Haystacks

Active Member
As some of you may be aware, I had a few running issues with my TD4 and it turned out to be an Injector, so I replaced all 4 of them today with a set of used, but only a year old Injectors.

Took about 4 hours to do the job, in the rain! Here's how I did it.

Over the past few days I have been soaking the injectors with a very good quality penetration fluid, not WD40! and using the Landy for short trips in-between.

Today I ran the engine until it got nice and hot, switched off and then removed the engine cover, air inlet, air filter cover, inlet manifold, fuel return pipes on the top of the injectors (remove metal clips and pull out of the top of the injectors, or you'll snap the t-pieces trying to remove the hoses from them) all the electrical connectors from the top of the injectors + the plastic loom bracket that the loom runs along, and the fuel pipes from the fuel rail to the injectors. All straight forward, nuts bolts and screws. I now had nice clear access to the injectors.

I then removed the nuts from the injector C clamps. Then using a pry bar resting on top of the engine (carefull as it's plastic so use something to spread the pressure, I used a slim piece of rubber) and with the end of the pry bar under the fuel inlet on the injector I levered the injectors out of the head, with little effort. There is a clip of someone doing this on YouTube, just search.

Number 2 injector was a little stubborn, but with a bit more penetration fluid and some gentle encouragement it soon worked loose.

I then cleaned the ports for the injectors using a piece of garden cane wrapped with some cloth (I used an old glass cloth from the kitchen) until they were squeaking clean.

I had previously cleaned the used injectors with switch cleaner and fitted new copper washers to the bottom of them where they seat in the head, so I carefully placed them into the clean ports along with the C clamps and then replaced the nuts to the studs. Tightened them all up and then replaced the fuel pipes, etc, etc. I didn't find it necessary to replace the inlet manifold seals or fuel return hose seals, all fine, no leaks.

Once it was all back together, I started it up, with the small central engine cover still removed so I could see the injectors. It wound over a few times while the fuel got through, but soon fired into life. I then checked for any leaks, took it for a short drive, checked for leaks again, all good, so replaced engine cover, job done.

My Freelander has 97K on the clock, and no history of the injectors ever being removed before. This is the first Diesel I have owned, and have never carried this out before, and I found it pretty straight forward, and I would consider myself fairly competent with a spanner.

I have read the horror stories about this job, so thought I'd post this as it may be of some help to someone else, and to show it can be done using this method with no problems....Well, it worked for me anyway...this time!

Nev.
 
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My TD4 is showing classic injector problems, lumpy tickover and occassional problems starting. This story of sucess has given me a bit of confidence in tackling the job myself. Most forum stories end in a snapped injector !
One queation though. Does the ECU need to be programmed with the calibration codes of the new injectors ? Cheers Phil
 
My TD4 is showing classic injector problems, lumpy tickover and occassional problems starting. This story of sucess has given me a bit of confidence in tackling the job myself. Most forum stories end in a snapped injector !
One queation though. Does the ECU need to be programmed with the calibration codes of the new injectors ? Cheers Phil

Make sure you do a leak back test or go to an injector specialist before you start replacing them. My faulty fuel pressure sensor caused similar symptoms.
 
My TD4 is showing classic injector problems, lumpy tickover and occassional problems starting. This story of sucess has given me a bit of confidence in tackling the job myself. Most forum stories end in a snapped injector !
One queation though. Does the ECU need to be programmed with the calibration codes of the new injectors ? Cheers Phil

Hi Phil, No, the ECU doesn't need programming. Just make sure the engine is hot and use a good quality release fluid.

I'd ruled out all else before changing the injectors. Had a diagnostics test done and no faults were present, checked all the usual, MAF sensor, fuel rail pressure sensor and the wiring loom to it that can corrode, fuel filter, vacuum pipes, etc.

Good luck. I went in with the mind I wasn't going to force anything,, either they would budge or they wouldn't. Luckily, they all game out with fairly little effort.

Here's a link to the penetration fluid I used, others are available! I have no connection with the seller or product. PENETRATING FLUID OIL WD40 SEIZED RUSTED INJECTORS TORSION PLUS RENAULT | eBay
 
Thanks for thr reply. I will get some of the penetrating fluid as you suggest.
I haven't ruled everything else out yet, however when it started playing up I took it to a Landrover specialist who at first didn't find anything wrong. When I collected the car it was ticking over lumpy and they put it back onto the diagnostics which confirmed an injector was out of spec. They recommended letting the fault develop.
I will let the weather improve and then check all connections and do a leak back test. In the mean time I will soak them in preparation. Phil.
 
Nev,

Great news, glad you got this sorted. It feels great when you diagnose and fix a problem like this. Well done and enjoy.

Andy
 

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