Tech Bulletin: Diesel Injector Testing and Overhaul
Introduction
The following information is primarily focused on the types of injectors typically found in diesel engines manufactured from about the 1950s onwards but excludes modern types with integrated electronics. The end results are not likely to be up to the standards of the professionals but should be adequate for our old tractors.
If one considers a typical tractor engine that has operated for about 5,000 hours at 1,500 rpm, each injector will have operated about 225,000,000 times. Just as water wears away rock over time, so diesel will wear the critical metal parts of the injector… and that is before one considers the long term effects of combustion.
Poor injectors can result in difficult starting and white smoke. Sometimes an engine will not start on all cylinders, only firing on some cylinders when it has started to heat up. Other possible side effects of injector problems include cylinder knock, engine overheating, loss of power, smoky black exhaust and increased fuel consumption.
