Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) New Injectors When??

[RBeard]

How do you know when your injectors are worn to the point they need replacing.

 

[Ozymandias]

Black smoke, stumbles, no power, bad fuel economy, start up problems.

The injectors on your truck are usually not a wear item, it can happen but very uncommon.

 

[RBeard]

Got 3 of the 5 and 300k on the clock. I'll try adjusting valves and go from there. Thanks, RB

 

[petersonj]

I replaced my injectors at 303,000 miles. None of the above symptoms - just thought it was time. I replaced them with RV275 injectors.

- John

 

[Ozymandias]

Got 3 of the 5 and 300k on the clock. I'll try adjusting valves and go from there. Thanks, RB

Sounds like you are in for a set. Don't cheap out on the quality you buy.

 

[Shelby Griggs]

Realize this is an older thread but had my truck into Oregon Fuel Injection (OFI) last week and asked the same question. They seem to be a very good shop and a Bosch rebuilder. In their experience, average life on 24V injectors is 150K miles. I have 333K and their guess is all six would fail tests on the test stand. One thing that happens and I hadn't thought of, is as the injectors rack up miles, the pop off pressure deceases. That in effect causes earlier injection (same as advancing timing) and can cause a drop in fuel economy, cylinder temps rising, lack of power, etc.

I am going to schedule an appointment to replace injectors later this year as a preventive measure and see if that addresses what I perceive is loss of power, EGT's rising rapidly when pulling my smaller trailers and possible lower MPG than I think I should have.

I may simply have a worn-out engine and is one of the reasons I had truck in shop, using oil, BUT two shops now say blowby isn't excessive for age and mileage and OFI checked turbo, visible smoke both under load and deacceleration and basically nothing major noted. Recommendation is to change from 5w-40 to 15w-40 and see if consumption decreases. Truck is using a quart at about 2000-3000 miles and that is acceptable "officially", but I will say that is about 3x-4x what it was doing up to around 300k. Acceptable usage per Cummins while in warranty is 500 miles per quart. I think that might be just to CYA and limit warranty claims, but that is what they say.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Throw in a set of BOSCH 275 RV injectors.

 

[GAmes]

I may simply have a worn-out engine and is one of the reasons I had truck in shop, using oil, BUT two shops now say blowby isn't excessive for age and mileage and OFI checked turbo, visible smoke both under load and deacceleration and basically nothing major noted. Recommendation is to change from 5w-40 to 15w-40 and see if consumption decreases. Truck is using a quart at about 2000-3000 miles and that is acceptable "officially", but I will say that is about 3x-4x what it was doing up to around 300k. Acceptable usage per Cummins while in warranty is 500 miles per quart. I think that might be just to CYA and limit warranty claims, but that is what they say.

Your engine might be worn but it is far from worn out. A qt every 2000-3000 miles is not much. I didn't pull my original engine until consumption was at a qt every 800 miles. Changing to 15W40 is likely not going to change anything. The hot viscosity of the two oils is the same. If you are concerned about your engine's health I suggest you submit an oil analysis and take a look at wear metals. It will also tell you if your air filter is doing it's job. If silicon is over 10 it is not.

 

[Shelby Griggs]

Your engine might be worn but it is far from worn out. A qt every 2000-3000 miles is not much. I didn't pull my original engine until consumption was at a qt every 800 miles. Changing to 15W40 is likely not going to change anything. The hot viscosity of the two oils is the same. If you are concerned about your engine's health I suggest you submit an oil analysis and take a look at wear metals. It will also tell you if your air filter is doing it's job. If silicon is over 10 it is not.

100k ago oil sample 20 ppm iron and 0 ppm silicon
11k ago oil sample 21 ppm and 5 ppm silicon
3k ago oils sample 17 ppm and 5 ppm silicon

Starting around 25K ago consumption went from one qt per 7-10k to averaging about one qt per 2500 miles but quite a bit of variability between 600 miles and 6000 miles (some of that might of been adding one quart when it really needed 1.5 quarts and then topping up again fairly soon), but definitely marked increase in consumption in last 25k no matter how I look at it.

No leaks, no oil passing turbo, so I think going out blow by tube or exhaust, but no visibly blue smoke. Only sign at all is an oil film that collects on front axle and some drips out of blow by tube after parked a few hours.

Been using a synthetic 5w-40 for years, I would need to check further records, but well over 100K and since at least 2010.

I think it has come down to worn internal parts and it isn't a matter of if, but when I need to rebuild.

 

[GAmes]

When you start seeing tin and brass, then it is time.

 

[Timd32]

If you can swing it do the injectors now if possible.

I think they are failry reasonable for new ones vs rebuilt, even with all the recent price shifts in stuff.

Sounds like you got a good run out of yours

 

[Shelby Griggs]

When you start seeing tin and brass, then it is time.

230k copper = 1 ppm, lead 3 ppm, tin not reported (8400 miles on oil Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme 5w-40)
322k copper = 2 ppm, lead = 2 ppm, tin = 1 ppm (7476 miles on oil Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme 5w-40)
330k copper = 1 ppm, lead = 2 ppm, tin = 0 ppm (7848 miles on oil Schaffers 5w-40)
Current odometer just over 333k with about 11k since changed

I have seen no alaming things in used oil analysis and each comes back "wear and contamination levels appear normal, continue normal PM and sample interval."

 

[Shelby Griggs]

If you can swing it do the injectors now if possible.

I think they are failry reasonable for new ones vs rebuilt, even with all the recent price shifts in stuff.

Sounds like you got a good run out of yours

Yep, plan on changing later this year when winter gives up it's grasp here in the PNW (shop I want to use (OFI) is about 4 hours away over a mountain range). New injectors for 24V runs about $100 each plus labor and I will have a shop do it, quoted $1200-1300 out the door.