Can a bad injector blow a head gasket?
#1
06-07-2016, 02:24 AM
Can a bad injector blow a head gasket?
I picked up a 2002 fullsize XLS with 3.5 L, 180,000 miles. Owner said it had a bad head gasket and had minorly overheated once or twice as he drove it home. I confirmed there is water in the oil, and some missing radiator coolant. He installed a new radiator but that didn't fix overheat problem.
It wouldn't crank for 3 days and then yesterday it started up. Very rough and seems to be placing a lot of unburnt fuel out tailpipe. Not smoking very badly at all, just sounds and smells very fuel rich. Very little faint white smoke, which I hope means the head gasket break is very small.
Ran the code reader and it shows P0300, Multiple Cylinder Misfires Present.
My friend thinks a bad fuel injector may have blown the head gasket. Is that true? If so, I want to check them all over.
Do these injectors commonly fail and cause damage to themselves?
Has anyone has success at checking and bench cleaning the injectors like the YouTube videos describe?
After I check injectors I plan on changing motor oil/filter with 15w-40. Then draining, flushing and backflushing radiator and heater core. And finally adding a bottle of Steel Seal to see if I can solve head gasket leak that way, without pulling heads off.
Any suggestions on what to check other than injectors, for the bad head gasket cause? I don't want to repair it just to have it break again if I can avoid that. Thank you!
It wouldn't crank for 3 days and then yesterday it started up. Very rough and seems to be placing a lot of unburnt fuel out tailpipe. Not smoking very badly at all, just sounds and smells very fuel rich. Very little faint white smoke, which I hope means the head gasket break is very small.
Ran the code reader and it shows P0300, Multiple Cylinder Misfires Present.
My friend thinks a bad fuel injector may have blown the head gasket. Is that true? If so, I want to check them all over.
Do these injectors commonly fail and cause damage to themselves?
Has anyone has success at checking and bench cleaning the injectors like the YouTube videos describe?
After I check injectors I plan on changing motor oil/filter with 15w-40. Then draining, flushing and backflushing radiator and heater core. And finally adding a bottle of Steel Seal to see if I can solve head gasket leak that way, without pulling heads off.
Any suggestions on what to check other than injectors, for the bad head gasket cause? I don't want to repair it just to have it break again if I can avoid that. Thank you!
#2
06-08-2016, 12:38 AM
I can not imagine any scenario in which a faulty fuel injector can cause a head gasket to blow. You can have uneven fuel injection which will result in sub optimal engine performance, bad gas mileage, and if they are dumping raw fuel into the cylinders you may "cook" your catalytic converter.
Check your local shops. Some may have a bench injector cleaning/testing machine. If they do, take your injectors off, label them and have them cleaned and tested. The good shop will replace o-rings, screens and any other parts that are serviceable. They will also give you a printout of test results showing if your injectors are within spec.
Keep in mind, even if you have cleaned (or install new injectors), they may not work properly if PCM is sending them wrong commands. This can be due to some bad sensor(s), faulty wiring or faulty PCM.
I had a similar situation with my project car years ago. I had rust in the fuel tank, car would not run. I fixed the rust issue, cleaned injectors (local shop). Car would start but it would not run well. Dumping ton of fuel, black smoke, total mess. Well, it turned out to be a faulty MAF that was causing the air/fuel mixture to be out of whack. In that case i had to clean injectors anyway, but it was another issue that was preventing clean injectors from working properly.
Check your local shops. Some may have a bench injector cleaning/testing machine. If they do, take your injectors off, label them and have them cleaned and tested. The good shop will replace o-rings, screens and any other parts that are serviceable. They will also give you a printout of test results showing if your injectors are within spec.
Keep in mind, even if you have cleaned (or install new injectors), they may not work properly if PCM is sending them wrong commands. This can be due to some bad sensor(s), faulty wiring or faulty PCM.
I had a similar situation with my project car years ago. I had rust in the fuel tank, car would not run. I fixed the rust issue, cleaned injectors (local shop). Car would start but it would not run well. Dumping ton of fuel, black smoke, total mess. Well, it turned out to be a faulty MAF that was causing the air/fuel mixture to be out of whack. In that case i had to clean injectors anyway, but it was another issue that was preventing clean injectors from working properly.
#3
06-11-2016, 01:36 AM
2002 starts, gets flooded, has to sit 48+hrs to restart
This is a 2002 XLS 3.5L full size. It seems to be flooding so quickly and badly I can smell unburnt fumes from motor area and tailgate. There isn't any pooling or tank loss I can see. After it sits for 48+ hours or more it will start when I hold pedal to floor. Tonight it started twice, and was only ran for about 8 minutes total.
I think the previous owner had it when this Montero started having problems and somehow it has led to it dumping excess fuel into the system. My guess is an injector is either stuck open or on, or like you said, something controlling/feeding ECU or injectors emissions info is causing the injector(s) to flood the engine.
But the only diagnostic code I have is the P0300 "random multiple cylinder misfires". Which is common to blown head gasket also, which it seems to have based on water in the oil. So I guess I'll pull the injectors (while I'm getting to everything else) test what I can, and then DIY clean them with process I saw on YouTube using a battery and spray can carb cleaner. Replace o-rings and screens if I can find kit.
Looking to source a rebuild kit for the injectors. If anyone has used one from a supplier and been happy with quality and price.
Anyone used a good repaie manual for 2002 year?
I think the previous owner had it when this Montero started having problems and somehow it has led to it dumping excess fuel into the system. My guess is an injector is either stuck open or on, or like you said, something controlling/feeding ECU or injectors emissions info is causing the injector(s) to flood the engine.
But the only diagnostic code I have is the P0300 "random multiple cylinder misfires". Which is common to blown head gasket also, which it seems to have based on water in the oil. So I guess I'll pull the injectors (while I'm getting to everything else) test what I can, and then DIY clean them with process I saw on YouTube using a battery and spray can carb cleaner. Replace o-rings and screens if I can find kit.
Looking to source a rebuild kit for the injectors. If anyone has used one from a supplier and been happy with quality and price.
Anyone used a good repaie manual for 2002 year?
#4
06-11-2016, 05:42 AM
I bought injector parts from this place. Very prompt shipment and I think the prices were excellent. Not many sources for the parts that I could find. Details in my rebuild thread.
Injector-Rehab Fuel Injector Cleaning Services
Try the links in the sticky for the manuals. This link says its for 2003 but I'm sure it will answer all your needs. http://www.pajero4x4.ru/piii/
Injector-Rehab Fuel Injector Cleaning Services
Try the links in the sticky for the manuals. This link says its for 2003 but I'm sure it will answer all your needs. http://www.pajero4x4.ru/piii/
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