I haven't tried this J C Whitney tool, but it may well serve as an inexpensive alternative to the Hazet crowsfoot wrench I use in the illustrated piece on my web site.

Go here.

These would also be useful for brake line work and replacing nitrogen accumulators on the 500/560 SE/L cars which use easily damaged brass hydraulic fittings.

Man, is this site great, or what?

you are saving my butt.

While I won't dispute the value of cleaning the injectors and the DYI series is simply great I do feel that this process doesn't completely address injector issues. Having the injectors tested for correct spray pattern, chattering and pop pressure is important to make sure that all your work isn't for nothing. The nozzles/pintles wear producing poor spray patterns and the springs fatigue leading to differences in pop pressures. You can certainly save some money and do the cleaning but since the injectors are out of the engine it would be the best time to have a shop test them to be sure. I have changed injectors many times and it is quite amazing how much better a diesel runs with fresh, calibrated injectors. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

Yeah, Thomas Pindelski makes everything on a Mercedes look easy. He has inspired me to start working on the car more...

me too, i would never have had the confidence to do half the stuff i have done on my 617 withiut access to that site.

plays havoc with my pc

i run in from thegarage ot re-re-check something with oily hands and forget to take off my gloves though

Where are the moderators.... JimSmith and Eng-at-Work??

Just a suggestion - one of you guys should draft one line thread saying "Diesel Repair Illustrated" that links Thom's famous webpage, with Pindelski family permission...... then staple it as read-only for permanent viewing at top of the list.

Do what I'm doing. I have a PC set up specifically for the shop. Nothing more than a CD rom drive for the CD rom based manuals, and a network connection to get online.

Thomaspin, excellant pictures and commentary. The only problem I had found when I tried to do this about 1 1/2 ago, I could not get the printle holes clean. (I have access to high powered microscope to even see the thing). I finally resorted to a sonic cleaner. Does the caustic reallywork? Second problem, after making a test fixture and holder and pop testing them, I reistalled them but it really did not decrease the smoking. I finally resorted to rebuilding them again myself except with new needles and seats (about $32.00 from fastlane). I could not believe the difference. In retrospect, when I did the pop test the first time they were all in spec both individually and as a group (within so many lbs of each other, but after the nice spray some of them were dripping. How do you know when the nozzle and printle is at the end of its life?


PeterG

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PeterG

Thomas - is it OK? If it is I will put the link at the top of Diesel Discussion, stick and lock it. Very good idea 240.

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Jim

Cleaned my injectors following the procedure. My injectors were nailing quite heavily before. Took me under 2 hours to do the job. Car is now smoother, and nailing is almost history. I could still eventually use an injector calibration, but for now, what a difference. Also found out that I had a VW bosch 130 BAR injector among the five, so I replaced it with a spare that I had from a junk engine.

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Denis

1979 300TD 189,000 Miles, now running WVO with a home-made 2 tank conversion
1974 230 Gasser 189,000 Miles, For Sale
1961 VW Microbus 162,000 Miles
1961 Ford Fairlane 500, 53,900 original miles
1951 Oliver Super 55 Tractor
2002 Chocolate Lab

Jim - Please feel free to do so - though I shamefacedly admit some of my web content addresses spark ignition motors.

PeterG - well, 'seat of pants' feedback was that the engine ran far smoother, and nothing else was changed. I did give the injectors a really good blast of compressed air while still moist with lacquer thinner - they all whistled at a similar pitch!