Leaking injector

My MOT inspector has advised me that my 2001 1.9D Berlingo van with 86,000 miles is unlikely to pass next year because one of the injectors is leaking. The injectors are the screw in type Delphi indirect Pintle CR6736001.

I don’t really want to scrap the vehicle as I’ve changed a lot of stuff and it runs so well, even with the dodgy injector. I have also tried using fuel additives, to no avail.

Is there a test to identify the bad injector? And what are my chances of successfully unscrewing it from the head without damaging the threads? Is there a special procedure for this job, such as heating up the injector body?

Jona Green

Your Berlingo should be fitted with the DW8 engine. Unlike the later engines with commonrail diesel injectors, the earlier diesel engines are normally less troublesome and also much easier to sort out.

While your MOT inspector has informed you that one of the injectors is leaking, you do not mention in what way. So, I am assuming it is an internal leak into the cylinder, as an external leak of diesel or a blow-past of cylinder pressure would both be easily diagnosed. I am also assuming that this internal leak is resulting in a misfire or lack of power. If this is the case, the injectors can be tested as follows, but I must stress that this method MUST NOT be used on common-rail engines because the injection pressures are much higher. With the engine running at tickover, slacken off the injector pipes (17mm spanner) and re-tighten them one at a time. As the injector pipe is slackened, you should notice a drop in engine speed, although the cylinder with the faulty injector will show little difference to the slackening of the pipe.

The screw threads on the injectors are not overly long and normally unscrew with ease – a long bar and a deep 27mm socket should be all that is required. If you can find a local diesel specialist it should not cost too much to recondition the injectors as, unlike the common-rail units, they are relatively simple.