Nervous about injectors!

[EArp]

Hey guys, after reading so many posts about so many members that are having or have had injector problems i'm getting a little nervous! I'm hoping that I don't start having issues with mine. Is there any preventative maintenance other than fuel filter changes that I can do? My dad has a '96 12V with 130k miles and he's never had to do ANY major repairs to his 5. 9. He even has it turned up and uses it exclusively to pull. I'm starting to wonder if my '07 5. 9 is as bullet-proof as they used to be?? Granted, I haven't had any issues yet, i'm just basing this on the posts i've read from you guys.

 

[DonFitzwater]

You have a good warranty so don't sweat it too much. My truck idles quite a bit and that is most certainly why I have had 8 injectors replaced. When my warranty is up I will be putting in a set of extrude honed injector nozzles.

 

[JHardwick]

Your Dad has mechanical nozzles, you have electronic injectors and they are NOT as bullet proof.

 

[betterthanstock]

Some of us like to add a pint to a quart of non-detergent oil to the fuel at every fill up. Keeps them lubricated.

Regularly drive it at full power for a few miles, to burn off carbon deposits.

I accelerate at full power (not very high rpm, just full boost, may not be possible with an automatic... ) whenever there isn't somebody ahead of me. It keeps things clean. Mileage does not drop if you accelerate hard at low rpm (below 2200, with a stickshift). People think that accelerating slowly improves mileage, but it's high speed, and high rpm, and late braking that waste the fuel.

 

[BothellDiesel]

Get a 2 micron filter kit on your truck. Try Glacier Diesel Power

 

[BHolm]

You can TRY all kinds of different things. Even guys with 2 mic filters have had failures. I don't think additives do any good at all. It is luck of the draw sometimes. I had two completely stock '03 HO's that sat outside, worked like dogs, never had any additives or extra filtration and never lost an injector with over 100k on each truck. My '05 lost one at 5k miles being a grocery getter and my '06 lost one at 94k miles again worked pretty hard.



I do think the 325 engines are more prone with three injection events per stroke as opposed to two in the earlier 305 engines. I will be having mine gone through and extrude honed tips installed pretty soon. I am not suggesting it is a fix but I can tell they need some attention.

 

[EArp]

Hey thanks guys. Seems like they go out sooner if you don't work the truck hard very often. At least i'm covered until the 100k mark. Maybe after that i'll look into those extrude honed tips you guys mentioned.

 

[JDecanter]

There is a poll going on in one of the other forumns. The results are that about 18% have had injector failures. I have 36,000 with no problems. I run a bottle of power service about 4 times a year.

 

[EArp]

I know alot of guys run additives, but i'm a little leary about doing it. Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the owners manual say to never use additives?

 

[KBalzuweit]

I think its just luck of the draw. My dmax went 280k never an injector. I know drivers 300k plus on 06 Dodges with no issues, yet I have met some that have had multiple failures in50k.

 

[JDecanter]

Yes, I have on 06. I understand the O7 manual says no additives of any kind.

 

[JCasper]

I know alot of guys run additives, but i'm a little leary about doing it. Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the owners manual say to never use additives?

I've only had my truck for 3. 5 years. I haven't read the manual yet. :-laf

 

[EArp]

Isn't the '06 5. 9 identical to the '07 5. 9 though?

 

[JohnCooper]

I've only had my truck for 3. 5 years. I haven't read the manual yet. :-laf

There's a manual for these things?:-laf

 

[MRosinski]

My 04' has a little over 70K now and its never seen any additive and no injector problems yet. It idles a ton in the winter when i'm plowing. Last storm we got the truck ran for over 3 days straight. It does have a loud tick at idle sometimes, but no fuel in oil... ...

 

[rbattelle]

Hey guys, after reading so many posts about so many members that are having or have had injector problems i'm getting a little nervous!

TDR Rule #1 - reading this site regularly can make you very nervous. Just this week I lost sleep thinking my harmonic balancer might fall off and destroy the crankshaft at any moment, and my transmission is going to burn up because it shifts hard when cold! :-laf

Your Dad has mechanical nozzles, you have electronic injectors and they are NOT as bullet proof.

This is very true.

Even guys with 2 mic filters have had failures. I don't think additives do any good at all.

This brings up an excellent point. We don't really know what the effects of a 2-mic filter are. I think there are too many variables to be able to say with any authority whether such a filter has any effect at all on injector wear.



People (like me) install extra filters because it seems like a good idea. Who knows?

I know alot of guys run additives, but i'm a little leary about doing it. Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the owners manual say to never use additives?

At least through 2006 the owners manual (and Cummins) state that additives are not required. That's a lot different from saying they don't work, or they could do some harm.



I figure there are only 2 reasons to run an additive. The first is lubricity - keep the CP-3 and the injectors well lubricated.



The other reason is increasing cetane rating, which mostly just makes the engine run a little quieter and smoother.



2% biodiesel satisfies both of these requirements quite nicely.



For about 39817 miles I ran no additives. Then, inexplicably, I started using one. Now I can't stop because I'd feel guilty. Go figure.



Ryan

 

[sag2]

Hey guys, after reading so many posts about so many members that are having or have had injector problems i'm getting a little nervous! I'm hoping that I don't start having issues with mine. Is there any preventative maintenance other than fuel filter changes that I can do? My dad has a '96 12V with 130k miles and he's never had to do ANY major repairs to his 5. 9. He even has it turned up and uses it exclusively to pull. I'm starting to wonder if my '07 5. 9 is as bullet-proof as they used to be?? Granted, I haven't had any issues yet, i'm just basing this on the posts i've read from you guys.

Run clean good quality fuel, change the filter with a quality filter as duty cycle warrants, and clean the filter housing at every filter change. In class a couple of weeks ago one of the guys said he heard the injector pintle would not fit back in the bore if you marked it with a Sharpie. So we decided to pull an injector apart and try it. Well he was right, we marked around the pintle with an ordinary Sharpie and it would not go back together. I don't know how small 2 microns is in relation to ink from a sharpie, but I have to think even 2 micron filters let stuff by that can do damage over time.

 

[betterthanstock]

Well he was right, we marked around the pintle with an ordinary Sharpie and it would not go back together. I don't know how small 2 microns is in relation to ink from a sharpie, but I have to think even 2 micron filters let stuff by that can do damage over time.

Just the heat from your hand (dilation) can do that. Wear gloves next time when you try that. Also when injectors run, the fuel pressure dilates the body slightly, so it is a little looser when it runs.

 

[EArp]

Thanks for the good info. If i were to run an additive that you can buy at the store what would you guys buy???

 

[DonFitzwater]

I stopped using additive almost totally. I used it religously till 20,000 and have still had injector issues. I'm going to do a little test by not using it and see what happens?