Fuel injectors useful life

[crieders]

my boat is 30yrs old. 1000hrs or less on Universal
do fuel injectors have a useful life after which they should be replaced?

[scgunner]

Cliff,

If your injectors have a 1000 hrs on them they should probably be inspected, cleaned, rebuilt, and replaced as necessary. Don't quote me on this but I think the time between service is something like 400 or 600 hrs, again I don't recall the exact interval but at 1000 hrs you're probably due. You can pull the injectors yourself and you should be able to find a marine diesel shop around your marina. I had mine done a few years back and it wasn't that expensive. You'll probably see a noticeable performance improvement, I did.

[ewengstrom]

I'm quite sure you don't specifically need a marine diesel shop to service diesel injectors. I manage a fleet of trucks and know of a fellow who works on industrial diesel engines. I've had my injectors inspected and rebuilt by him for several years. I've taken him Yanmar injectors (from my last boat) and also the injectors from two different Universal Diesel engines. The price of a rebuild by a reputable shop is considerably less than new replacement parts. I've been very happy with the results. Yes, I did pull the injectors and reinstall them myself.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : A thousand hrs might be a good time to have the injectors checked or if you are having poor engine performance.
 
Just pull your injectors and take them to a diesel shop (look for truck diesel engine repair) and have a free spray pattern & pressure check.  If the spray pattern & pressure is OK then put them back in your engine!!!  If not the shop can rebuild your injectors at a lower cost than buying new injectors.

Look at my (& Hank Recla's) Mainsheet tech note articles on removing your injectors.  Easy to do!!   

A few thoughts 

[scgunner]

Eric,

You're right of course, any diesel shop can handle the job, there's nothing marine specific to the injectors on a boat motor. My thinking was being in a marina area a marine shop would probably be closer and easier to find.

[crieders]

sorry but could not get that tech note

[lazybone]

If you opt to buy new injectors, do not be lured by cheap unbranded chineseum crap.  I've been burned twice.  Once on a friends boat and on mine.
On the surface they seem to be simple things but it turns out they are intricate buggers that rely on extremely close manufacturing tolerances and exacting metallurgy for springs and nozzle.
The original Denzo brand which came with the engine have been recommended to me by a trusted diesel farm equipment shop.

Something to consider when deciding between refurbishment (all they do is clean them) and buying new injectors.  Nozzles erode and springs fatigue.   

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Any reputable diesel shop will test the injectors for spray pattern and "pop" pressure.  I even watched them test my injectors.

So I wouldn't worry about being ripped off ("all they do is clean them") by a good diesel truck engine repair place!!  However, parts do wear and new injectors from your Kubota dealer (no online specials) are your "for sure" best injectors.   

A thought

[scgunner]

When it comes to replacement parts listen to Lazybone and Ron, stick with OEM parts, you may have to pay more up front but you won't be sorry in the long run. There's a reason aftermarket parts are cheap, it usually means they're built in a third world country. This is also a problem in the classic car market, cheap parts from an unknown manufacturer that aren't very reliable.

[KWKloeber]

Cliff, remember that you have a Kubota engine.  Unless you want to pay marine prices a decent diesel shop can guide you.  These are VERY common on MANY other engines, tractors, gensets, farm equipment, trucks, etc.  Messicks is a good source for Kubota parts (the manuals with the Kubota part numbers are on the wiki site.)  I took my pump and injectors to the local truck shop to check out. 
The R & R should be done by a qualified person.

-ken

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Like Ken said do not go to Universal or Westerbeke for new injectors!!

Go to a Kubota dealer or a diesel repair shop can order you the exact same OEM injectors.  Check the prices as the repair shop just might? be a bit cheaper than the Kubota dealer?

A thought

[crieders]

This is all great and I appreciate it, although i could not find that tech article on removing them. Sorry about that. Is there a link?

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : You need to read more of the Mainsheet tech note articles.
 
I found one for you in Aug 2002 titled "Injector Update" - you can look in the Knowledgebase and find the (previous) other article!   

You might want to print off Stu's 6 Feb 1999 "Mainsheet Index" posted on this site 14 Feb. 1999.  Hope this helps   

A thought

[crieders]

While doing the injectors, what about the glow plugs?

[Ron Hill]

Cliff : You can pull a glow plug, but never changed one in my old engine that lasted 5000 hrs.

A thought