Loose injector fixing bolts - Important

Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:08 pm

FYI.

I was going to leave this alone but have decided to post it.

Check your injector fixing bolts. It is not difficult and may stop any long term issues and injector noise. Mine were check about 2k ago and the 2 bolts on injector 3 were found to be loose. I since told my mate about it that services vehicles for a living and low and behold he had a 2.2 come in the other day with injector 1 loose.

Now as per attached pics the bolts are torqued and degreed which would mean they stretch, the attached pic also show that they should be binned and replaced. Now without going over torque my injector 3 bolts were tightened 3 revolutions!! and the 2.2 on injector 1 was about the same. It is very common and generally not checked.

These are meant to be the same bolts as used in a VM transit so should be safe to use up to 5 times, do not over tighten them as they are designed to shear off instead of breaking in the aluminium head.

** If you are not sure and are not mechanical then ask the dealer to do it!

Check you exhaust manifold heat shield bolts while you are at it, 12 months ago all mine were loose and one about to fall out.

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Ando81 · Wed Mar 28, 2018 6:46 am

Great tip mate, thanks [emoji1303]

NathanSA · Mon May 09, 2022 11:46 pm

saeb wrote: ↑Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:08 pm FYI.

I was going to leave this alone but have decided to post it.

Check your injector fixing bolts. It is not difficult and may stop any long term issues and injector noise. Mine were check about 2k ago and the 2 bolts on injector 3 were found to be loose. I since told my mate about it that services vehicles for a living and low and behold he had a 2.2 come in the other day with injector 1 loose.

Now as per attached pics the bolts are torqued and degreed which would mean they stretch, the attached pic also show that they should be binned and replaced. Now without going over torque my injector 3 bolts were tightened 3 revolutions!! and the 2.2 on injector 1 was about the same. It is very common and generally not checked.

These are meant to be the same bolts as used in a VM transit so should be safe to use up to 5 times, do not over tighten them as they are designed to shear off instead of breaking in the aluminium head.

** If you are not sure and are not mechanical then ask the dealer to do it!

Check you exhaust manifold heat shield bolts while you are at it, 12 months ago all mine were loose and one about to fall out.

2018-02-09-174832.jpg

2018-02-09-174835.jpg

Hi Stewart,

Do you know the injector fixing bolt torque for the 2.2 motor?
The workshop manual i have gives two different values in two separate sections.
In the fuel distribution section it states 25Nm. No warning to replace bolts besides "bin it" picture
In the engine disassembly/reassembly section it states stage 1: 6Nm and Stage2: 360degree with a large warning text to use new bolts.

I have been told by Ford the bolts are reusable.
Now I'm wondering if the fuel section is giving a reuse torque.

If the bolts are stretch bolts can one tighten them by degrees a second time?

I'm replacing my injectors this weekend.

Tue May 10, 2022 5:31 am

As far as I'm aware, 2 stage.

"If the bolts are stretch bolts can one tighten them by degrees a second time". Generally no as they have already been stretched but last time I did my injectors I just reused and tightened them to a happy place.

End of the day if you are going to reuse then do not overtighten them, a snapped bolt half way through the job would be a pain.

NathanSA · Tue May 10, 2022 5:50 pm

That's it though, what is overtighten? 25Nm?

I don't want it tight but not tight enough to stop the copper washer leaking down the line...
That washer would need to be firmly seated with enough "squash" to seal and deal with heat expansion.

Maybe I'll go with 20Nm.

Boydie · Tue May 17, 2022 3:03 pm

Thanks Stewart for the "heads up" - this is one thing that I seriously would never have thought of checking during a service.
One thing though, I have three torque wrenches 200 mm; 350 mm; and 600 mm and not one of them goes lower than 5 Nm of torque ! The 200 mm one starts at 5 Nm and goes to 50 Nm. I can only guess that the 3 and 4 Nm are basically just over hand tight then do the 360 degree second stage. Anyway, I checked mine and they are tight but it's something that I will check on a regular basis.
The other thing is in the works manual that I have, Ford Ranger 2011.50MY Workshop Repair Manual on page 303-04C-15 (Fuel Charging and Controls) it gives just one torque setting for all four bolts, being 5 Nm Stage 1 and then 180 degrees Stage 2 -- so which manual is the one to follow ? What year was yours published ?

hbtranger · Tue May 17, 2022 4:41 pm

Thanks for this.

I'm relatively new to Rangers, I come from a toyota background. If this was a toyota, there would have been blow-by past the injector seats and all manner of fuss with the injectors trying to compensate - a worst case scenario would be a hole in the piston.

Was there any evidence of blow-by in your 3.2? Is it worth pulling the injectors out to replace the seats?

Tue May 17, 2022 5:20 pm

Keep in mind that I posted the first post over 4 years ago as informative.