280ZX (S130) Forums Dedicated to 79-83 ZCars

Fuel injectors

Old Mar 18, 2006 | 01:25 PM
  #1  
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Exclamation Fuel injectors

Ok, most of my work for this weekend has been finished. However, I found something that sort of alarms me (since I'm learning as I go).

I just noticed that at least 3 fuel injector holders are broken in my 280ZX.

My question is: should I change all fuel injectors and buy a fuel injector kit to replace all parts needed?
CourtesyParts has a fuel injector kit for sale (a bit expensive) http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchan...de=INJKT-7583Z

Here's a couple of pictures of what I'm talking about:
http://www.nomoredata.com/misc/Pic022.jpg
http://www.nomoredata.com/misc/Pic023.jpg

I don't really know how often one is supposed to replace fuel injectors, but from the way they look on my ZX I think I should.

Your comments and suggestions are always apprecitated.
Old Mar 18, 2006 | 03:38 PM
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Originally Posted by n00blar
Your comments and suggestions are always apprecitated.
yep... they crack a lot. If they're not leaking, don't worry about it... unless you are a perfectionist & need them fixed.
Old Mar 18, 2006 | 03:46 PM
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And how often do injectors have to be replaced or just replace them as they brake?

And yes...I'm kind of a perfectionist and now that I know they're broken...I gotta change them, lol
Old Mar 18, 2006 | 03:49 PM
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Injectors should be replaced when they leak (internally & externally), or are too clogged to spray. Injectors don't really "break."
Old Mar 18, 2006 | 07:44 PM
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the full kit seems spendy ....i got some used injectors from a good homie here at zdriver ...i payed only $17 bucks for the new seal kit ...and then mabe a $100 for a new jsk fuel rail...the is a injector clip kit listed on ebay most of the time for like ten bucks..also i got a ajustable fuel presser regulator for like $40 bills ...if you want to pay out the *** and have it all stock then buy that kit ..
but you can do it alot cheaper if you shop around and you will get more performace out of your car when your done...if you look up JSK fuel rail installs iam sure you will find all that you need to know about you fuel system and how to upgarde it : )
Old Mar 19, 2006 | 07:38 PM
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one of my 280ZXs fuel injector clip things, broke. It kinda bugged me, but I figured as long as I have injectors on the car, making the car run fine. Then it's not all that big of a deal. While on the topic of injectors. I'd say keep an eye out for the 84-85, maybe also 86+ injectors from a 300ZX. They will work and that's what I'm using. Saved me a lot of money.
Old Mar 19, 2006 | 08:06 PM
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Originally Posted by duowing
one of my 280ZXs fuel injector clip things, broke. It kinda bugged me, but I figured as long as I have injectors on the car, making the car run fine. Then it's not all that big of a deal. While on the topic of injectors. I'd say keep an eye out for the 84-85, maybe also 86+ injectors from a 300ZX. They will work and that's what I'm using. Saved me a lot of money.

True that homie! I got a set of turbo injectors for $15 from a guy that listed them on ebay only as "Z31T" injectors. If he had put "280zx turbo" they would have sold for $100+.
Old Mar 19, 2006 | 10:34 PM
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why is it the injectors when they come off a Z31 are so much cheaper?
Old Mar 19, 2006 | 10:38 PM
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Because fewer people like the Z31 and even fewer know they use the exact same injectors...
Old Mar 20, 2006 | 06:17 AM
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Question

Originally Posted by duowing
one of my 280ZXs fuel injector clip things, broke. It kinda bugged me, but I figured as long as I have injectors on the car, making the car run fine. Then it's not all that big of a deal. While on the topic of injectors. I'd say keep an eye out for the 84-85, maybe also 86+ injectors from a 300ZX. They will work and that's what I'm using. Saved me a lot of money.
So, if I'm reading this properly...I can buy fuel injectors for a 300zx (model yrs 84-86) and use them on my 1981 280zx (non-turbo)?

I did buy a fuel injector seal kit that comes with the seals and injectors mounts, so I'll be replacing that soon.
Old Mar 20, 2006 | 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by n00blar
So, if I'm reading this properly...I can buy fuel injectors for a 300zx (model yrs 84-86) and use them on my 1981 280zx (non-turbo)?

I did buy a fuel injector seal kit that comes with the seals and injectors mounts, so I'll be replacing that soon.
That's exactly right. My injectors started leaking, 4 of them actually. Luckily I had my set of 6 injectors from my 85 300ZX. I looked into it all, compared them, then put em in. Car runs perfectly on them.
Old Mar 20, 2006 | 09:34 AM
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So... since the Z31 (and every other V6 nissan of that era) got recalled for faulty injectors... and they use THE SAME injectors as the 280ZX... Doesn't that mean we would ALL WANT TO REPLACE OURS WITH THE UPGRADED ONES THAT SATISFIED THE RECALL?

Just a thought...

If the originals weren't good enough for the Z31 and MAXIMA then maybe they aren't good enough for us

Rod.
Old Mar 20, 2006 | 11:00 AM
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that was a thought that did cross my mind when using them, but hell they work for now and if they need replacement later, ahh well then I'll do it again.
It sounds like only a small amount of the Z31s actually ended up leaking though.
Old Mar 20, 2006 | 07:15 PM
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them injector's could use a lil TLC, and In case you ain't noticed, that ther vaulve cover could use a few bolt's
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 05:17 AM
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Originally Posted by FubarI33t
them injector's could use a lil TLC, and In case you ain't noticed, that ther vaulve cover could use a few bolt's
Yeah, I should get the fuel injectors seal kit sometime this week, and I was chaning the valve cover gasket when I took those pics

Here's what I ordered: http://shop.nissanpartstore.com/?make=NI&x=43&y=8

I'm still debating if I should change injectors or just keep the ones I have. From the posts here, I'm hesitant to get the ones from the 300zx. I'm also still doing lots of reading about ZX injectors, since I've never done any work with them - this will be challenging.
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 09:08 AM
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As said if your injectors aren't leaking then I personally wouldn't change them. It's not the simplest job to change, but it isn't ridiculously hard to change them. I would say if you come across a set of 300ZX injectors for cheap, pick them up. Hel even if the injectors were to start leaking at some point it's better to have a set that can get your car moving for a while, especially if you need it.

I can see where you're coming from though, change them while they're out and just have it done so you won't have to worry. It's up to you and your wallet. That Fuel Injector seal kit, is that a set of 6, or are they saying that you have to buy 6 of them?

Last edited by duowing; Mar 21, 2006 at 09:15 AM.
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 10:44 AM
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theres a crap load of z31
n/A injectors if anyone want to buy them and pay for shipping....strait from the j-yard. they charge $10 a piece though, but i could sneek some out.
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 11:53 AM
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Man these injector threads must be taboo for me or something. It looks like one of my injectors is leaking, just a bit though. Anyway it's time to replace it. Any recomendations on where brands or where to buy good injectors?

Why are o-rings from Courtesy so expensive? I got a set of upper and lower O-rings for $6 from AdvanceAutoParts.

Last edited by duowing; Mar 21, 2006 at 11:58 AM.
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 01:16 PM
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Now I'm not saying your injector is not leaking but didnt you say you could see the fuel from the outside of the engine? If so that doesn't mean your injector itself is leaking. That means you've got a bad or loose hose or a bad or poorly seated injector seal. None of those situations warrants replacement of the injector. The type of leak that warrants replacement can not be seen. It's when the pintle stops seating and fuel leaks into the cylinder. Usually this only means that some debris is preventing the injector from sealing and a cleaning will remedy the situation.

Just trying to save you a few bucks incase the problem is not what you think it was.
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 08:50 PM
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It's a little wet around where the injector meets with the plastic black holders, and another part of the injector, but it is visible like you said. So essentially I might just need to pull the injector out, put new seals on them and recheck the hose connection? So if it's not sealing right it will leak outside and cause the smell of fuel? One thing too, is that could it just be that over time like when my injectors started leaking before, it essentially just meant that the seals were starting to go bad after all those years? Oh and finally is it possible for the seals to set and then seal up and for debris to get in between the seals?

Last edited by duowing; Mar 21, 2006 at 09:00 PM.
Old Mar 21, 2006 | 09:35 PM
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Yeah the seals will go bad over time. They will harden and crack and just plain stop sealing well with age. They're rubber and rubber breaks down. Liquid mixed with debris can work it's way into a bad seal with little trouble. Plus theres a chance the seal never seated properly to begin with. In your case the first thing I would suspect is where the fuel line meets the injectors. That is a leak prone area. Second would be the seals. A injector that is leaking cause it is bad will not leak externally unless it is split open (which isn't likey unless the injector is crushed or something like that).
Old Mar 22, 2006 | 06:09 AM
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Originally Posted by duowing
Man these injector threads must be taboo for me or something. It looks like one of my injectors is leaking, just a bit though. Anyway it's time to replace it. Any recomendations on where brands or where to buy good injectors?

Why are o-rings from Courtesy so expensive? I got a set of upper and lower O-rings for $6 from AdvanceAutoParts.
Ha!

I got my kits from Nissan Parts Store for about $8.60 each kit. I wasn't able to find a kit from AdvanceAutoParts; they sell the O-rings, but coudn't find the injector mounts.
Old Mar 29, 2006 | 08:06 PM
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Alright now that it's finally getting warm, I'm ready to go mess with my injector. The injector that seems to have the leak I believe is either the 3rd or 4th injector from the front of the engine to the back(I forget which). Anyway, how feasible is it to pull the one injector to change/clean the seals and get it back in without pulling the whole rail? Or should I just go ahead and pull the whole rail again, cus if possible I really don't want to have to deal with removing all 6 injectors from the rail and putting them in seperately, then reconnecting to the rail. I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to get these things in while connected to the rail.
Old Mar 29, 2006 | 09:15 PM
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It's A LOT easier to pull the whole rail.... In fact, I don't see an easy way of pulling an injector w/o pulling the rail. I guess if you cut the fuel hose to the injector you could, but I'm not a fan of destroying something that doesn't need to be destroyed.
Old Apr 1, 2006 | 12:45 PM
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Ok, from what Jfairladyz states I think my problem is more of defective injector seals than anything else.
I noticed that they seem to be leaking from the top, close to the connectors. It's actually kinda wet on top.
I took some pics (http://www.nomoredata.com/misc), a bit blurry, but you may be able to see that it's wet looking on top of the injectors and also the connectors' rubber cap is broken.

My tow question to you guys is:
1. Will getting a seal kit for all injectors fix this issue?
2. Do I have to change the fuel injector connectors as well? I found some connectors at (http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchan...de=24079-7583Z) kinda pricey and also some at eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...e=STRK:MEWA:IT) don't know if these will work though.

Thanks for all your help and pardon my non-stop questions. I'm learning as I go

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