Start and stall after injector service. 97 855t Topic is solved

[Jotunn77]

Hello everyone,
97 850t starts, runs for 1 second then stalls. Occasionally surges on randoms starts before stalling regardless. Exhaust smells of gas. Car ran fine prior to injector work.

Had orange fuel injectors serviced by Injector RX in Texas. They were considered in poor condition prior to service with the flow rates between 270-290. They run at 320 now.

The injectors have OE o-rings, spacers and seals and are properly seated with no leaks. No gas is leaking into regulator vac line. Throttle body, MAF and IAC valve cleaned and reinstalled. Back up fuel relay swapped in. ECU reset by extended battery disconnect. Ignition overhauled 6 months ago (plugs, wires, cap, rotor[OE,OEM]). Battery is fully charged. No codes and scanner can’t do much without engine running. I did notice the fuel pressure a little high at 46 with key in position 2 and during the second it runs.

I’m guessing the ECU isn’t getting enough time to re-learn the new injector flow and engine is getting too much fuel. If that’s the case I’m not sure how to assess it. Also wondering if an O2 sensor can paralyze a car like so? I know a vac leak is possible as well but figured I’d check with the forum before ordering a smoke machine.

Thanks!

[CIK7]

I absolutely don't want to scare you, but I had an issue when I tried to haul a 11,000 pound load out of the mud, and the engine stalled about 15sec later. When I I tried to start the vehicle, it stalled almost immediately. I experienced MANY stalls before I tried troubleshooting the problem. This included rebuilding the injectors and for a moment it seemed okay but the problem persisted. The engine seized and broke connecting rods. I was tearing it down and then finally took off the intake manifold and holy cow the entire intake manifold was FULL of gas which means I hydrolocked the engine.

The issue was that one of the injectors would not stop spraying gas. It would start the moment I turned the key to the accessory position until I shut the engine off the next time. that cylinder could not drink the gas fast enough.

Be sure to check the spraying pattern of the fuel injectors. Make sure they're not free flowing.

[Jotunn77]

Got it running again and figured I’d post the resolution. Luckily it was not hydrolocked. I did check the spray pattern by pulling the rail and rotating the injectors under and out. Definitely learned the hard way about the fuel rail’s quick disconnect. Gas went everywhere. Used a woodworking clamp to hold it in place to test the patterns. Everything looked fine. So as a last ditch effort, I ordered a smoke machine off of Amazon. Within 2 second of running the test, it dumps smoke from the right side of the manifold. So everything came off again. Turns out this ace mechanic left on the metal tab that holds down the pvc hose as it passes the block corner and under the manifold. I had bolted the tab in between the block and manifold creating a big vac leak. I was pretty mad at myself. I had gone off the deep end trying to figure it out and it was nothing more than a stupid mistake on my part. On a positive note, I did learn a lot from the experience and I’m thankful for that. Anyway, all the best!

[scot850]

You and the mechanic are not the first, or will be the last, to have done that. Easily done. Just don't ask me how I know..............!

Well done in figuring it out.

Neil.

[BlackBart]

I was pretty mad at myself. I had gone off the deep end trying to figure it out and it was nothing more than a stupid mistake on my part. On a positive note, I did learn a lot from the experience and I’m thankful for that. Anyway, all the best!

Don't be mad. I've done these things so many times. Smoke machine was a great idea.

[misha]

You didn't mention intake manifold removal on 1st post.
That would be the 1st suspect.

[CIK7]

I was pretty mad at myself. I had gone off the deep end trying to figure it out and it was nothing more than a stupid mistake on my part. On a positive note, I did learn a lot from the experience and I’m thankful for that. Anyway, all the best!

About three years ago I was putting the top end back together as far as manifold and spark plug wires. When I started the car, it was misfiring like crazy and it was not running well at all. I went over it and couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I finally called Robert Spinner and he was talking me through it, asked me what all I did. And so we finally figured out that I had misplaced one of the spark plug wires.

[scot850]

We all make mistakes in the moment. The learning prevents re-doing it again, and the old saying, if it wasn't broken before you started, you have made an error and recheck the your work.

Neil.