Replacing Fuel Injectors, and need some advice

[greekmaster]

I just spent a ton of money rebuilding my engine and now I find out that I have a dead fuel injector on my #3 cylinder. I can't afford to have the guy at the shop do the work, so I am going to do it myself. Are there any special tricks to removing the fuel rail? What are some of the typical problems associated with this job? I have a moderate amount of mechanical know-how, but I'm no expert. I heard someone say that it is easy to buckle the rings as they are installed. Is this true? What should I do to avoid any problems. And should I replace all the injectors at the same time? Again, money is an issue, but I need to car to run.

Thanks for your help . . .

[RogerZ]

it is kind of a pain in that you have to remove a number of bolts to get the whole thing to come out as a unit. What leads you to belive #3 is bad? Anyway remove all the bolts you need to lift the whole thing out and then replace. Not rocket science just annoying. If none of the other injectors are leaking i'd replace the one BUT since it is an annoyance to pull the rail putting in a new set is nice. You can get your old ones rebuilt search the threads or check around your area.

[greekmaster]

The #3 injector will only work when you bang it, and then only for a second or two. It developed a miss that came and went, and after some checking, listening to the injectors, we found #3 to be faulty. I don't think it is the connector.

If it is just a matter of unbolting things, then I can do that. If it requires some secret z-car trick that I don't know about then I'm doomed. Rebuilding sounds like an interesting alternative.

Thanks for the advice.

[76Datsun280z]

The #3 injector will only work when you bang it, and then only for a second or two. It developed a miss that came and went, and after some checking, listening to the injectors, we found #3 to be faulty. I don't think it is the connector.

Not to argue or anything, but I had a similar problem and from the sounds of it firing off and on intermintenly, sounds like it's getting a bad connection. The number 5 injector wasn't firing on my 280, and my dad and I both thought it was a bad injector. We bought a brand new injector, and guess what, it still wouldn't fire. After taking the connector off, it turned out it was just getting a bad connection and that's all it was. So before you go through it all, you might take the connector off and make sure it's getting a good connection and rule that out just to be sure that's not what it is so you save yourself the trouble of taking it appart.

[greekmaster]

I have to admit, the quality of the connection has been nagging at me. I have ordered some Deoxit to clean some other connections and I'll do the same to the injector connections. Does anyone know where to get new connectors for these if I would want to replace the connector?

[undercat]

You can get good connectors from the junk yard for cheap. There's tech tips at atanticz.ca on the connectors (http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/injectors/connectors/index.html). There should be 10 connectors of this type in you engine bay. I'm currently replacing all of mine with ones I got off of Volvo's (with nice boots and quick release).

-Paul

[DatsunZsRule]

Hello greekmaster,

I had to redo all mine last summer. My fuel rail sprung a leak and I had everything apart, so I redid everything Replaced injectors, top and bottom 0 rings, new plastic holders, fuel rail, hoses, clamps ect. All Nissan parts.

I say do it right the first time -redo all 6 injectors IF your having problems with them because the other 5 I'm sure won't be far behind. I.M.O it's stupid to go through all the work of taking everything apart which can be a time consuming project especially for someone thats new to it, and only do the 1 injector. It's just good insurance and piece of mind knowing all 6 are new and are all the same age but thats just me. when you think about it, the other 5 (even though they are working) should still be removed anyways to redo the 0 rings at least. I bet the 0 rings have never been touched and have seen better days and those will be leaking on you next. Again, these are just my thoughts so do the best you can with what your budget allows

I like many on here specialize in the first generation Z's so I'm not positive on all the little changes Nissan may have made on the ZX compared to mine. I do know the fuel rail is different compared to my 1977 280Z. Starting with the 1978 280Z - 83ZX they redesigned the fuel rail so you don't have all those sections of rubber fuel hoses connecting all the fuel pipes togeather like I got so that should make it easier for you. Another important thing about the rubber fuel hoses when you replace them, make damn sure it's high pressure F.I. rubber hose and not just regular rubber fuel hose.

As far as the connectors go, Courtesy Nissan sells them as well but as long as they are not cracked or damaged, I'd try giving your current ones a good cleaning first. Yours are probably just corroded.

Best of luck.

[sideshowbob]

Go to you local junkyard and yank the six connectors of a mid nineties buick or oldsmobile (I used the ones from the Olds 88 Royale, since I have one of these). Nice, spring loaded connectors similar to those volvo/audi/other recommended here somewhere. Bonus: They're not bare copper and won't corrode.

[RWD415]

Quick question, does any one know of the whole intake manifold, fuel injectors,fuel rails assembly is different from the Zx's.

My uncle had a intake manifold with injectors and everything for me and it looks different from mine, which is a 76 280, I know if from a different year from mines, is there a way to tell?

[RWD415]

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[mike's78z]

So how did replacing those injectors go? I just bought a 78z and the owner said it needed new injectors. I replaced the injectors, which was a pain in the @$$ to take out and put back in. I first tried to install them with the rail, but that was hard because the plastic holder and metal piece kept falling off. So I installed them onto the engine first, then i slide the rail into the rubber hoses. There are a number of hoses that can get in your way so don't forget to mark their positions with tape. Also don't forget to unplug the battery!

After putting all the hoses together and tightening the bolts the car still doesn't start. Prior to replacing the injectors, the car was sputtering pretty bad. It died when i tried to park it in my backyard and hasn't started ever since. I noticed the floor temp. light came on. Can any1 else help me figure out what else could be the problem?