Finally fixed my pop tester and built me a set of injectors
 

Anyone have one? It's a Ford Rotunda pop tester I bought a few years from Ebay that came with a Nozzle cleaning kit (made in the UK). The gauge was smashed in shipping and I replaced it with the 6" gauge. The aluminum base is a gallon sized reservoir so it is a stand alone unit which does not need mounting. I think it was a new unit since there was no signs of diesel or oil anywhere when I got it. It worked fine for 2 years and then one day I could not get it to prime and push fuel into the injectors. I tried everything, including filling the high pressure pump plunger cylinder with fuel, to no avail. Finally ditched the reservoir (which constantly leaked diesel past the cover's cork gasket), and gravity fed it with a water bottle via a filter. I had to take the handle off to quickly cycle the plunger to finally get it to prime. I am going to leave an injector mounted when not in use to avoid losing prime again. Maybe I should have done that from the beginning?
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...806_115946.jpg


This shim kit came in handy. The last set of Monark nozzles I installed went in without changing any of the shims and pop pressures were perfect on all 5 injector bodies. Not so with this set. I am not sure if it is this set of Monarks or this set of injector bodies (bought from Charmalu). I had to change shims(to higher thicknesses) 2 to 3 times to get all 5 set to 2100 psi.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...805_171723.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...805_174356.jpg
This is the way I test the injector body halves for leak, shaving cream! I did not lap the injectors with grinding compound or sandpaper like a lot of online instructions recommend. If the injector body was not leaking, why lap them? All I did was rub them on a piece of paper with solvent to burnish off the dirt then blow off the lint and clean with solvent.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...806_120007.jpg

Painted them with POR-15 to keep the rust in check. I am hoping they will run well and get me better MPG. We shall see.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...806_190523.jpg

That looks like your pop tester is on life support.

One reason is that the components will never go back together in the same orientation as they had before disassembly.

It does doesn't it haha? Works great though. No leaks anywhere. The bottle is easy to change and widely available and disposable. The base reservoir held too much fuel and leaked so bad it made a real mess. I can unscrew the fuel bottle without spilling a drop. So much happier with this setup.

Well I have done about 20 injectors now without lapping on a plate, just burnished them with solvent on a piece of paper and have not had one leak yet. What does that indicate? Luck?

Edit: Those mating surfaces have mirror finish on them. That (to me) means they are perfectly flat. If they were not perfectly flat, dirt would get in and they won't be mirror finish throughout and leak. So why lap them? If not lapped evenly, a non leaker will turn into a leaker. Why do extra work?

Where did you get the clear fuel line in the vids?

Nice car.

What vids? :confused:

Thanks for sharing. I made mine from a Ford Rotunda PRV tester (recall) from ebay. See my post. The pump looks like some Australian ones that list >$500. I posted all the PN's I used from McMaster-Carr and shim washers that worked fine.

Interestingly, my 84 300D was running fine w/ 3 or the 5 injectors non-turbo (1600 psi pop). Makes me wonder how important balancing the injectors is.

I saw your post and asked a question on the p/n of a fitting that was n.g. I guess you have not seen it yet? So, with 3 injectors at 1600 psi and the rest at 1900 to 2000 psi did not make the idle rougher?

I like your set up man, who's your favorite ernie or bert?
Glad your back in business.

Huh? I don't watch much TV and not familiar with a lot of programs and their characters. Now that the pop tester is working nicely (hopefully no more problems), anyone in the neighborhood can bring me their injectors for free pop testing. Popping 5 injectors takes about 5 minutes on my setup.

may take you up on that...
 

Hey funola! I may take you up on that at some point - I am in the neighborhood...

Built a pop tester some years ago based on a bottle jack - got some use out of it, but it soon started leaking. Was wondering about the gasket materials in this (cheap, Chinese-made) thing. Do you guys who've built these things typically change out the gaskets?

In any case, injectors tested out fine, and the car has been running smoothly. I suspect I'm due for a nozzle refresh, though, having never replaced them. 400+k miles...

Yeah DrLou, pm me when you are ready.

I installed the injectors and they are running great! Before doing that I popped them one more time by taking slow motion video so I can see the gauge better. At 6" it's a large gauge but the needle fly by really fast and is hard to see. One was 50 psi low so I took it apart and adjusted the shim. Slow motion really help.

Herer's an example video, click to play. Sorry camera was upside down. Is there anyway to flip that in Photobucket?
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...808_141023.mp4

Here's a video of a new Monark nozzle injector spray pattern. It's a bit wider than a Bosch nozzle.
CLICK TO PLAY
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...nark5spray.mp4

I have the pressure set to 2100 psi, 50 psi past high end of spec. Hard to say how exact but per the slow mo video of the gauge, I would say +/- 10 psi or better. Engine idles smoother and has a different sound to it. Idle also went up 30 RPM to 680.
Here's a video of it running.
CLICK TO PLAY!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...808_161448.mp4

When the injectors were out, I couldn't help and fired up the glow plugs to take this pic.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...808_144701.jpg

I popped the old injectors they were all at 1800 psi and had good pattern with no leaks. I also took them apart to see if any pintles were stuck and none were. I could feel the old nozzles had much looser pintles than the new Monarks, which must be due to wear. One of the pintles fell onto the ground and got scratched and would not go back in. If anyone need a set of 4 German Bosch nozzles with 158K miles that are in very good condition I'll make you a good deal. The 5 injector bodies are for sale also. They have no rust and are in very good condition. Or, if you have a new set of nozzles you want me to set up in these bodies please contact me. I'll get some pics of the bodies later.

I was referring to your kiddy pool, the characters are from sesame street...I dont' watch any tv at all anymore but the show has been on the air since 1969, anyway glad your up and running was I was closer I'd take you up on the pop testing.

Ahh the kiddie pool! I wasn't paying any attention to its graphics nor did I ever watch sesame street. This kiddie pool was picked up on the street as trash. Also useful for a lot of things other than a kiddie pool.

I have not driven the car yet, just started the car with no glow plugs from overnight cool off since the last test start after the new injectors went in. It took 20 seconds at 75 F ambient. The old injectors took 29 seconds at 85 F ambient so the new nozzles are clearly an improvement. It will be interesting to see if the timing changes from the 300 psi higher injector pop pressures of the new injectors with my RIV strobe timing light.

I went back to my post http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/346142-electronic-pop-tester-cheap.html
Your question was about finding McMaster-Carr PN 5269K311 Metric fitting, 1/8" NPT-M to 6mm tube ($4.11)
I opened their website today, entered PN and below showed. That fitting is critical in fab'ing any custom pop tester since the M-B injector tube attaches to it (same fitting as M-B Delivery Valve). I read where some people machined their own. Somewhere (VW TDI site?), I saw reference to the fitting description and that someone bought one from McMaster, so searched and found it. While on the site, lookup the PN's I used for injector shims.

Correct that I didn't notice a difference in the idle from when it had 3 1600 psi and 2 1950 psi injectors in the 1984 300D. Of course, hard to compare then and now. It does idle fairly smooth now, perhaps slightly better but I don't recall significant shaking before, though the air cleaner danced then and now.

Your videos of the pressure gage needle and spray are similar to my results, (and most on youtube). It is hard to resolve better than 50 psi with the gage needle. One might get more consistent results with a gage with a "peak grabber" needle. I added an electronic pressure sensor to try to get better resolution, but even then the results vary a bit with the way the handle is pumped. I found that if I didn't press hard enough (I think), I could sometimes get a continuous spray from an injector instead of pops. Faster strokes tended to give more consistent results, and is probably closer to the real engine. I would get ~10 pops from one stroke of the handle, coming much faster than in your video.

Thanks for the info Bill, I searched 5269K311 McMaster just now and found it no issue. Their search engine must have been down the other day (searching exactly the same way).

I made a custom fitting for the adapter between injector to the pop tester by using a broken 1/4" NPT pressure gauge brass block, cut in half, drilled and tapped for the 6mm injector hard line cut in half, threaded the end with a die, screwed into the brass block then either brazed or silver soldered it. It's workin fine so far. Lot's of DIY pop tester articles says to use all steel fittings, not brass. The gauge that you are using has a brass NPT base (similar to what I used except I used the next size 1/4 NPT, heftier than 1/8 NPT) so I think I should be OK?

To see the gauge needle better I may try using a borescope magnified on a PC and see if that helps.

Took the car for a spin and wow, big improvement in power! There was a lot of traffic, no room to do a 0-60 timed run. I do have a leak on #4 maybe #5 injectors coming from either the return nipples or the injector flare...will have to isolate which. I need to buy some braided return lines to replace those clear (now browned) Tygon polyurethane return lines which are 1.5 years old and in my experience will fail soon.

Long nose pliers + wads of toilet paper made quick diagnosis of where it was leaking from. With pliers, I pushed in the return lines on #4 and 5 all the way with a hot engine and they seated all the way to bottom. Also loosened /retightened #4 and 5 injector nuts till the leak stopped. It's bone dry now.

I hate leaks! it seems by replacing the oil filler cap with a metal one (was plastic) and smearing a thin layer of epoxy on the breather nipple stopped both from leaking. Previously, I tried sanding smooth the nipple but it still leaked because of casting imperfections. Mercedes did not machine the nipple from the casting and that's the reason it leaks. If you look closely at it you will see.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...810_150229.jpg

I hope thats not weed eater hose on the return lines. Won't hold up to the heat...

Not weed eater hose. Polyurethane from MacMaster. I am changing it back to OEM braided line. Do you know who sells a quality OEM braided return line? I've read of forum members with problems with dealer supplied hose which is not confidence inspiring.

I have purchased return line at the local VW parts counter. They are not as in love with their parts as my local MB parts counter. Someone on the site told me earlier that the hose is rated the same, and my experience bears them out.

I am interested to have my injectors tested in early September. Might I UPS them to you?

Local VW dealer wants $30 for 3 feet, more than I like to pay.

The free pop testing is for people who bring the injectors to me already out of the car ready to go on the pop tester. If you ship them to me there will be a fee since I have to ship them back. I will take a video of each injector being pop tested and mark each one so you get a warm fuzzy feeling for your $$ spent.

Of course I'd expect to pay round trip freight in addition to your work! The video is a nice touch, but I still value a man's word.

Nipples, did I hear nipples http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ilys/boobs.gif?

Steve have you replaced the rubber Elbo and rubber Gasket under the Oel Cap? Those Elbo`s get hard from the heat and don`t seal very well. replaced mine and he Oel cap seal and leaks disappeared.

Nice clean engine.


Charlie

Nipple, not nipples! Were you dreaming? :D I did replace the elbow, still leaked. The epoxy coat on the nipple did it. I refuse to spend $20 for an oil cap seal. I will make my own if needed. So far the metal oil cap is not leaking.