Sorry to post this to the list but I can't seem to reach Bill
Sohl directly. If you don't want to read about TR8 fuel
injection (kind of long), you might want to skip this. Bill
asks:
> ...What was wrong with it [injector] AND how did you know or
>locate which injector was defective?
I'm the third owner of this car. The second owner had problems
with leaky injectors. I too HAD :-) leaky injectors, twice.
(While I had them out, I also checked the coil winding resistance
on each injector (a little more than 2 Ohms) just to be sure
nothing was wrong inside.)
It's pretty easy to find a leaky injector. The new super
unleaded gasolines (I usually use Chevron's) have an additive
which is supposed to enhance octane or something. A nice side
benefit is that it leaves behind a reddish residue (some of my
spark plugs look reddish sometimes). If you smell gas after the
car is parked (and still hot), and you can't locate the leak by
nose, use eyes to look for reddish stains around the injectors.
The first time I did this, the smell was awful right after any
short trip. I could even smell gas idling at stop lights! My
nose found the leak right away. The leak was obvious to the eyes
too! Gas was oozing out around the base of two of the injector
electrical connectors and a lot of red discoloration was evident
(one on the uncluttered driver's side of the engine, the other
buried under the plenum chamber/airflow meter side).
Most of my injectors are fed by a short piece of fuel injection
hose with TWO clamps, one clamping it to the fuel rail, the other
connecting it to the injector body. The new style injectors (I
got a new one from TRF) have done away with the lower clamp; the
injector and hose are now ONE piece. A clever, much improved
design I think. I have three of the new style injectors now.
What do you have on your '81?
First time I replaced (1) all the seals (they had perished some
time ago) and (2) all the little injector-feed hoses. That
helped for a little while. Still, the third injector started
leaking again almost right away (no matter how tight the clamp).
The previous owner had problems with that particular injector
too. I decided it might be cracked somewhere and rather than
risk a fire, I just got a new one. The new injector works great,
no leaks. I cannot, however, see anything wrong with the old one
so maybe it was OK after all? By the way, make sure the injector
hold down/clamping plates (4) are straight or you might not get a
good seal (mine had deformed quite a bit).
My car now has 55,000 miles. I suspect the little O rings which
hold the injectors in place on the manifold probably will
probably last about 40,000 miles before they begin to leak,
judging from the condition mine were in at 50,000.
End of discourse. Hope it was informative.
jim
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