Replacing an injector: DIY or Dealer?

[jimmyducati]

I just ordered a new injector in hopes that it cures my #6 misfire issue. My power train warranty will not cover the parts or labor as it is not a "lubricated" part, so I want to do the work myself... Ive replaced all 8 injectors in a OBS 7.3L Powerstroke, but is this a job I can do in a well equipped garage/shop or should I pay the bill and have it done at a dealer?

[wasinger3000]

Damn that sucks. It should be considered part of the power train as it is a key function of the system. Chicken s*** warranty coverage.

I can ask a few of my ford techs and see how bad a job it is.  I'd say it won't be to bad.

[mistadobalina]

This is what I pulled from an online manual for a 2010:

http://www.chiltonlibrary.com/ContentDelivery.aspx?ca=Repair#1415332|924653


   NOTE: A clean working environment is essential to prevent dirt or foreign material contamination.
   Release the fuel system pressure. For additional information, refer to Fuel System — General Information.
   Disconnect the battery ground cable. For additional information, refer to Battery, Mounting and Cables.
   Remove the intake manifold. For additional information, refer to Engine — 3.5L GTDI.
   Remove the fuel injection pump noise insulator shield.
   Early build vehicles
   Remove the high pressure fuel tube nut.
   Late build vehicles
   Remove the high pressure fuel tube bolt.
   All vehicles
NOTE: To release the fuel pressure in the high pressure fuel tube, wrap the flare nuts with a shop towel to absorb any residual fuel pressure during the loosening of the flare nuts.
   Loosen the 3 flare nuts and remove the high pressure fuel tube.
   Disconnect the Fuel Rail Pressure (FRP) sensor electrical connector.
NOTICE: It is very important to note the routing of the fuel charge wire harnesses on the fuel rails and index-mark the location of the tie straps prior to removal or damage may occur to the wire harnesses during installation.
NOTE: Use compressed air and remove any dirt or foreign material from the cylinder head, block and general surrounding area of the fuel rail and injectors.
   Cut, remove and discard the fuel charge wiring harness tie straps.
NOTICE: Pull out the fuel rails in the direction of the fuel injector axis or damage may occur to the fuel injectors.
NOTE: When removing the fuel rails, the fuel injectors may remain in the fuel rails but normally remain in the cylinder heads and require the use of a Fuel Injector Remover tool to extract.
   Remove and discard the 6 bolts and remove the LH fuel rail.
   Remove and discard the 6 bolts and remove the RH fuel rail.
   Disconnect the 6 fuel injector electrical connectors and remove the 2 fuel charge wire harnesses.
   Remove and discard the 6 upper fuel injector O-ring seals.
   Remove and discard the 6 fuel injector clips.
   Using the Slide Hammer and the Fuel Injector Remover, remove the 6 fuel injectors.
   Installation
   All vehicles
NOTE: A clean working environment is essential to prevent dirt or foreign material contamination.
NOTE: Make sure to thoroughly clean any residual fuel or foreign material from the cylinder head, block and the general surrounding area of the fuel rails and injectors.
   Using the Fuel Injector Brush, clean the fuel injector orifices.

NOTICE: Do not attempt to cut the lower Teflon® seal without first pulling it away from the fuel injector or damage to the injector may occur.
NOTE: Be very careful when removing the lower Teflon® seals, not to scratch, nick or gouge the fuel injectors.
   Pull the lower Teflon® seal away from the injector with narrow tip pliers.
   
   Carefully cut and discard the 6 lower fuel injector Teflon® seals.
   
NOTE: Do not lubricate the 6 new lower Teflon® fuel injector seals.
   Install the new lower Teflon® seals on the narrow end of the Arbor (part of the Fuel Injector Seal Installer), then install the Arbor on the fuel injector tips.
   
NOTICE: Once the Teflon® seal is installed on the Arbor, it should immediately be installed onto the fuel injector to avoid excessive expansion of the seal.
   Using the Pusher Tool (part of the Fuel Injector Seal Installer), slide the Teflon® seals off of the Arbor and into the groove on the fuel injectors.
   
   Place the Adjustment Ring (part of the Fuel Injector Seal Installer) beveled side first, over the fuel injector tip until it bottoms out against the fuel injector and turn 180 degrees.
   After one minute, turn the Adjustment Ring back 180 degrees and remove.
   
NOTICE: It is very important to note the routing of the fuel charge wiring harnesses on the fuel rails and index-mark the location of the tie straps prior to removal or damage may occur to the wire harnesses during installation. The illustration details the correct fuel charge wire harness routing and tie strap positioning for installation.
   Install the fuel charge wire harnesses and tie straps to the index-marked locations on the fuel rails. Start by attaching the first tie strap farthest down the wire harness and continue to the connector end of the harness, leaving ample slack between the fuel injectors.

   Connect the FRP sensor electrical connector.
NOTICE: Use fuel injector O-ring seals that are made of special fuel-resistant material. The use of ordinary O-ring seals may cause the fuel system to leak. Do not reuse the O-ring seals.
NOTE: To install, apply clean engine oil to the 6 new upper fuel injector O-ring seals only. Do not lubricate the lower fuel injector Teflon® seals.
NOTE: Inspect the fuel injector support disks and replace if necessary.
   Install the 6 new upper fuel injector O-ring seals.
   Install the 6 new fuel injector clips.
NOTE: The anti-rotation device on the fuel injector has to slip into the groove of the fuel rail cup.
   Install the 6 fuel injectors into the fuel rails and connect the 6 electrical connectors.
NOTICE: It is very important to visually inspect the routing of the fuel charge wire harness to make sure that they will not be pinched or damaged between the fuel rail and the cylinder head during installation.
NOTE: Tighten the bolts in a method that draws the fuel rail evenly to the head, preventing a rocking motion.
   Install the 6 new bolts and the RH fuel rail assembly.
   Push down on the fuel rail face above the injectors and begin tightening the outer bolts first and then proceed inward.
   To install, tighten to 10 Nm (89 lb-in).
   Tighten an additional 45 degrees.
NOTICE: It is very important to visually inspect the routing of the fuel charge wire harness to make sure that they will not be pinched or damaged between the fuel rail and the cylinder head during installation.
NOTE: Tighten the bolts in a method that draws the fuel rail evenly to the head, preventing a rocking motion.
   Install the 6 new bolts and the LH fuel rail assembly.
   Push down on the fuel rail face above the injectors and begin tightening the outer bolts first and proceed inward.
   To install, tighten to 10 Nm (89 lb-in).
   Tighten an additional 45 degrees.
NOTE: To install, apply clean engine oil to the threads of the 3 high-pressure fuel tube flare nuts.
   Install the high-pressure fuel tube and tighten the 3 flare nuts.
   Tighten to 30 Nm (22 lb-ft).
   Early build vehicles
   Install the high-pressure fuel tube nut.
   Tighten to 6 Nm (53 lb-in).
   Late build vehicles
   Install the high-pressure fuel tube bolt.
   Tighten to 6 Nm (53 lb-in).
   All vehicles
   Install the fuel injection pump noise insulator shield.
   Install the intake manifold. For additional information, refer to Engine — 3.5L GTDI.
   Connect the battery ground cable. For additional information, refer to Battery, Mounting and Cables.

[mistadobalina]

Also, there's a labor estimator. It shows 1.1 hrs for a dealer, 1.6 hrs for "regular" to replace one injector.

[jimmyducati]

Damn that sucks. It should be considered part of the power train as it is a key function of the system. Chicken s*** warranty coverage.

I can ask a few of my ford techs and see how bad a job it is.  I'd say it won't be to bad.

Id appreciate the opinion of a tech who can sympathize with the DIY kinda person!

Ya, I was and continue to be extremely disappointed with the power train warranty. The geeks at ford did a very good job of wording it to cover the least likely scenarios, and even then they seem to have multiple ways out of honoring a claim. After this ownership has ran its course, I think Ill go back to a modern classic like a C5 vette or SRT powered mopar...

[FoMoCoSHO]

You'd think injectors would be covered under your emissions warranty....

[FoMoCoSHO]

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/2011Warranty.pdf

[jimmyducati]

You'd think injectors would be covered under your emissions warranty....

Interesting that no one at any of the dealers have brought up this warranty, I didn't even know it existed! Unfortunately for me, I don't think its going to be of any use:
The warranty coverage period for:
• Passenger cars, light duty trucks (applies to vehicles up to 8,500 pounds GVWR)
— 8 years or 80,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for catalytic converter, electronic emission control unit (ECU), transmission control module (TCM), and any other onboard emissions diagnostic module
— 2 years or 24,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for all other covered parts.

That was copied directly from the link you sent me, I currently have 77k miles on the car so only the ECU, TCM and catalytic converters are covered. Even then, Im sure Ford would have claimed that the injector didn't fail due to an emissions related failure, they always seem to have an "out".

[FoMoCoSHO]

Yeah, it looks like the fuel system is 5/50

[FoMoCoSHO]

You'd think injectors would be covered under your emissions warranty....

Interesting that no one at any of the dealers have brought up this warranty, I didn't even know it existed! Unfortunately for me, I don't think its going to be of any use:
The warranty coverage period for:
• Passenger cars, light duty trucks (applies to vehicles up to 8,500 pounds GVWR)
— 8 years or 80,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for catalytic converter, electronic emission control unit (ECU), transmission control module (TCM), and any other onboard emissions diagnostic module
— 2 years or 24,000 miles (whichever occurs first) for all other covered parts.

That was copied directly from the link you sent me, I currently have 77k miles on the car so only the ECU, TCM and catalytic converters are covered. Even then, Im sure Ford would have claimed that the injector didn't fail due to an emissions related failure, they always seem to have an "out".

My experience is exactly the opposite.

Every repair has been covered by either the base warranty or ESP.

Since 2001, We've owned 10 Fords.

[FoMoCoSHO]

Everyone with an SHO should look at page 27, many parts are covered 7/70

[jimmyducati]

This info would have been handy 7 thousand miles ago!!!! I wonder if there is any recourse I can take... I took the car to a dealer in florida for the misfire issue and they said it was not covered under the extended power train warranty and obviously didnt want to tell me about or did not know about page 27! If they would have known their warranty, the injector would have been replaced then!

Im glad you have good luck with dealers, at this point Id rather burn the car down than take it in to the local Ford Dealer... That is the service shop that left the panel under the car partially unbolted and decided it was good to go for a 1100 mile road trip. This caused the front bumper and the wind deflector under the car to both be torn. Then he refused to own up to it and fix the damage

[FoMoCoSHO]

This info would have been handy 7 thousand miles ago!!!! I wonder if there is any recourse I can take... I took the car to a dealer in florida for the misfire issue and they said it was not covered under the extended power train warranty and obviously didnt want to tell me about or did not know about page 27! If they would have known their warranty, the injector would have been replaced then!

Im glad you have good luck with dealers, at this point Id rather burn the car down than take it in to the local Ford Dealer... That is the service shop that left the panel under the car partially unbolted and decided it was good to go for a 1100 mile road trip. This caused the front bumper and the wind deflector under the car to both be torn. Then he refused to own up to it and fix the damage

I would call Ford and raise some hell. IMO, there are a lot of Dealership Principals who really don't give a s*** about Ford, and they would screw their mother for a buck.

I hate the dealer model and wish Ford would terminate dealers like this and start selling their cars under the FoMoCo umbrella by people who are passionate about Fords.

[IHeartGroceries]

Just knock it out on your own! It's really not an overly demanding job. Just a little tedious. And based on what I have seen here (and elsehwere) Ford service departments are...yeesh. Haven't visited one myself yet.

[jimmyducati]

I plan on it, I won't trust someone who can't even bolt up an air deflector to replace an injector. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some ford only tool or crazy procedure to replace an injector.

Couldn't agree more about the dealer model, sucks and (for me atleast) drives would be loyal customers away. Unfortunately for them, this is my last Ford.