[Miggins]

Hello,
Coming home last night car started running a little rough under power - pulled over and called AA as I knew it wasn't worth driving it any further.

On examination the #1 injector has 'popped' out the cylinder head. The plate holding the injector down has bent up and I am unable to ID the bolt that holds it down - covered in baked diesel sludge (poss been leaking for a time - not sure)

Can anyone advise on how best to get the injector out. I've stripped off all ancillaries but have seen posts about having to soak the injectors to get them out - hope the injector is lose but just need to clean up the head to get at the plate retaining bolt. Obviously I'm cautious about anything going down the injector hole into the head!

Car has done 122K miles - apparently injectors popping up is unusual - for the Civic!

Any tips on replacing the injector/seals etc appreciated. Hoping I can still use the injector!

 

[davrob1]

hope you get your injector out with ease,my nearest honda dealer had a nightmare with mine,they broke 2 injectors while trying to remove them,that was after getting a special injector removal tool from honda,(some kind of tool with large rods on it)my bonnet had to come off for this tool,

when my seals went there wasnt much on here regarding injector seals but ive seen a few posts recently regarding this problem
my car is a 07 and had under 60k on it when i first started getting problems
good luck with it

 

[Miggins]

Thanks.

Just found the sheared off cap screw head (for the retaining plate). Means the cylinder head is OK and hopefully the injector but getting the remains of the bolt out will be a pig as its beneath the bulkhead lip

Of course I'll need a new retaining plate. As the plate looks quite thick I'm hoping there will be a decent length of bolt protruding out the head.

May give the local dealer a call on Monday and ask how much especially if it needs a removal tool....gulp and they can take the risk of breaking an injector ;-)

 

[davrob1]

just remembered dealer had to replace the small silver high pressure fuel pipe when you remove injector,part number 7,told me they have to everytime injector is removed


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[Miggins]

The AA guy told me the same but an experienced mechanic (who I trust and rely on) said try the old one and if it leaks - replace it ;-)

If I can get it sorted over the weekend without new parts I'll try it and see but may order the pipe/injector seal etc as a standby. It's all very easy to get to.

New set screws will be going in straight away!


Thanks again

 

[Jon_G]

I've not removed Honda iCTDI injectors, but soaking the injectors overnight in brake fluid is recommended. It's worth trying removal first, as you might get lucky. However, if it's already popped out then surely you don't need to bother?

I had to remove the fuel pipes from my injectors when replacing the fuel rail a few months ago. I decided not to replace them... one of them did weep a little, but I simply tightened it. Been OK ever since!

I'm guessing you might have to replace the injector? If so, then the ECU should be recoded to match.

 

[Miggins]

OK - Retaining clamp out and injector loose but it wont clear the bulkhead. Seems I'm going to have to loosen the engine mount(s)

 

[Miggins]

Going on the amount of baked sludge I think the injector has been leaking for a time (the retaining bolt may have come lose which led to it snapping)

Although the injector has popped - it wont go back down so I need it out, to clean the bore and seat and ensure the washer is sitting correctly or replace it as it may have been leaking.

I don't believe the injector is damaged and hope I wont need to replace it. If I do I'll tow it to the nearest diesel factors to recode ;-)

As for the pipes - standard plumbing practice ;-) but at slightly higher pressures!

Thanks for the advice guys all appreciated and reassuring.

 

[Jon_G]

Good luck!

Re: ECU recode - if you do need to fit a new injector, then you should be OK to drive it. The injector characteristics won't be massively different, but the ECU will need to be told for optimum performance.

 

[Miggins]

Thanks again Jon - useful to know as my wife doesn't 'like' towing or being towed!

Looks like I need to remove the bulkhead - engine is refusing to drop! Will make it easier to extract the broken bolt which looks like a 'bespoke' part from Honda - looking at the parts diagram link (thanks Davrob1).

Hopefully not

 

[Miggins]

Injector out and cleaned - ensuring no dirt entered the fuel ports.
Snapped bolt removed.
Head cleaned as best as I can.
Now all I need is the 'O' ring that goes on the injector shaft - will have to wait until Honda opens tomorrow! Don't want to risk running without it as I believe it stops the injector moving off centre.

 

[coste1l]

Nice work buddy keep us updated

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Miggins]

Success!!!

All back together and working as it should

In the end I bought all parts as recommended by Honda - only because the injector retaining bolt is a bespoke part (not a std M6 bolt as it first seemed) and had to wait on it so thought best not to risk the other bits (and another day off work unpaid).

Replaced:
Injector seal
Fuel return clips (x2)
#1 high pressure pipe (approx £25)
retaining bolt

Total cost ~ £41 inc VAT (other bits were all about £4 each)

Reassembly took less than 30 mins (I'd already cleaned everything ready for reassembly. I should have asked Honda to quote for a bit of fun/comparison. The major piece of work is cleaning off all the caked on diesel.

Any questions please feel free to ask and thanks for the advice and support to one and all

 

[Relic]

Thanks for the update.
Glad you're up and running again

 

[tristanmortimer]

Good to hear your running again. Did you manage to move the engine in the end?

 

[Jon_G]

Job's a good 'un!!

 

[Miggins]

Thanks guys.

Latest.
Didn't need to move engine. I tried but it wouldn't move
Then realised there is a bulkhead plate that is removeable - held in place with 3 plastic clips and I think 5 bolts and a couple of more bolts on a stay from the middle of the windsreen. You get to it by popping up the plastic grill that sits between the windscreen and the bonnet.

Unfortunately on the way home tonight I had the tell tale rough running - bit like running over small imperceptible bumps in the road. Took off the engine cover to see the tell tale jet black diesel streak on the cylinder head (a good reason for ensuring you clean all the head!) It looks just like black ink.

The repair lasted about 120 hard miles before leaking and I did ensure everywhere was clean before refitting the parts (not easy) I don't believe the procedure ensures the clamp is tight enough. Wasn't easy setting the bolt to 5Nm (my torque wrench only goes down to 10Nm) so I may not have got this right before applying a 90 degree final turn.

Tightened up the clamp a 'bit' more so fingers crossed - better this way than a snapped bolt I suppose. Carrying my tools with me tomorrow....so if you see a guy working on his Civic at the side of the road ;-)

 

[Miggins]

Just a follow up:

After tightening the injector clamp all seems good. Have put on 1000 miles without issue so all happy

May just put some injector cleaner through the system as well.

 

[tristanmortimer]

Glad to hear that mate hope it remains as it should.

 

[Trell]

did your car just start after?? I done the seal now mine wont start