| RECOMMENDED SERVICING - DIESEL FUEL INJECTORS
There is no hard and fast rule regarding servicing of diesel fuel injectors, due to a combination of external factors, such as:
- vehicle usage (city or country, commercial or recreational)
- condition of fuel (possible contaminated source of supply)
- vehicle maintenance (engine condition, filter and water trap maintenance)
Hiflo recommendations for diesel engines fitted with pintle type injectors :
- Injectors should be replaced every 60,000 k to 70,000 k, depending on external factors.
- Injectors should be replaced in ‘sets' and not individually.
- Injectors must always be serviced when the engine has been reconditioned or rebuilt. Failure to do so may void the engine reconditioner's warranty.
- Important - under no circumstances should injector life exceed 100,000 k.
- It should be noted that when injectors are serviced, new nozzles must be fitted as pintle type nozzles cannot be reconditioned.
Possible signs of injectors requiring service are:
- Rough idle or pronounced engine knock.
- Excessive light coloured smoke on cold start.
- Poor or abnormal fuel consumption.
- Engine ‘miss' under load.
- Lack of performance.
- Engine oil contamination. ( dilution of oil by diesel fuel )
Failure to service injectors as per hiflo recommendations can result in:
- Excessive nozzle tip corrosion and erosion.
- tip corrosion results from acids formed during the combustion process and tip erosion results from gas turbulence and carbon particles. Both these processes are ongoing and will result in progressive nozzle deterioration and poor engine performance. This is why injector life should never exceed a maximum of 100,000k.
- Accelerated engine wear.
- Premature engine failure.
- Dribbling injector nozzles which cause premature combustion and high pressures, resulting in cracked pistons and cylinder heads.
Hiflo strongly recommends that you also change fuel filters and drain water sedimentors. A diesel engine requires clean good quality fuel plus regular servicing of fuel and air filters and draining of your water sedimentor. Your injectors require servicing at regular intervals.
If you follow this plan your pump should require very little service.
|
