Diesel Injector Testing, Repair and Replacement (1.4HDi 8v)

This post is part of a series by RC3D diagnosing and repairing an unexplained oil loss and a lack of power on his Citroen C3 HDi 1.4. Previous posts regarding the lexia diagnosis is here and the engine removal instructions are here

C3driver52 wrote:You have been busy RC3D.
try Diesel Injector Testing Service (eBay)

Hi C3driver52, have you used the above guy, would you recommend him? It’s just the negative feedback says that he was not helpful with the problem. I know there is only one negative comment but i don't really want to deal with an awkward guy. When I contacted him he was pleasant and helpful though.

Also i spoke to a couple of diesel engine specialists in Sheffield, they said contradictory things, the first guy told me that Siemens injectors cannot be tested properly by anyone other than Siemens themselves. He said that he can do a visual spray test but apparently there are more components which needs testing under different temperature and there isn't a machine which would do that. Apparently Siemens are holding onto this technology. The other company told me that they can test it and repair it. I also contacted dieseljones, they too told me that they could check the injectors but they can't repair them, they will have to send it to Siemens and the repair will cost £150+VAT.
I contacted this company https://www.commonraildiesels.com, they were helpful enough, they said they charge £10 per injector and if they have to replace one then they will refund the testing fee (i presume for one). They have got reconditioned injectors (Siemens 9655304880) & 85+VAT, they also give you a 12mths guarantee. I feel a bit more confident with the latter company. What do you think?

Hi C3driver52, have you used the above guy, would you recommend him? It’s just the negative feedback says that he was not helpful with the problem. I know there is only one negative comment but i don't really want to deal with an awkward guy. When I contacted him he was pleasant and helpful though.

I haven't used https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIESEL-INJECTOR-TESTING-DELPHI-BOSCH-SIEMENS-DENSO-PIEZO-/111048220075?, but I have done quite a fair bit of ebay buying and selling over the years.

I can say that I consider 99.5% Positive Feedback over 239 transactions with only one negative as GOOD feedback.

If you look more closely at the negative:

Negative feedback rating crap. injectors faulty wont take them back may as well set fire to £225 be where Buyer:
Member ID 10paulb1 ( Feedback score of 18Yellow star icon for Feedback score between 10 to 49)

You can see the buyer has a very low feedback score, all positive but not very experienced or not worried about loosing their access to ebay and quite possibly just trying it on.

Looking at the reply to the negative feedback by the seller

running well enough in your car for well over a month, using contaminated fuel.

Which is quite plausible and with all those other positive feedback scores for the seller,

I would tend to believe the seller...... but remember people do move on, or maybe their best tester is off on 2 weeks holiday today and the junior is now having to take over, just because everything is good yesterday, today can be another story..


I don't have any connection with the seller, but the forum does benefit from the ebay links being used. The reason I suggested injector testing is that I have read many other forums where main dealers or garages suggest renewing a whole set of injectors in an attempt to fix faults. At hundreds of pounds, it may fix the problem, but could have been done more cheaply. If its done under warranty, then take the 4 injectors, when the car is 10 years old the cost of 4 new injectors can be more than the value of the car. I don't think throwing money at the C3 is the best way to fix it as its complicated computer control just doesn't lend itself to blind parts replacement, its got to be testing and diagnosis (in my opinion).

Also i spoke to a couple of diesel engine specialists in Sheffield, they said contradictory things, the first guy told me that Siemens injectors cannot be tested properly by anyone other than Siemens themselves. He said that he can do a visual spray test but apparently there are more components which needs testing under different temperature and there isn't a machine which would do that. Apparently Siemens are holding onto this technology. The other company told me that they can test it and repair it. I also contacted dieseljones, they too told me that they could check the injectors but they can't repair them, they will have to send it to Siemens and the repair will cost £150+VAT.

Sounds like quite a headache.

Fixing injectors can be problematic due to not being able to get the parts, as for testing at temperature - that doesn't sound very technical at all. You could add a heating element to the fuel reserve, the injector body, the cabinet that the test is being carried out in. Add some thermocouples to feedback all linked to a pc.

Injectors can fail in different ways, different bits wear out depending on what has happened to them. Some parts are readily available, some parts not? Hence the confusion on the fixability, some can be fixed only by siemens, some by a specialist, some by a DIYer.

This video shows the strip down and parts of a bosch CRI1 common rail injector. Similar to the siemens units in that they are early common rail injectors. You can see it comes apart quite easily, but where do you get the parts that need replacing? The only special tool is a Microscope

I contacted this company https://www.commonraildiesels.com, they were helpful enough, they said they charge £10 per injector and if they have to replace one then they will refund the testing fee (i presume for one). They have got reconditioned injectors (Siemens 9655304880) & 85+VAT, they also give you a 12mths guarantee. I feel a bit more confident with the latter company. What do you think?

I couldn't possibly compare the 2 companies. 99.5% feedback from verified buyers vs your personal contact and questioning of the staff at https://www.commonraildiesels.com this is your call!

oh,

they also give you a 12mths guarantee.

for all guarantees, they are very rarely worth the paper they are written on, you have your consumer rights


Did you order the turbo refurb kit? I would be very interested to see the photos of the turbo job too

The turbo charger strip down and rebuild guide is HERE

RC3D wrote:Thanks for your advice, i'll take your advice on board.

C3driver52 wrote:I couldn't possibly compare the 2 companies. 99.5% feedback from verified buyers vs your personal contact and questioning of the staff at https://www.commonraildiesels.com this is your call!

Just to let you know I found commonraildiesels through ebay, see linkSpecialist Diesel ltd. I'll probably send the Injectors within the next couple of days, let you know what happens.

RC3D wrote:All four reconditioned injectors, on test it showed drop in performance (most costly)

I'll recommend Specialist Diesel ltd, very helpful people and professional service