Chance S2K

I finally got around to removing my fuel rail & injectors today, after noticing the smell of gas around the intake manifold. The Fuel Damper and Regulator seemed to have fine o-rings, but in complete honesty I don't really know how to tell for sure what I'm looking at.

Here's a picture of all of my injectors, followed up by one in particular that I think may be problematic:








As you can see, on one injector the top cap is slightly lifted. I'm not entirely sure if that may have happened upon removal though... I'm also not sure if the top o-rings on the injectors are adequate (IE, the green one). If anyone has some tips please let me know!

Edit: Also, I do realize that one of my injectors is now missing a top o-ring. This was because when I pulled it out, it seemed so torn up and bad to me that I just threw it away. Is it possible that this is where my problem was coming from?

CoolGuy094

Wtf is up with the first injector with the green crap at the o-ring? Buy new o-rings from Honda (they're like $0.50 each) and replace all of them. Might as well buy new lower seals too that fit into the intake manifold side. Those top o-rings are likely your problem.

Chance S2K

Sweet! Thanks man, I'm glad to hear that this is probably the source of my problem.

What about the gap on that one injector cap though? Should I replace that injector?

zeroptzero

Someone had removed the injectors in the past and did a piss-poor job of reinstallation. You have a mix of factory O-rings and replacement O-rings on those injectors. God I hate seeing the crappy work some people do when reinstalling parts on these engines.

Give the brown end caps a tap on some wood and see if they straighten out. Go to the dealer and order 4 new top O-rings and 4 bottom seal rings. You can re-use the cushion rings in the middle of the injectors. Place a little bit of oil on the top end bottom rings when reinstalling. Torque down the fuel rail nuts evenly so everything goes in nice and straight. Clean all of the parts and ports where the injectors will be sitting.

You are supposed to replace the two washers under the fuel dampener once it is opened up, they can sometimes be on back-order and I have heard of some people re-using them even though I don't like to do that. I have seem them leak sometimes. Torque everything properly and you should be good.

Chance S2K

Sweet, thanks man! I'll order the parts tomorrow morning; the nearest Honda dealership is about a 30 min drive away from me (one-way). Oh well though, you get used to it after living in a small town your entire life.

Also looks like I'll finally have to learn how to use a torque wrench. The only other time I was going to use one was upgrading my header on my old Civic, but the shitty loaner wrench I got from Autozone didn't even work so I just bolted it down as best as I could feel lol.

Edit: Do you happen to know the torque specs off hand?

zeroptzero

The fuel rail nuts are 8.7 ft lbs, there are about three of them and they keep the fuel injectors correctly in place, just snug them down evenly. You need a small 3/8th drive torque wrench, if you don't have one then just snug them down hand tight as they don't take much torque.

The fuel pulsation dampener is 16 ft lbs, but the problem is that you can't get a torque wrench on it very easily, I think it uses a 22mm wrench , there is a splined washer that sits on top of the fuel pipe and under the fuel pulsation dampener, and a solid washer that sits under the fuel pipe against the fuel rail, those are the ones that normally are to be replaced. I always have to estimate 16 ft lbs on the dampener as I can't get a torque wrench on it.

The fuel pressure regulator bolts are 7.2 foot lbs torque. Not much at all.

Chance S2K

The fuel rail nuts are 8.7 ft lbs, there are about three of them and they keep the fuel injectors correctly in place, just snug them down evenly. You need a small 3/8th drive torque wrench, if you don't have one then just snug them down hand tight as they don't take much torque.

The fuel pulsation dampener is 16 ft lbs, but the problem is that you can't get a torque wrench on it very easily, I think it uses a 22mm wrench , there is a splined washer that sits on top of the fuel pipe and under the fuel pulsation dampener, and a solid washer that sits under the fuel pipe against the fuel rail, those are the ones that normally are to be replaced. I always have to estimate 16 ft lbs on the dampener as I can't get a torque wrench on it.

The fuel pressure regulator bolts are 7.2 foot lbs torque. Not much at all.
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Tons of helpful information, thank you very much man

CoolGuy094

Yeah do grab a few q-tips, spritz them with some carb cleaner, and wipe the counterbores where the fuel injectors fit into the intake manifold. Those counterbores were really dirty/gritty when I removed my injectors for the first time.

I personally don't use a torque wrench for the fuel rail bolts or the FPR bolts. I just snug them firmly with a short 1/4" socket wrench. You can't get much torque out of a little 1/8" socket wrench anyway. I have reused the same seal washers on my fuel pulsation damper the past 5-7 times I've had my fuel rail off, lol. When putting it on, I've just spun it on by hand till it was tight, then put an adjustable wrench on it and tapped the wrench handle with a hammer a few times to snug it down. I haven't had any issues with leaks from using the same seal washers, but I always let the car idle and check with a flashlight and dabbing around the fuel rail with shop towels just to make sure there aren't any leaks. I've had neighbors give me the crazy look because I've had my nose down in the engine bay sniffing for fuel leaks several times, lol.

Chance S2K

Got new top and bottom o rings, and got everything installed and put back together. Idled the car for a good 20 minutes with the hood both up and down, and didn't notice any gas leak/smell. Also ran the heater in the cabin, and didn't smell a thing.


Looks like that did the trick! Thanks for all the help guys.

zeroptzero

Great news, nice work