The newer guys keep skipping the injector hold-down torque sequence

Saw a kid at the shop last week just zipping down injectors in one pass on a 6.7 Cummins. I asked him about the three-step torque pattern and he just shrugged. On those engines if you don't seat the hold-downs in stages you can bend the injector body or crack the bore sleeve. Had a 2015 Dodge come in two months ago with a misfire that traced right back to that exact shortcut. Has anyone else noticed this getting more common with the younger techs?

3 comments

3 Comments

sage_moore371mo ago

Are you seeing this mostly with the inline six engines or is it happening on the V8 stuff too? I've pulled apart a few 6.0 Powerstrokes where the same shortcut led to a bent injector and a ton of extra labor... Seems like the newer guys just want to be fast instead of careful. Maybe we need to start making them torque a few practice injectors on a dead block before they touch a customer's truck.

ray_williams1mo ago

On the "maybe we need to start making them torque practice injectors" part - that's exactly what I did with our new guy. Grabbed an old 6.7 head from the scrap pile, let him mess up a few injectors on that before he ever touched a customer's engine, and the lesson finally stuck.

ross.lily1mo ago

Yeah that whole 'practice on the scrap head' thing is smart, but quick correction on the 6.0 Powerstroke - those are actually V8s, not inline sixes. I think you meant the 6.4 if you're talking about a V8, but the 6.0 is definitely a V8 too. Either way, same problem though, rushing through the torque sequence is just asking for trouble no matter what engine it is.