broken injector ball pin (pd bew)

I changed my timing belt over the thankgiving holidays. This is my second tb change. I decided to inspect the camshaft for wear before I started. I pulled the rockers and went through with the inspeciton and was about to put the valve cover back on when I discovered that the ball pin on the injector closests to the timing belt was cracked.

When I removed the pin it fell apart. Anybody ever seen this happen?

I was able to find another pin locally along with a used adjuster pin.
My worry is that this is a symptom of something wrong with that injector. The camshaft shows hardly any wear that I can tell. the mileage is 160k.
see pics below.

Time for new one ..... Never seen that happen myself .... Almost looks like it was over hardened .... I have plenty extra of these new I can drop one in the mail today if you like .... Ok I just read you found the parts local, never mind

Never seen that, very strange.

Looks like the rest have quite a bit of wear too

I would love to see at least one half up close in personal. I bet it would fit in a baggie and inside an envelope. I would return it afterward.

i paid through the nose to get one. 57 bucks. it was the only one in town.
I may go ahead and buy a new set of 4 and replace them all. i will also be keeping spares from now on.
PM me an address and i will mail it to you whitedog.

Does the injector have to come apart to replace the ball socket? It appears to be under the big spring. By vote is for a defect in the material. You are darn lucky you decided to take a look. I wonder how long it was running like this.

The ball pin just sits in a hole that is in the injector spring retainer so it's easy to just pull them out without removing the injector. When I first saw it my first thought was that I would have to pull the injector. Lucky that was not the case.
Last time I inspected the cam was 80k ago and I did not make a point of inspecting the ball pins. Judging by the wear on the mating adjuster screw I would say its been that way for awhile. I did not notice any adverse affects in running though. I estimate that I was losing at least 1.5mm stroke on that injector due to the broken part.

I would suggest everyone with a PD take a peek at theirs during the next tb install or any time the valve cover is off.

could someone have adjusted the injector lash in the past and had it bottomed out?

Yes, it hit me last night when I was trying to get to sleep--As stated above, I bet the injector lash was adjusted too tight and the injector plunger bottomed out, and the ball socket must be the weak link. Who knows, it may have been set too tight at the engine assembly plant and may have been broken when it left the dealer's lot, new.

--Nate

DPM said:

could someone have adjusted the injector lash in the past and had it bottomed out?

Click to expand...

I bought the car new and I am the only one who has ever worked on it. I have never touched the adjuster screws until this happened. I guess it could have been misadjusted at the factory. I am leaning towards the posiblility that it was a defective part. im just glad I caught it. lol

Bad news, Mr Sayers. that fracture started at the bottom. The ball end that fits into the injector was shattered and I would bet that socket that it fits into is pretty ate up so it is grinding away at the new pin. This means a new (or possibly rebuilt) injector is needed.

One thing that amazed me is that most of the fracture face is very flat. It's not perfectly smooth, but it's flat enough that the two pieces will slide across each other. I believe that this is a factor of the hardness of the material.

LOL. Soft cams, now soft injectors. What else?!

Upon further review the ruling on the field is overturned.

With a closer look with magnification and some discussion with others, The crack started at the top. There is a lip near the bottom that indicates that was where the metal finally let loose completely. There are also the tell-tale beach marks pointing to the top. In the one picture of the fracture, you can see the shiny area near that little oil hole. That is where everything started. Why it started, I cannot determine.

I would be afraid of the socket that this pin fit into and any damage that is in there since there is definitely pieces that have been grinding in there.

I'm pulling it apart over Christmas break. I will let you guys know what I find.

Those plungers just pull out of the injectors ?