Rant: A simple injector swap turned into a three day ordeal

I was doing a routine injector replacement on a 6.7 Powerstroke last Tuesday, a job I've done dozens of times. The new injector went in fine, but the truck wouldn't start. Spent a day checking codes, fuel pressure, and harness connections, all good. Finally, after pulling the valve covers again, I spotted a tiny piece of the old copper washer had broken off and was blocking the oil feed galley to the new injector. That little fragment cost me two extra days of diagnostic time. Has anyone else had a hidden piece of debris cause a massive headache like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith_bennett2mo ago

Man, that reminds me of a time I found a single leaf from a parts bag stuck in a coolant crossover passage. It was just folded up flat, acting like a perfect little check valve. Car would overheat at idle but run fine on the highway. Took forever to find because it looked fine when you glanced in there. You start to wonder if you're going crazy.

hollywhite2mo ago

Wow, I used to think those stories were made up.

patricia2622mo ago

I had a car with a similar mystery overheat, @hollywhite. The fix was a tiny piece of shop towel blocking a heater core line, which I only found by blowing air backwards through the system. Sometimes the weirdest little thing is the whole problem.