blown injector seal - WG

[Zappa916]

Originally Posted by almc3

Capital Thread Repair
Nuts & Bolts - Canberra, ACT
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone

0419 281 194 -Try this bloke

thank you so you much almc3. The advise on the helicoil and injector service.
Yeah you're right. Its our duty to keep these old girls going.

[Zappa916]

i was advised by the thread guy to sell the car or replace the head. Simply because he has experienced a high return rate.
He uses SS sleeves and most of them let go again.

im running out of options. So either repair it myself using that mercedes time-sert kit , source another head which are rare as rocking horse poo not to mention $$$$ or move it on.

i want to keep the car so might go for option 1 and hope for the best.

[almc3]

The guy that repaired my injector bolt bore cleaned it out and used a long helicoil- never had a problem . I got his contact number from Diesel repair shop that has used him on Merc ML270 ect that have the same problem. The engine as you may know is a Mercedes Benz OM647 -maybe talk to a MB service tech as Jeep has limited knowledge on this engine.
To remove the head you would have to remove engine - trust me that is a very hard job at home -need a hoist . I was quoted $3000 to remove and install engine as I had a cracked head - head could not be welded so that Jeep is now my parts donor as the cost of repair is more than the Jeep was worth .Suggest helicoil ,get it going and sell it and buy a low klm WJ - I bought a beauty - black overland CRD with 145 klm for $6000 with many extras . Check Grays on line - often Jeep 2.7 come up but they are getting old .From my experience (I've had 3)most have engine problems -generally injectors and hi pressure pumps after 200,000klms which can be very expensive to repair unless you do it yourself. Most repair shops have to warranty their work and insist on new parts -once again you will get a repair bill costing more than what you paid for the Jeep.
Good luck !

[Zappa916]

Decided to call in another thread repair guy for an attempt to fix it.He spotted the clamp bolt had been broken about 10mm into the bottom of the thread. Too risky to drill out so we decided to leave it. He drilled the hole larger, tapped it and inserted a coarse thread bushing at approx 15 mm length. Loctited in place so while its not an ideal repair i think it will hold. I'll have to shorten the bolt by about 15-20mm to compensate. And I'll have to think about the torque spec. 7nm + 2x90deg might be a bit too much.

Im wondering how many of these type of repairs such are getting around unbeknowns to the owners, ??? therefore I think it has a good chance of success.

So ive received my 3/8 inch torque wrench and im waiting for the bolt kit and washers to arrive any day. Im cleaning the injector hole,injector and seat tomorrow. I hear lacquer thinners work well. Brake cleaner not so much i found out.

I've decided not to take the injector for testing rather i'll do the leak down test to get overall an picture once i zip it up and get her going again. I could be in for some work as at 255k im tipping the injectors are all fairly tired.

Im just hoping it doesnt smoke too much and fuel consumption should be reasonable. It doesnt have a problem starting as far as i can recall, although Ive never started it on cold chilly mornings so i could be in for a surprise.

[almc3]

You've taken the logical step , otherwise you would be spending $5000 plus.
Tightening is 7N/m plus 90 degrees . You mentioned in your last post 2 x 90 degrees - not correct . It may be an idea to use two drops of a low /medium strength Loctite on the bolt - up to you . Standard bolts come with coating.
The clamp may need filing or lightly ground to allow the new wider bolt to fit into the fork of the clamp . Remember to connect the steel injector line before fully tightening the injector down.
Let us know how it all goes

[Zappa916]

the update.

First thing, I used the manufacturers M6 x 1 bolt but cut 18mm from the bottom due to my earlier post noting that there was a broken piece in there from the original bolt.
I zipped it up to 7nm + 90 degree with my new 3/8 torque wrench but to my slight dissapointment I forgot to put loctite on the thread bolt. doh. I'll be checking it once a week and at the slight hint of leak, i'll replace the bolt and use loctite.
So I got in there at the injector port with plenty of brake fluid, GP thinners and scrubbed with a thin cloth. I bought myself a piece of 16 mm dowel stuck a piece of wet and dry on the end and cleaned and polished up the seat nicely.
Started with 180, then moved to 240 then onto 400. Finished off with a few pieces of 600 grit. Finished with a nice reflective shine.
This took me a whole day basically rubbing the dowel like i was grinding valve seats. In hindsight I should have turned down the end of the dowel to 12mm so i can fit into the end of a portable drill and work it that way.

when the injector was fastened and connected to the fuel rail, plugged into the harness, the fun began with trying to start it. Tried cranking it a few times and while it appeared to want to start, it refused to light. I knew there was a bit of air in the fuel rail so i began to read up on bleeding procedures.

What i end up doing is opening up the top screw on the fuel filter, putting a couple of drinking straws together and sucked on the end until I could see a bit of diesel coming up. Used a blob of blue tack to seal the joint while sucking. Placed the bleeder screw back in and tried to start. After about 5 minutes in short bursts trying to crank it, it refused to start.

So more air i thought. I read more about the bleeding procedure and only discovered on the weekend where this bleed valve was. I pulled the plug out carefully and I thought i do away with the drinking straws and get some 8mm hose. Bought a metre of hose from bunnings cut the end like a on a double slant and started to bleed it. A few air bubbles but nothing to drastic.

More starting , more refusing to kick to life. At this stage out came the portable jumper pack but it was only a matter of time, until they both died.

It was getting dark and contemplating what next. Towing the car somewhere ?, calling a diesel mechanic over? or just sleeping on it with hopefully waking up with some fresh ideas.
Then it dawned on me that the injector plug on number 1 had a couple of zip ties on it holding it place onto the injector cause the locking tab was broken. I had to the cut them off to unplug it to clear some room for the injector repair. So I grabbed two zip ties and fastened the plug back in.

This time I also squirted a few pumps of brake cleaner into the intake. Low and behold it fired up on two cranks.

Let it idle for 5 minutes and then played with the throttle to get it warmed up. She purrs. Went for a short drive and the thing didnt miss a beat. Shut it off a few times and cranked up straight away. So happy days. The check engine light is on and the low batt indicator light aswell. Im hoping the CEL will clear over the coming days. Same with the low batt light.

Quite interesting to note that it wouldnt fire up on the other 4 cylinders with ONE injector plug out. I wouldnt think the car shuts down on a dead cylinder?? I have to look for a plug on ebay to see whether i can easily replace it without replacing the whole harness.

So next i'll drop the oil, replace the oil filter and clean the engine from the diesel and tar crp.

[almc3]

Sounds like some success .
Must emphasise the importance of a fully charged healthy battery . One of mine was starting fine , but would stick in first gear ,until you pulled over and restarted engine -then OK code PS700 would appear when you did the key dance to find fault codes. New 900 cold cranking amps (CCA) battery and $280 end of problem