Theoretical life of fuel injectors?

[w261w261]

At 20 years and 220k, I have two slightly leaking injector seals (enough to smell gas, so it's time to do something). I gather the labor to take them out and put in new seals is around an hour, and the parts maybe $10 an injector. The alternative is to put in 4 new injectors, $96 ea from Majestic (I only buy Honda OEM). My question is, am I approaching the point where the original injectors may start to fail? If so, I'll take this opportunity to replace them all. Thx.

[snoopyloopy]

hmmm well i'm at almost 287 and my injectors are still working and i do believe mine are originals. although #4 is leaking about as bad as yours (maybe worse, i can actually see damp around it at times), so at least a seal job is in the works for me sonon. but yea, if anyone has any clues as to life expectancy, i'm taking suggestions too lol.

[lostforawhile]

At 20 years and 220k, I have two slightly leaking injector seals (enough to smell gas, so it's time to do something). I gather the labor to take them out and put in new seals is around an hour, and the parts maybe $10 an injector. The alternative is to put in 4 new injectors, $96 ea from Majestic (I only buy Honda OEM). My question is, am I approaching the point where the original injectors may start to fail? If so, I'll take this opportunity to replace them all. Thx.

there are some pretty good aftermarket injectors out there now, I would look around before buying new ones,

[w261w261]

there are some pretty good aftermarket injectors out there now, I would look around before buying new ones,

My problem with the aftermarket is I don't know what is good and what isn't. I suspect that different batches of the same "brand" may be made by different factories in possibly different countries, all dependent on who could score the business on the latest contract. Today's good injector from xxxx is tomorrow's crap. The best chance I have of purchasing consistent quality is let Honda do the QC. That does cost money, but peace of mind is worth something too.

I remember a couple of years ago I put in a new axle. I got it from Honda, and had a chance to look at a promotional piece for their OEM replacements. 3 different kinds of grease, etc. I couldn't help but be impressed, but they weren't 50 bucks each, either.

I did draw the line however, when a new dizzy from Honda was $600+.

[w261w261]

Unless I hear something here, I'm inclined to just put in the seals. The cost is relatively small, so I'm not losing much if the injectors themselves go later.

[Civic Accord Honda]

RC Injectors are supposed to be really good... i also here alot of good from Injector Rehab if you just want to send yours in for flow chart and cleaning.

[AccordEpicenter]

you can get em cleaned and flow tested, i really dont see the need to buy brand new ones

[Vanilla Sky]

There really isn't much of a reason to replace good injectors if you're stock. Modern fuel injectors last a LONG time. Typical failure is due to muck that accumulates over time. Having them cleaned and flow tested is all they ever need. RC Injectors seem to be the choice of a lot of DIY types. I see no need to go to Honda for something that likely comes from a 3rd party distributor anyway.

[w261w261]

Unless I hear something here, I'm inclined to just put in the seals. The cost is relatively small, so I'm not losing much if the injectors themselves go later.

I'm having no performance problems, and I use Techron regularly, so I assume the injectors are flowing fine. So I guess it's the solenoid that might wear out....I'm just going to put in the new seals.

[Dr_Snooz]

I had two start leaking pretty bad at ~175k miles. I thought it was seals, so I replaced them to the tune of $40. You can't replace just one seal because they all go when you remove the fuel rail. The seals didn't work. The injectors themselves start to leak from the seams in the housing. I'm not sure what they do when they clean and flow test, but I suspect it won't help if the injector case is leaking. I replaced two injectors and now the other two are leaking. I just grabbed some junkyard jobs and I'll swap them in when the leaking gets real bad. Your estimates for time and cost are about right. For what it's worth, my injectors leaked for a very, very, very long time before it got to where I was in danger of an engine fire or asphyxiation from the fumes.

[w261w261]

....... injectors themselves start to leak from the seams in the housing........ For what it's worth, my injectors leaked for a very, very, very long time before it got to where I was in danger of an engine fire or asphyxiation from the fumes.

I gather that when you removed the injectors, you then could tell that the seams were leaking from the stains or wetness? I get a noticeable gas smell in the car, with one injector definitely wet and another kind of.

[Oldblueaccord]

I changed mine 6-8 months ago. I got a good deal on a set of 255's from RC. If you call them they might have some slightly used ones I think they were 60$ a piece. Mine leaked from the body as well. I rode them as long as I dared but the fuel smell started to get to me and my wife would not ride in the car anymore. I notice no impovement in idle quality, mileage or and other runability issues.


wp

[DBMaster]

You'll be wasting your time and money replacing the seals. The injectors are leaking at the joint between the plastic and metal portions. Yes, they are working fine, but the leaks will only get worse. It's time to replace the injectors.

[1987AccordLx-i]

hmmm well i'm at almost 287 and my injectors are still working and i do believe mine are originals. although #4 is leaking about as bad as yours (maybe worse, i can actually see damp around it at times), so at least a seal job is in the works for me sonon. but yea, if anyone has any clues as to life expectancy, i'm taking suggestions too lol.

not as bad as mine lol... i turn the key to prime the system and cylinders 1,2,4 sprayed like a garden hose.. i just replaced the seals on the rail and i was good

[Civic Accord Honda]

not as bad as mine lol... i turn the key to prime the system and cylinders 1,2,4 sprayed like a garden hose.. i just replaced the seals on the rail and i was good

i remember when my civic did that! i just went to true value and got 2 tiny sprinkler o rings or something like that and put 2 of them on 1 injector haha it worked

[AccordEpicenter]

if the injectors themselves are leaking, replace them

[lostforawhile]

injectors have moving parts inside, they wear out in time, the only kind of injectors i've seen rebuilt are diesel injectors and aircraft ones. mostly because of the replacement cost. not something you can rebuild at home.

[Dr_Snooz]

I gather that when you removed the injectors, you then could tell that the seams were leaking from the stains or wetness? I get a noticeable gas smell in the car, with one injector definitely wet and another kind of.

That's something of a long story. I noticed staining around the injectors about 50k miles before I replaced them. I started by replacing the seals but after 50k miles I noticed the staining returned and I could smell a lot of gas. Short answer is that I changed the seals and it didn't fix the problem so that's how I knew.

I don't want to say your injectors are leaking. I just know that the seals weren't my problem. I'd start with the seals because they are relatively cheap. If you change them and the problem remains, replace the injectors. If you don't drive for thousands of miles in the meantime, you can re-use the new seals so no sweat.

[kw_da]

I believe you can tell if the injector itself is leaking or not - if the stain coming from between the plastic & metal parts of the injector - it needs to be replaced. I have to do 2 of mine soon ('86 Lxi, 272,00)

David

At 20 years and 220k, I have two slightly leaking injector seals (enough to smell gas, so it's time to do something). I gather the labor to take them out and put in new seals is around an hour, and the parts maybe $10 an injector. The alternative is to put in 4 new injectors, $96 ea from Majestic (I only buy Honda OEM). My question is, am I approaching the point where the original injectors may start to fail? If so, I'll take this opportunity to replace them all. Thx.

[Oldblueaccord]

wp

[lostforawhile]

If the injectors have a lot of miles and you think they are leaking,it's time to replace, they are one of the parts that simply wear out. even if they aren't leaking, chances are they may be leaking internally into the cyl or they are worn enough to affect the spray pattern , this will also affect your performance and fuel mileage. think how many times that pintle inside of the injector has opened and closed over a few hundred thousand miles. they are precision devices, they are probably shot.

[lostforawhile]

here's a cutaway of a typical injector, you can see there's a lot more to it then you may realize

here's a bunch of info from them http://www.witchhunter.com/injectorcut1.php4

[LX-incredible]

I replaced the seals on mine once, didn't do anything. Two injectors were leaking at the seam where the plastic top meets the metal body. Check the back of the seams for built up fuel varnish.

[Vanilla Sky]

Those look like they're leaking from the seams, not the seals. Whiles seals don't cost much, I'd just replace the whole injectors, all 4 of them.

[Bluntman]

It is optmal to change all injectors at the same time, so that all spray patterns are equal on high mileage injectors. And from what I understand, those cheap injectors that you see for $39 or whatever, are just that. Cheap. On the cheapos they are not calibrated precisely, and can take out your ECU in some cases. How it can take it out I can't tell you, I am a Hot Rod builder and my buddy who I trust at another shop told me this a while back. The RC's I believe are around $88 I believe. I used to live in Torrance 2 minutes from them, but now about 30 mins. away.