Injector Failure, a rare and horrific tale of woe

[cn90]

Erik,

Nothing to fess up. No need for you to go to forum to attack/bully other members.

I have done way more injectors than you posted above.
What happens is these injectors are like spark plugs, they have their "useful lifespan", however people define what "useful lifespan" means.

After ____ miles, they develop gunks that need to be cleaned by ultrasound etc. Then they leak causing hard start. Now add the wrong spray pattern. The fact that ppl run the injectors all the way to 300K miles does not mean they function properly after 100K-150K. Injectors are like any parts in the car...the problem is: servicing them is a PITA, so most ppl ignore it (out of sight out of mind) and run the engine until engine damage problems show up...

Back to the O.P., I would never buy a car with 250K for $2500 and add another $8K of service parts. With ~ $10K, you can get sth better, such as a car with let's say 80K, then add about $2K-3K to bring it up to par.

[vtl]

Erik,

Nothing to fess up. No need for you to go to forum to attack/bully other members.

I have done way more injectors than you posted above.
What happens is these injectors are like spark plugs, they have their "useful lifespan", however people define what "useful lifespan" means.

After ____ miles, they develop gunks that need to be cleaned by ultrasound etc. Then they leak causing hard start. Now add the wrong spray pattern. The fact that ppl run the injectors all the way to 300K miles does not mean they function properly after 100K-150K. Injectors are like any parts in the car...the problem is: servicing them is a PITA, so most ppl ignore it (out of sight out of mind) and run the engine until engine damage problems show up...

Back to the O.P., I would never buy a car with 250K for $2500 and add another $8K of service parts. With ~ $10K, you can get sth better, such as a car with let's say 80K, then add about $2K-3K to bring it up to par.

You are both right and not so much. I personally use 93 octane from a tier-1 brand in my turbo Volvos, didn't see any spray pattern problem. The body donor I bought with similar mileage was neglected most of its life, I think. It ran on the cheapest gas possible, which was evident when the engine was opened. Donor's injectors were gunked up, yes. Still working OK and not leaking, but they wouldn't mind some cleaning.

My conclusion is that premium gas from reputable brand acts as injector cleaning and lubricant, too. Yeah, I maybe playing with my luck here, but when one of my injectors will finally start to stick, I would see it immediately in AFR drifting away on my little screen: https://github.com/vtl/volvo-ddd Similarly, I keep an eye on fuel pump duty cycle. It is not ideal, but not near the level when the pump is commonly known to fail.

[volvolugnut]

Years ago I read somewhere that carburetors only last 30 to 50K before they are worn out. But most people (myself included) ran carburetors until the engine would not run.
Then we got fuel injectors and treated them the same way - run till obvious failure.
I have come to realize fuel injectors are a maintenance item and should be replaced or cleaned for BEST operation. They are likely to perform poorly if the vehicle is not driven for several months. I suspect they also do not like alcohol blend fuels if not driven regularly.
volvolugnut

[volvolugnut]

I am seeing a trend in this thread of different approaches to fuel injector and general parts replacement. The typical approach for most vehicle owners is to wait until obvious problems appear and then make repairs. The 'industrial maintenance' approach is to monitor the state of the vehicle and make preventive replacements of parts before failures or reduced performance.
Neither approach is wrong. They are just different. The run to failure method is low input in initial time and money, but MAY increase overall cost of ownership. Preventive maintenance MAY achieve longest life and lowest cost of operation.
volvolugnut

[cn90]

Also,

Gasoline is a crapshoot...throughout the service life of the car, we will never know how many gas stations the car have been to, fuel quality, how often fuel filter is replaced etc etc.

This is why car enthusiasts typically remove fuel injectors at ___ miles to service. At that time, maybe they are still good, or maybe not. No difference than checking brake rotors/pads at ___ miles. The problem is: servicing FIs is no fun.

[vtl]

Also,

Gasoline is a crapshoot...throughout the service life of the car, we will never know how many gas stations the car have been to, fuel quality, how often fuel filter is replaced etc etc.

This is why car enthusiasts typically remove fuel injectors at ___ miles to service. At that time, maybe they are still good, or maybe not. No difference than checking brake rotors/pads at ___ miles. The problem is: servicing FIs is no fun.

I bought mine in 2012. Not many bolts left untouched in it. I know all of it. Fuel rail has been removed who knows how many times. It's Volvo, after all... It needs to be removed once again, for injector O-rings replacement (don't buy cheap ones). I may replace the injectors, but they are $250+/set, and my old ones still work.

For other vehicles in family I'm the first owner.

[erikv11]

I have two experiences with servicing 150k-ish fuel injectors.

Once I bought a used set for my V70 that had been recently serviced, and once I sent in a set for servicing as preventive maintenance. Both times the service came with QC numbers for flow etc before and after the service. Both times the numbers were fine before (and after), basically the servicing produced no difference in flow rate or spray pattern. Of course 10 injectors is a meaninglessly small sample size; fwiw its the same thing with the majority of posts about this I can recall - injectors usually look fine when they go in for cleaning.

I'm not advocating against servicing them! I was glad to have it done in both cases. Just giving context.

[DavidE7]

Original poster should also verify the connecting rod for piston 5 didn't get bent due to hydro-lock.

I ran water injection testing at a proving grounds for a big 3 car company and occasionally the vehicle would fail and suck in water with high speeds and deep water. Usually the initial engine stall didn't damage the engine but if I tried restarting with a cylinder filled with water, that connecting rod would get bent. The starting motor puts out enough torque and a liquid with more volume than the "squish" volume will prevent the top of the piston from going all the way to top dead center. If the spark plugs were pulled and the engine turned over to squirt the water out, the engine would startup and run like nothing had ever gone wrong in the water drive.

I also learned the hard way that bent connecting rods tend to change the sound of the engine idle.

Any update with your plans for fixing/replacing the car?

[Williamad33]

What to do about it?

I have pretty limited options right now. While I have tools and don’t mind doing work myself, I don’t have garage space so any work I do has to be done curb side, and it’s December. My wallet is drier than dad’s thanksgiving turkey, and while I can make do for a month or two without a vehicle, this is a pretty painful lesson.

A) Attempt a rebuild with a head/ valve job and hope the bottom half is still okay (iffy at best). Either DIY for $1500 or pay ~$7000 for a shop to do it. A full engine rebuild doesn't seem worth the investment.
B) Engine swap. Looking at a low milage engine from ErieVovo for $1850. Looking at $8000 ballpark at a shop, or $2500 DIY.
C) Cut losses, part out what is easy and get a new vehicle.
urus rental dubai
I purchased the car this summer for $2500 USD and have invested about $8k in service parts since (extended timing job including VVT components, PCV, all fluids and transmission flush, haldex overhaul, new front suspension, wheel hubs, some coolant system pieces, and other small things. All DIY). I also have $750 worth of brake parts waiting to be installed. That said, the interior is worn, and the body is showing age and neglect. Napkin math says I should expect to invest another few thousand into the car in the next year or so for transmission, suspension, and steering rack work.

You've already invested so much effort and money into the car that it hurts to just give it up, but on the other hand, the body and interior don't add value either. If you look at it coldly, investing another $7–8k in the engine in this condition of the car is hardly justified. Personally, I wouldn't do a full rebuild. The most realistic option is to take an engine with low mileage and throw it away with your own hands, if the weather/conditions allow. So at least there is a chance to save the money invested and get a few more years of life. But if you don't have the space and strength for DIY, it's better to sell it in parts and move on.