Premium Injector Failure? - Common Causes

Did you just purchase a new set of Holders Premiums and were so excited to hear it fire up only to discover a misfire!! Or perhaps it drove great for a hundred miles and then......misfire!

Why does this happen??

In theory new injectors shouldn't, so what's the problem? Below we will discuss four main causes. The HEUI injector is HEAVILY reliant on both a working/healthy oil system and fuel system for the injector to operate normally. One of the phone calls we get often is "I bought a brand new set Premiums and I have an injector already failing". First thing we ask is "what all has been done to the truck? Supporting mods and so forth?" The most common response from customers is "everything is brand new! The motor is brand new from said company, heads are from said company, brand new harnesses, turbocharger, tuning, (blah blah blah)". You get the point. Oh yea "and I've been a diesel mechanic since I was born". So clearly, it's got to be the injector...right?? Let's clarify one truth, nothing is new anymore. Everything is remanufactured. Some companies just go further than others. 

We are not saying on occasion it's not the injector. But here are some common causes:

1) Improper installation. I know everyone is a diesel mechanic. At least everyone who calls seems to be. But even professionals make mistakes at times. When the injector leaves the facility there is a lot that can go wrong. 1st- Handled carelessly. 2nd - Improper torque and 3rd - a big one is improper cleaning of injector cups and hold down bolt holes. Customers call and often say injector failed, smoking bad or even hydro-locked!! Then the customer pulls the injector and sees the whole bottom half is black as coal. Why?? Improper seating or torque spec!! You see when the copper washer does not crush properly, combustion gases work passed the copper washer and erodes the white oring. Fuel then leaks passed this oring and into the cylinder causing smoking and/or hydro-locking.

2) Low fuel pressure. Often times people buy new injectors because they are old or failing. So, they purchase new ones. Then they install them and low and behold the reason the other ones failed was an underlying issue. They never checked and verified fuel pressure. The factory 6.0 powerstroke fuel system is not great on its own. The rear injectors often get starved of fuel. And remember this is a Hydraulic system. When air enters into a hydraulic system such as the injector, this results in broken springs, fuel plunger clevises, fuel metering plates and or nozzles. 

3) Metal in spool valve. I would say this is the most aggravating for customers. When a piece of metal gets jammed in the spool valve, the solenoid cannot open or close, resulting in a misfire. Ford long ago after some 6.0L were on the market discovered a constant failure enough to warrant a TSB (Technical service bulletin) - TSB 08-20-1. This highlights where this piece of metal comes from. People often say again the engine and everything is new so how am I getting metal in my injector? It had to come from the injector! Well, when you understand how the injector works you quickly realize it's not possible. The injector is separated into two halves, an oil side (the top half) and the fuel side (the lower half). The lower half which contains most of the parts cannot enter into the top half where the spool valve is. This piece of metal is resting in your oil system, typically in the oil rail. Which you reuse when you buy a new engine. Once you crank the engine building oil pressure back up it gets moved around and eventually makes its way to the top of the injector and your new injector now gets jammed. 

4) Unrealistic expectations. What do I mean? Let's be honest, if you're ordering 300cc injectors and expect to tow 10k up mountains with it or try to use a tune to scale back until you have more money to spend, you are on borrowed time. Performance injectors are reliant on proper fuel and oil mods to run right (especially good tuning).

In conclusion, there are several reasons for newer injectors to fail. We ask that before you result to pulling them, take a moment and do some diagnostics. Yes, our injectors have a great warranty, but that does not come with or mean free testing. Feel free to call and we can help walk you through certain steps. Please refrain from going to facebook or instagram and blasting a company. We have worked hard at having a good reputation. It takes years to build but a single post to tear down. In the end we want you to be successful and have a great running truck.