Injector Housing Gasket Replacement

[wutanec]

Hello y’all. Merry Christmas! With all the holidays until next year. I am about to tackle replacing the injector housing gaskets which I have been long suspecting of leaking coolant for a while now. It seems like there are plenty of how-to’s on removal of the plenum but I have not found too much info on removing injector housing. Any do’s and don’ts specific to removing the IH? Any help would be super appreciated. Thanks!

[G8nightman]

I would get new injector o rings and don’t try to remove the coolant tube from the IH the bolts will crack. I would also get everything powder coated while it’s out. Once the plenum is out the IH are straight forward.


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[wutanec]

I would get new injector o rings and don’t try to remove the coolant tube from the IH the bolts will crack. I would also get everything powder coated while it’s out. Once the plenum is out the IH are straight forward.


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Thats a great point about not removing the coolant tube from IH. I am not ready to buy a new set of IH lol. Speaking of coolant, is it necessary to drain all the coolant from the car?

[G8nightman]

Thats a great point about not removing the coolant tube from IH. I am not ready to buy a new set of IH lol. Speaking of coolant, is it necessary to drain all the coolant from the car?



No drain about a two gallons should be enough.


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[wutanec]

So I finally took the plenum off tonight. The process has been less painful than expected but I had a couple of oopsie moments. I will tackle IH tomorrow and see how that goes.

Now here are my newbie mistakes.

* While removing the connectors in the rear bottom side of the plenum, I broke one of the clips while trying to pull it out........which connector is it and is there a way to purchase a pig tail version?

* While pulling wires off of injectors, I did not realize there were little orange gaskets to the connectors, I lost one of them. I just ordered a few from Jerry's but now I am paranoid that it might have fallen into one of the ports....will I be able to see it once I take the IH's off? if not, I assume it will kiss the engine good bye yes? lol

* I tried to pull off the injectors..It seemed like the secondaries are loose but the primaries would not budge...any tips on how to remove those suckers?

Thank you.

[G8nightman]

Jerry should have everything you need and you should be able to fish it out here is what it looks like with everything off10990


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[RussMcB]

*If* you are really concerned the little orange rubber thing dropped somewhere, use your shop vac to suck out from the ports, and maybe through spark plug holes. Maybe empty the shop vac first so you can see what got sucked up.

My first thought was don't worry about it. Maybe it's unlikely it will lodge itself somewhere it will do damage. But, others more knowledgeable may have a better opinion about that.

Good luck.

[Ccmano]

When you say your replacing the IH gaskets are your doing the upper (considered the plenum gasket), the lower or both?

Are you replacing the injectors as well? If they are original now is the time to do it. Original injectors in 90-92 models are either bad or about to go bad. No matter what the mileage. They were not designed to tolerate the ethanol in today’s gas and corrode from the inside. Replacement is highly recommended. To remove the stuck ones just grab by hand and twist. Keep twisting back an forth till they come out. A really bad one may require some help to start the twisting. I spray some WD40 on the base and use a long and large pair of L head needle nose pliers wrapped in a shop towel to carefully twist a few times. Then twist by hand to remove.
H
:cheers:

[Dynomite]

don’t try to remove the coolant tube from the IH the bolts will crack.
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Post 150 - How to Remove Injector Housing Coolant Manifold Torx-30 Bolts (https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c4-zr-1-discussion/3005470-tech-info-lt5-modifications-rebuild-tricks-500-hp-8.html#post1587644233)

[Paul Workman]

Jerrys Gaskets (https://www.jerrysgaskets.com/)will have the new O-rings for the injectors. Only the 90 ZR-1s have upper (injector) body gasket O-rings on the PRIMARY injectors only. The rest are sealed at the tip. (Jerry knows exactly what you need - just tell him the model year. And, he can set you up with new injectors too, if need be!)

Far as the IH goes, all that may be needed is to re-torque the bolts holding it to the block. A couple of mine were barely finger tight, first time I pulled the plenum! Also, some BLUE LOCKTITE thread locker on those bolts will keep them from loosening up again.

And, just a suggestion too.... unless you drive you car in sub-zero weather, you can BLOCK the coolant ports leading to the plenum by drilling and taping the holes and inserting a (screw-in) plug. Then the next time you pull the plenum, you won't need to worry about draining the coolant! (Mine have been blocked for at least 10 years now, and not a whit of trouble! 'Course I don't drive it in sub-zero temps either!)

And, here is a link to Del City (https://www.delcity.net/) which carries just about all the connectors (with maybe the big one attached to the Digital Ignition System (DIS) module).

[Dynomite]

And, here is a link to Del City (https://www.delcity.net/) which carries just about all the connectors (with maybe the big one attached to the Digital Ignition System (DIS) module).

And if you go on Ebay......... search for Electrical Connector Tool and you then can replace the connector only without having to splice in (purchase) a PigTail.

[wutanec]

Success! Thanks to you guys I have been able to pull the plenum and IH for the first time without too much trouble! I really appreciate those who chimed in :)
It looks like IH gaskets have been leaking for quite some time as it looked quite nasty down there. I am glad I tackled this one over thess holidays.

I DID run into some trouble however.....When I was pulling the IH on the driver's side, I guess I did not drain enough coolant so some coolant got into the valves, ports to the cam, and starter valley....I was able to clean the valve ports and valley but I am kind of concerned about having coolant mixed with oil...not sure how much got in either...
I am assuming I need to change the oil right away as well?

[Ccmano]

It’s amazing how loose the IH bolts can get. Remove all the spark plugs and spin the engine over with the starter. This will blow out anything in the cylinders. Then change the oil. You should be good after that.
H
:cheers:

[wutanec]

Okay I am installing the injectors and fuel rail now. Do I need to install injectors to the rail first? or do they go to the housing first? What is the usual process that works well on ZR1?

[Subfixer]

I assembled the rails and fuel pressure regulator/fuel transfer tubes first.
I installed the injectors in the rails next, so you can get the clips in.
Then position the rails/injectors over the holes and push them in carefully. Lube the o-rings first.
Be careful not to disturb the fuel transfer tube O-rings.

[Ccmano]

I mount the injectors to the fuel rail first. Then install the rail to the IH. Then hook up the electrical connectors to the injectors. To me at least the reverse of how lt all came off.
H
:cheers: