Okay, crossover tube looks fine from the outside. FSM stresses not to separate the two halves... is there a way to check for some blockage?

Wet test will have to wait a couple of weeks- just no time.

Wouldn't think compression would have anything to do with the bleeding down of fuel pressure though. Am I wrong?


Really wanting to get this stupid starting issue solved.

 

Remove fuel rail from engine, (sorry...) take out one of the passenger side fuel injectors, then either blow into the fuel inlet pipe, or hit it with compressed air. See what happens. Probably wouldn't hurt to clean it out while you have it off.

 

So, not doubting, but how can you tell the passenger side is lean? I thought those were the better looking plugs- still nearly new! Just trying to expand my knowledge. (My dad could read the entire history of the engine from reading the spark plugs. I can't even tell if one isn't firing.)

And, I'm assuming just a jug of carb cleaner here? Will an overnight soak cause any problems if I soak the rail and the injectors separately?

 

Ideally, your plugs should be a nice, uniform, tan color. The bright white indicates a lean condition. (yes, reading plugs is an art form. ) The drivers side plugs look they way they SHOULD, the passenger side plugs are far to clean. There are cool charts, with pics, that show various things your plugs can tell you.

Carb cleaner will be fine. I believe your fuel rail is metal, so, you can soak it as long as you want..... I am most concerned about the crossover tube though.... as that would account for the lean condition on the passenger side, if it were partially restricted..... and the drivers side would run rich to compensate, as you only have one O2 sensor reading the exhaust.

Clearing that tube is why I suggested removing it, and then taking one injector out of the passenger side. That would force most of the air to blow thru that tube, and hopefully clear any obstructions.

 

Yes, metal rails.

So soaking the rails and injectors is okay, but blowing out the crossover tube is the most important. Is the crossover tube going to be okay in the cleaner?

You're thinking the lean passenger side is causing the long start?

 

Yes to both questions. Think I would remove the injectors though, and just soak the rails. There are some screens on the inlet side of the injectors that probably wouldn't hurt being cleaned out though. New O-rings are cheap. replace those as well.

 

That was my plan- pull the rail with injectors, pressurize the rail and check for leaking injectors, then separate the injectors and give everything a good soak overnight. Let it eat away any varnish or crud in there, then blow the rail out really well in the morning.

New o-rings are already in the garage, waiting for installation.

I might try to rig up some sort of 8 cup collection device and try to get the injectors to squirt into the cups while the rail is off. That way I could see if one wasn't opening as long (or longer) than the others. I'd do that after the cleaning, though.

Other than the obvious "don't have open flame/sparks around gasoline", any concerns with that idea?

Will re-run the compression test (wet and dry) at that time as well.

 

While testing your injectors, disconnect the electrical connector from the coil. (the one on the bottom, from the wiring harness) Less chance of a stray spark adding some excitement to your life.

 

So today was a good day.

Spent some quality time with the truck, did another compression test, pulled the fuel rail and gave everything a good cleaning.

It's amazing what happens with you have an assistant and read the instructions when doing a compression test.

Dry test:
1: 155
3: 150
5: 150
7: 145

2: 150
4: 145
6: 145
8: 140

Wet test
1: 160
3: 160
5: 155
7: 150

2: 155
4: 155
6: 155
8: 150

I am amazingly happy with those numbers. The tester was bleeding down a bit and it was losing it's reading from the time I cranked it to the time I saw the gauge again last time. This time my wife cranked it for me ()and I was able to watch the gauge. I'm no longer worried about my compression. #8 is still the weak cylinder though...

Also pulled the fuel rail and gave it a good cleaning. Didn't see any junk come out of the cross over tube, but did get some good flow through it both directions.

Pulled the injectors and gave them a thorough cleaning. The passenger side definitely had some more junk around the rings. They were looser to pull out as well. But while I didn't flow test them like I thought about doing, I didn't see any sign of leaking on the cardboard strips I put under them when it was pressurized, so that was good. Cleaned them out, new o rings, reinstalled. Got everything buttoned up and it fired on the third crank. Fired strong, better idle than I am used to. Hopefully I have this figured out now! Time will tell I suppose.

At the store, saw some bottles of Lucas fuel system deep cleaner designed to clean the injectors and valves. Thought I might give that a go. Anyone had any experience with this, or a competitor?

 

Numbers look REALLY good for the mileage. I wouldn't be real hurt about those either. They come up a bit, so, rings are probably getting worn, but, they aren't NEAR bad enough that I would consider a teardown to replace them.

Run it for a few days, and see how it behaves. If you still get slow starts, then try the cleaner. Lucas has a pretty good rep..... so, I really don't think it will hurt anything.

Were you able to flush the rails out good?