Archived Cracked #5 Injector Line!

[BlakeC]

86 miles from home on an out of the way country road, CE Light came on, no loss of power - started to smell diesel, pulled over popped hood (after shutting her off), fuel everywhere..... started it again and fuel misting from the #5 line coming off the common rail near the injector. The support bracket holding the line came off! This I guess,along with vibration caused the base of the line at the injector to fracture. And of course none of the dealers are open and no parts stores carry this. Have someone with access to a MIG, has anyone successfully welded these as a temp fix? Only viable option at the moment. Towing is the last option as it's going to be extremely expensive.

 

[Bob4x4]

Had a friend in Mexico go through this... ... ... too much pressure for any of the field repairs to work. On my next adventure trip I will be carrying a cap to plug off the rail at one cylinder



Bob

 

[JLandry]

Blake,



Is there a way to just pinch off the line where it fractured so you can drive home on 5 cylinders? I doubt that would hurt the engine if you keep the power demands reasonable.



To get a good seal, possibly you could flatten the injector line with vise grips, then fold it over on itself 1/8" - 1/4" several times. You could leave the vise grips on the pinched end.



An alternative idea...



Remove the injector line fitting from the common rail, remove the broken injector line from this fitting, then install some type of plug in the fitting (where the line used to be) and then reinstall the fitting on the common rail, thus blocking off the flow.



For the plug, you could improvise by filing down a slug of metal from just about anything... maybe even a penny (coin)... and then coat one side of this slug with a piece of thin rubber... like maybe a piece of inner tube... to get a good seal on the common rail.



Good luck!



John L.

 

[BlakeC]

Thanks for all the suggestions, would blocking the fuel line (crimp or plug) possibly cause any additional problems? I have my family with me (wife/ 2 kids and the dog) The weld didn't hold, the guy did a good job I thought but to no avail.

 

[Bob4x4]

The crimp will not hold up to 20k psi... ... ... .

 

[JLandry]

Thanks for all the suggestions, would blocking the fuel line (crimp or plug) possibly cause any additional problems? I have my family with me (wife/ 2 kids and the dog) The weld didn't hold, the guy did a good job I thought but to no avail.

Blake,



Assuming you can stop the high pressure leak coming from the common rail, running on 5 cylinders shouldn't cause any problems beyond the obvious (weird running engine and the check engine light staying on).



Once you get the injector line replaced, clear the trouble codes with a code scanner (available at any auto parts store) and you should be all set.



Good luck,



John L.

 

[MickeyMiller]

Bob4X4,

I like your idea of carrying a plug to cap off a fractured line. If your able to source a plug, Please Share! One other question: When the lines fracture, is it usually the same (#5) line?

 

[Bob4x4]

It is not rare... ..... you can use the miller special tool

SPX Miller Special Tools | Detail: 9011 - ADAPTER, FUEL PRESSURE TEST



Bob

 

[MickeyMiller]

Bob,



Thanks for the response. . for $23 it is worth it just to have an option if a line breaks!

 

[BlakeC]

Out of desperation I did try crimping the line, didn't hold. No access to a plug, but managed to make it back to Dallas and trying to procure the part from one of the dealers this morning. I will also take to heart the suggestion from Bob4x4 about the plug.
I'm also going to remove all the injector line retension clips and use some lock tight to hold the screws in place.
Thanks again for the help everyone!

 

[Scrappy]

one of my buddies fractured the same line right where the fitting is swedged to the line. luckily for him, my truck was down for injector upgrades so he got my line and I got a new one from the dealer a week later.

 

[bzingre]

All, I think you'll end up buying an injector for any cylinder that is capped at the rail. Injectors are lubed by fuel. No fuel = no lube = need new injector.

 

[JLandry]

All, I think you'll end up buying an injector for any cylinder that is capped at the rail. Injectors are lubed by fuel. No fuel = no lube = need new injector.

Good point.



But if I had to choose either being stranded out in the middle of no place from a higher pressure fuel leak or risk the possibility of ruining an injector, I'd take the later.



I suppose if you had to drive a really long way with an injector not receiving any fuel from the common rail, you could first go through the trouble of removing the valve cover and disconnecting the injector wiring harness leads.



Best regards,



John L.