E350 7.3L, #3 Injector Stuck in head due to body clearance?

[WUzombies]

I'm rebuilding injectors this weekend and I've reached an impasse that I hope my fellow E-van people can help me with.

The injector for the #3 cylinder hits the body and I can't rotate it to the narrow side to pull it free. The advice I was given was to unbolt the motor mounts at the cross member, use a block 4x4 to slide between the starter and frame to contact the exhaust header and jack up the passenger side a little to rotate the engine in the bay so it'll clear. That's no problem, but I wonder if that was all necessary.

Any other creative solutions (besides pulling the body for all the pro-shop equipped posters with a lift )?

God bless Ford for stuffing a school bus motor in a van.
God damn Ford for stuffing a school bus motor in a van.

The offending injector, for those who don't have vans, is the second from the front in this photo.



My awesome helper!

 

[Bbasso]

Dropping the motor iirc is the only way at this point. Sorry for the bad news.

 

[The Punisher]

Or raise the body.....

 

[hogasm]

Just remove the coil from the top and the injector will slide out

 

[Bbasso]

If he does that, how does will the new one fit?

 

[gmtech]

Replace
One Or All

Right Side
B 3.0 4.2
Left Side
B 2.1 2.9
Both Sides
B 4.3 6.1
NOTE

With Dual Alternators, Add
B 0.3 0.4

all data time for replacing injectors on 2000 e350. only 6 hours... that's not very long

1. If removing injector 3 or 5, carry out the following:
2. 1

Disconnect the A/C compressor clutch wire.2Raise the vehicle.3Loosen the right hand motor mount nuts.4Remove the LH engine mount-to-engine bolts.5Raise the engine.6Remove the LH engine mount-to-crossmember nuts.7Remove the LH engine mount.8Lower the engine until the oil pan is resting on the crossmember.

strait from all data. sry not a ford tech.. anyway you could do it that way, or find out where it hits the dog house and massage the metal a little bit. or take the coil off like one guy said. I have not replaced mine yet so I do not know . this is just what I got off alldata and from what I can see in your pictures .

 

[WUzombies]

Disconnect the A/C compressor clutch wire.2Raise the vehicle.3Loosen the right hand motor mount nuts.4Remove the LH engine mount-to-engine bolts.5Raise the engine.6Remove the LH engine mount-to-crossmember nuts.7Remove the LH engine mount.8Lower the engine until the oil pan is resting on the crossmember.

strait from all data. sry not a ford tech.. anyway you could do it that way, or find out where it hits the dog house and massage the metal a little bit. or take the coil off like one guy said. I have not replaced mine yet so I do not know . this is just what I got off alldata and from what I can see in your pictures .

Found my low-profile ratcheting driver this morning, which fit perfectly with the correct bit, solenoid came off with a little effort, the injector pulled out just fine after that. I already massaged that section of the dog house the best I could. It's right at the seam with the flat front of the firewall, so it would require removing the air stuff under the dash to get to very well. I'll see how putting the injector in and then installing the solenoid goes in a few days (found some broken parts not typically in the rebuild kit supplies, so waiting on parts). Worst case I'm back to having to unbolt the engine from the cross member.

This is my first diesel motor, so it's been fun learning more about them. Rebuilding the injectors myself really helped me learn how they function in better detail than before, it's been a good experience, but I hope I'll be finished with this task for a goodly number of years after this.

 

[hogasm]

Bbasso removing the solenoid to remove or when replacing saves the jacking of the motor. The solenoid is just a bolt on part to the injector so no biggie.

I remove the pass seat, dog box, and turbo. Do all the work from the rear. 6hours for both sides.
Do not forget to blow out the cylinder after removing the injectors. Leave the glow plugs out and just put the valve cover on with 2 screws then turn over the motor. This will blow out the remaining oil from the cylinder.
If you replace the injectors the replace the UVCH. Cheap insurance...and only Motorcraft glow plugs.

 

[Jdubucsd]

Thanks for the post. I have my first E350 having two F350 before with the 7.3. Very informative. Good luck

 

[Bbasso]

Good to know, thanks.

 

[djbonsu]

Good info! I read before that removing the solenoid may cause some injector performance issues but if you haven't experienced any then great!

 

[Deshet]

I feel for you. At least you only have to do it once. I wanted to give up the last time I changed glow plugs.

I would do the UVCH and glow plugs while in there. If you haven't done your IPR valve I would do that also if you are dropping the engine. (international has better prices then ford in my area)

The write up by GMTECH will be how I approach it in the future. I had over 6 hours into glows working in the tight spaces.

 

[gmtech]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...Ah-Battery-Charger-Tool-Bag-2457-21/202957709
can be had for less some places. I have one .
must have for working in tight spaces. don't get the 1/4" one. the head is the same size it just has less torque.
its not a beast but once you have broken whatever fastener loose it speeds it off good just don't get it jammed in a tight spot! it would make taking valve covers and intake tubes off cake work
I no longer use my air ratchet at work . only that one and ive had it for 4 years. it looks ugly but still works good!

 

[225]

Great info here. I'll be doing the same thing this winter.

 

[WUzombies]

Great info here. I'll be doing the same thing this winter.

I simply can't say enough good things about Bitterroot Diesel in Montana. I'm in Texas, but they answered my questions, gave me advice and even shipped parts fast when I found broken pieces during the process. The jig/tool they sell for the injector rebuild made my life super easy! I have no affiliation with this company and don't know them personally, but when I selected a UPS shipping option they called me after I placed the order on the internet to make sure I meant to use UPS. USPS shipping was $3 cheaper, but they wanted to make sure I didn't want the cheaper shipping (my USPS rural route carrier SUCKS and holds on to packages for 2-3 days for no reason).

https://bitterrootdiesel.com/