Various Leaks

[Alan]

Okay...slight issue(s) with my '86.

First, it has what I think is an exhaust leak at the manifold. Judging by the ticking nature, I think it is at the head/manifold. From what I have been reading here, the SVO did not come with a gasket from the factory. In addition, people who have tried using a gasket get an average of 10k miles before it blows out. Mine has a gasket on it. Since I am a firm believer in gaskets, what (if any) would you recommend? I have seen the copper gasket available with one of the SVO aftermarket retailers...will this last?

Second, my car smells of gasoline/exhaust. I know part of it has to be the exhaust leak. Please tell me what I should look for as far as common areas for possible gas leaks. This weekend I am changing the valve cover gasket, so I'll probably poke around the fuel rail area. And yes, I do have a fire extinguisher in the car just in case.

[svobud]

Re: Various Leaks

Originally posted by Alan
Okay...slight issue(s) with my '86.

First, it has what I think is an exhaust leak at the manifold. Judging by the ticking nature, I think it is at the head/manifold. From what I have been reading here, the SVO did not come with a gasket from the factory. In addition, people who have tried using a gasket get an average of 10k miles before it blows out. Mine has a gasket on it. Since I am a firm believer in gaskets, what (if any) would you recommend? I have seen the copper gasket available with one of the SVO aftermarket retailers...will this last?

Don't use a gasket.

Second, my car smells of gasoline/exhaust. I know part of it has to be the exhaust leak. Please tell me what I should look for as far as common areas for possible gas leaks. This weekend I am changing the valve cover gasket, so I'll probably poke around the fuel rail area. And yes, I do have a fire extinguisher in the car just in case.

Injectors are notorious for leaking. Look for puddles on the lower intake (or brown stains).

[Alan]

Stupid question:
What is the usually the fix for a leaking injector? New o-rings?

I do have pools of brown liquid, however the consistency matches that of oil...although it does have a slight hint of gasoline smell to it.

[svobud]

Originally posted by Alan
Stupid question:
What is the usually the fix for a leaking injector? New o-rings?


Depends .. they ususally just need to be replaced - because the plastic housing tends to crack. I'm sure someone on here has a nice picture of what one looks like with cracks in it. Look along the area where the metal pins runs through the injector. If you're strapped for funds .. go hit a local JY - TurboCoupes have both 30lb and 35lbs .. depending on the year of the car. Green = 30lb, Brown = 35 lbs. You need the brown ones for your 86.

I do have pools of brown liquid, however the consistency matches that of oil...although it does have a slight hint of gasoline smell to it.

Now ask yourself, "how did gas smelling oil get on my lower intake?" Either you have a leak from an injector .. or you're blowing so much oil out of the dipstick tube that's it's puddling on your intake. Either way = BAD.

[Eyelawdoc]

As the fuel from a leaking injector pudles on the manifold and evaporates, the remaining dye and less volatile constituents left behind form a brownish viscous goo that stinks like gas.

Replace those leaking injectors before you have an unscheduled weeny roast in your SVO's engine compartment.

[GAboySVO]

To determine if one or all of the injectors are leaking and before you remove the valve cover, use some intake cleaner on the injector and clean as good as possible. Wipe dry with paper towel.

You could put a little baby powder on the injectors before you start to trace the leak. After they are clean, start the engine and let it run for a few minutes. Get a flash light to see where the leaks are coming from.

I had one injector that was seeping gas just between the brown plastic and the metal body, but no visible cracks. If the leak appears to be coming from the bell shaped injector seat, then it might just be an o-ring gone bad. You will need to replace all of the o-rings if you have to replace one. You can get repair kits at your local parts store.

[Alan]

Where would you suggest (besides Ford, they want $128 per injector) I look for replacement injectors?

I've been calling around this morning to various local parts shops. Advance/Discount has a GP Sorensen 8001008N. Says it is a SVO listing for multi-port injection. I'm going to look at them as soon as I get off from work since something tells me by talking to the confused parts guy that this isn't the right injector. Never heard of the brand...has anyone tried these?


Now I just read in the FAQ section on turboford.org that I should be able to drop in 36lb injectors with no problems on an '86. I can get the 36's from Ford Racing dirt cheap through a local retailer. Will these work?

[Otto Man]

I just put those Sorenson Injectors in my 85.5. Haven't got the rest of stuff back on so I don't know if they are right or wrong. The part number at Advanced Site was the same as for a 87 t bird turbo so it should be the right part.
I guess I'm the guiny pig!
Chris

[SVOeric]

Hey chris -- I had the sorensons from autozone in my car when I bought it, and I could never get it to run or idle worth a crap -- but I don't know if they were the correct flow, or what had been done to them before I got the car --

So -- I bought 4 used injectors from a local junkyard.

and have been using them ever since (several years)-- I have since picked up a set of spare ford injectors from someone here (SVO Joe I think?)-- just in case I need to replace one of them --

I think i picked up 4 used Ford injectors for about $40 --

If you want, you can send them off to have them cleaned, filters replaced, and flow tested (rebulit is a bad word IMHO for injectors)

I STRENOUSLY (is that a good word here???) agree with Mike -- Don't drive the car with a fuel leak -- you are asking for bad things to happen.
Enough of these cars are already off the road from wrecks, wiring fires, and fuel fires -- don't make your SVO another statistic!!!!

a lot of estimates of SVO's still alive are around the 50% area ---
while I may have a pesimistic view -- my bet is it is in the neighborhood of 30% -- I have no data to back this up -- just a guess from the number of cars I see in newspapers and stuff.

[svobud]

Originally posted by Alan
Where would you suggest (besides Ford, they want $128 per injector) I look for replacement injectors?

Previously posted by me: go hit a local JY - TurboCoupes have both 30lb and 35lbs .. depending on the year of the car. Green = 30lb, Brown = 35 lbs. You need the brown ones for your 86.

JY is short for JunkYard.

2nd option: post a wanted ad here or on Turboford.

3rd option: serach the For Sale ads here or on Turboford.

[Alan]

Heh...junk yards here are just that...junk. My last outing netted me zero parts.

I just bent over and paid Ford for the new injectors. Can't afford to waste time since this is my daily driver. Plus I'm at work practically 24/7 so I have no time to go out scouting for parts. Additionally, you an almost never go wrong with OEM parts.

I appreciate all the help from everyone. Hopefully there won't be many more newb questions from me for a while.

[kiwi]

Injectors......

Alan.....Sam @ Coastal Dyno can get balanced/flowed injects for you....

[Alan]

Well I have to tell you...injectors, fixing my exhaust leak, and fixing the spring on my throttle body made a WORLD of difference. The car actually feels quick now.

Here is an interesting tidbit. I ordered my injectors earlier this week. Finally get a look at them today and I see an aqua colored top. "Crap...wrong ones" I think to myself. So I get my brother to drive me all the way out to the dealership to return/exchange for what I think are the proper injectors. I hastled the guy for about 20-minutes getting to the bottom of this. The old '86 injector part number matches with these. I ask him to cross reference it with the '84 injectors just to be sure, and Ford quit making those 5-years ago.

I've been told (not just by this parts guy) that Ford sometimes changes the colors on their injectors. I'm thinking this has to be the case. Perhaps the confusion between the brown low impedance 35lb injectors and the brown 36lb high impedance 302 injectors prompted a color change after the old SVO 30lbs were discontinued? The car runs quite well, not a single hiccup. Am I nuts or just.....?

I haven't had a chance to put a wideband on the car, so I'm taking it easy and playing it safe for now. Should have an AEM wideband in the car shortly...or perhaps put it up on the rollers.

[Eyelawdoc]

The part number, not the color, is the important thing on the Ford replacement injectors. If it is the right part number, then you have the correct ones for your car.

Good to hear it's fixed and running well!

[Alan]

Originally posted by Eyelawdoc
The part number, not the color, is the important thing on the Ford replacement injectors. If it is the right part number, then you have the correct ones for your car.

Good to hear it's fixed and running well!

That is good to know. I guess after reading every possible resource on the 2.3l turbo motors, "brown" was pounded into my head as the only injector for the '86 SVO.