diesel owners

[macca]

i guys, what is your attitude to servicing your injectors, i was talking to a retired diesel mechanic and he reckons i should be regularly having the injector O rings replaced and the injector bodies cleaned, otherwise i run the risk of carbon build up which could require the head being removed to free seized injectors,

what do you think, what is your experience

i have done 170,000 km on my 2005 3.0d and they are all freeway k,s, start it up drive 50 km and turn it off
repeat at end of day, the car runs smooth and gets good economy so on the surface its all good

but im happy to do preventative maintenance if advised, i do have an independant mechanic do all the servicing and I'm happy with there level of attention, however they may also not be aware of the need , maybe i need a diesel specialist, i simply dont know

EM

[macca]

no diesel owners, or do you just allow your mechanic to dictate service requirements??

[Mick.H]

You only put the post up Yesterday. Have patience. Im sure someone in the know will be along shortly

[Greydog]

Morning Macca
Remember it's the middle of our night when you post. Give us time to wake up and smell the coffee mate.
Not a Diseasel owner but just about all cars are injected these days, injector and pump technology have come a long way for both petrol and diesel powered vehicles. Fuel quality has kept pace with the other developments to help performance and extend injector life. BMW have been at the forefront particularly with their diesels for many years.
All injectors will loose efficiency over a period of time dependent on (a) fuel quality (b) how the vehicle is maintained (c) driving style. There are fuel additive/cleaners you can use which again have come a long way over the last 10 years or so. The "O" ring seals will harden over time and will need replacing particularly if they are disturbed, my personal view is based on the old adage "if the clocks keeping time don't try and fix it"
In the UK there are a few specialist companies who clean/refurbish injectors and restore original spray patterns and performance I had this done some years back with a T5 Volvo that I had, it made difference but I wouldn't say significant.

[snipez999]

Diesel owner (my 4th BMW diesel in a row) but as I buy from new and change every couple of years I have never been over 40k miles in one; which is why i did not reply. it sounds like a good plan to keep it smooth though.


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[fenj66]

i also know many mechanics, and funny enough, they all tell me to spend lots of money with them on preventative maintenance!
my own view is if it aint broke, dont try and fix it.
my daughters 330d (same engine) has covered 192k miles now with no engine issues whatsoever, just regular servicing.
i just enjoy my own x5 diesel, and dont worry about problems i dont have. 

[X5Sport]

It's an interesting suggestion - especially for those who have had a glowplug snap which could then require a head off to recover any debris that did fall in.

I suspect the vast majority of diesel owners leave their injectors well alone.  A UK Dealer would change a fortune to strip the fuel rail and injectors (Approx $300AUD/Hr).  From an engineering viewpoint is makes sense, but then again so does the 'if it ain't broke, don't mess with it' approach.  Injector failures are relatively rare on BMWs, and I've only had injector issues once in more than 30 years of driving and that was on a GM petrol car in 1989, and due to incorrect advice on the use of unleaded petrol for that model.

The current BMW piezo type injectors are not something I would mess with without specialist equipment as they're very different from the mechanical injectors of the past.  Those were single burst type whereas the current ones fire several bursts of fuel per cycle under extreme pressure.

Richard

[Black X5]

No. Leave alone.

If the o-rings at the top of the injector perish they let any excess oil/ gunk etc form the top of the engine fall into the cavity, which then siezes up.  You would never know if this has happened until you have the need to remove the injector. 

On the other hand if the copper washer at the base of the injector fails then you lose combustion resulting in loss of power, rough running and possibly smoke.  If this fails you would know about it pretty quick!

Either way if it is running fine leave it- and as Richard said the labour to remove the inlet manifold, inject pipes etc would be quite high.

If you do have the need to remove the injectors I would coat them liberally in copper grease before refitting- after thoroughly cleaning the head and injector.  This would assist in any future removal efforts.

However siezed injectors CAN be a REAL PITA! Just have a look at these:

DIY 1
DIY 2
Cowboys!  :'(

[jaynana]

i've had this done way back when using very old cars, not preventive but when i had to change the glow plugs to cure a hesitant start.

as said i woudn't touch em unless i have to..

[macca]

thanks guys, you've put my mind at ease, the car is going great, and im happy to leave well enough alone

EM

[Rusty]

[quote="Black X5"]
If you do have the need to remove the injectors I would coat them liberally in copper grease before refitting- after thoroughly cleaning the head and injector.  This would assist in any future removal efforts.
[/quote]
I wouldn't use copper grease as that has a habit of baking hard, I would use an appropriate high temp molybdenum grease.

Jmho and voice of baked copper grease experience.


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[shadrack]

just leave it alone