Spare injector?

[WanderingStar]

Who carries one? Have you ever needed it? Replaced underway?

[Minnewaska]

If you have your injectors professionally cleaned periodically, I don't see any need to carry a spare. Someone may enlighten me, but I've never heard of one actually breaking. Clogging maybe, but its avoidable and having only one spare to address that is likely insufficient.

[TQA]

You are more likely to be assaulted by a mermaid throwing rocking horse poo than have a total injector failure.

Also DO NOT HAVE THEM 'SERVICED'. The bus companies in the UK have extensive service records on diesels with very high hours and an analysis showed that they had more injector problems with the ones that were serviced than those that were not.

[arf145]

Originally Posted by TQA

You are more likely to be assaulted by a mermaid throwing rocking horse poo than have a total injector failure.

Looks like I have a new phobia

[CaptainForce]

I recently considered a set of spares, but found the Yanmar 4JH3E injectors were $179 each! I've had no issues with the current injectors with the 5,138 hours on my engine. I think I'll wait and have the injectors refurbished if they fail. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[Omatako]

If you're voyaging long distance especially to places where there are no diesel shops, it is wise to carry one or two spares. But if your sailing is local or even coastal, I wouldn't bother.

And having been in the trucking business all my working life, I have heard for the first time that servicing injectors is a dodgy business. In my career I have seen thousands of injectors successfully serviced over and again. Unless we're talking about the tip only which is generally replaced when the injector is serviced.

[WanderingStar]

Thank you all. I was looking at one on ebay, but I got out as the price approached a refurbished one from a dealer.

[TQA]

Originally Posted by Omatako

And having been in the trucking business all my working life, I have heard for the first time that servicing injectors is a dodgy business. In my career I have seen thousands of injectors successfully serviced over and again. Unless we're talking about the tip only which is generally replaced when the injector is serviced.

Servicing is not dodgy.

However a statistical analysis showed that the failure rate of injectors that had been removed and serviced then replaced was significantly greater than that which were allowed to run. It is a long time ago but my memory says the data came from the Midland Bus Company and a London company and was from large number of vehicles and a decade or so of records. The engines would almost certainly have been Gardiners.

[Omatako]

Originally Posted by TQA

It is a long time ago but my memory says the data came from the Midland Bus Company and a London company and was from large number of vehicles and a decade or so of records. The engines would almost certainly have been Gardiners.

Depending on how long ago you mean (Gardiner indicates it was in the days of Leyland buses), there was a time probably 30 years or more ago where tips were serviced and spray patterns could be manually adjusted and many of these adjustments were done using a simple hand pump. Also the spray pattern was a matter interpretation, often by technicians who never really understood the requirement. Under those conditions it was easy to get it wrong and this did happen.

But as injector pressures have increased (some modern injectors break at over 30,000psi these days) tips are not repaired/adjusted, they're simply replaced and that eliminates almost completely the failure rate of serviced injectors. At least that is my experience, YMMV.

[okawbow]

I just replaced one of my 2 injectors after motoring over 500 miles on the Tenn-Tom waterway. The old one developed a fuel leak where the fuel pipe screwed into the body. Looked like a defective thread, but could be a cracked injector body. Leaked so much, it caused the motor to run rough.

Glad I had a spare.