty good, the residual tar held the injector firmly in place. It eventually came loose and the loss in pressure was sensed by the fuel rail pressure sensor and put the engine into limp mode. That reset upon shut-off and start-up, and as long as I didn't accelerate hard it ran fine to get me home. The injector pulled out relatively easily.
One technique I found worked quite well if you don't have a slide hammer, is I left the injector hold down plate in place (I don't know its official name) and because it locks into two flat faces on the injector, it is essentially a short spanner which if you put two large flat screwdrivers either side of it you lever against the head to turn the injector clockwise and anti-clockwise a couple of degrees to eventually loosen the injector in combination with the carb cleaner spray. Be careful not to apply too much force you could damage the section of the cylinder head you are levering against!
As an alternative to the tap for cleaning the thread for the bolt that secures the injector, I ground a couple of grooves in the old bolt with a cutting disk for a dremel. They are very thin. It worked a treat to effectively make a 'soft' tap. i.e. you can't cut a thread or worse, cross thread which is possible if you aren't careful with a proper tap in the head.
The biggest issue I had was bleeding the fuel system. I read loads of advice and contacted a mechanic mate. The general advice was to persevere, but do not crank the engine over for more than 30secs or you'll risk burning out the starter motor.
I thought I was beat after numerous attempts and flattened batteries. It occurred to me what are you supposed to do if you run out of diesel? I figured the owners manual must surely have some advice - it does. It clearly states you must crank the engine for a least one continuous minute and DO NOT interrupt this. 40 Seconds in it started!
One other tip; be careful not to damage the injector’s electrical plugs. I found the tar like substance which had completely encased the electrical connector had made some of the plastics brittle e.g. the injector bleed off pipe connectors. That’s the worlds most expensive hose at £105!! So I was VERY careful with the plastic injector’s electrical plug.
Also, Mr. Muscle oven cleaner at circa £5 a tin is by far the most effective and cheapest carbon dissolver. But it warns not to be used on aluminium. I only used it on the injector. Carefull not to risk getting it on the tip in case the very aggressive chemicals etch the VERY fine injector tip.
With regard to pulling an injector. The furthest injector in the Vito 2.1 (W639) engine is so far under the body you can't get a slide hammer on it. So I slackened the injector securing bolt a full turn figuring it would eventually loosen itself. It took 8 months! That said, it was only ever so slightly leaking. Slackening the bolt made no difference to the leak rate - at the time. There was virtually no residue from it, as it was only ever so slightly leaking. Very minor occasional bubbles could be seen. But the residue from the other leaking injectors coupled with the dissolved sound proofing filled the recess that injector sat in with that horrible hard tar. So seized the injector in place. But even cleaning it as much as I could, and it was pretty good, the residual tar held the injector firmly in place. It eventually came loose and the loss in pressure was sensed by the fuel rail pressure sensor and put the engine into limp mode. That reset upon shut-off and start-up, and as long as I didn't accelerate hard it ran fine to get me home. The injector pulled out relatively easily.
One technique I found worked quite well if you don't have a slide hammer, is I left the injector hold down plate in place (I don't know its official name) and because it locks into two flat faces on the injector, it is essentially a short spanner which if you put two large flat screwdrivers either side of it you lever against the head to turn the injector clockwise and anti-clockwise a couple of degrees to eventually loosen the injector in combination with the carb cleaner spray. Be careful not to apply too much force you could damage the section of the cylinder head you are levering against!
As an alternative to the tap for cleaning the thread for the bolt that secures the injector, I ground a couple of grooves in the old bolt with a cutting disk for a dremel. They are very thin. It worked a treat to effectively make a 'soft' tap. i.e. you can't cut a thread or worse, cross thread which is possible if you aren't careful with a proper tap in the head.
The biggest issue I had was bleeding the fuel system. I read loads of advice and contacted a mechanic mate. The general advice was to persevere, but do not crank the engine over for more than 30secs or you'll risk burning out the starter motor.
I thought I was beat after numerous attempts and flattened batteries. It occurred to me what are you supposed to do if you run out of diesel? I figured the owners manual must surely have some advice - it does. It clearly states you must crank the engine for a least one continuous minute and DO NOT interrupt this. 40 Seconds in it started!
One other tip; be careful not to damage the injector’s electrical plugs. I found the tar like substance which had completely encased the electrical connector had made some of the plastics brittle e.g. the injector bleed off pipe connectors. That’s the worlds most expensive hose at £105!! So I was VERY careful with the plastic injector’s electrical plug.
