Hello everybody. It's been over a year since I have been on the board, but I'm hoping you can be of assistance. If not, maybe I can help some of you out.

 

I was changing out my fuel injectors and finished the job in about an hour. When I started it up after the "repair" it turned twice and then *CHUNK*..stopped. No go. I think a scrap of soft plastic from the injector must've fallen in to the cylinder. I chewed them up pretty bad with the pliers trying to get them out. Now it won't turn over. I am really bummed. Do you think it's seized?

 

The history:

I was changing the injectors because the '93 Legacy L wasn't starting in the cold, but as soon as it did start and the RPM's got over 1500 it ran like a champ. The shop was able to duplicate the problem easy enough. They tested the pressure, volume, voltage across the injectors, etc. and everything was fine.They found a service bulletin about the injectors freezing up and needing to be replaced, so I went with it.

 

It has 174,000 miles on it, but this is the only problem I have ever had with it. What do you think...did I screw it up royally? Could there be another reason? Probably not, huh?

 

If it is screwed up, I know where you can all get parts from a '93 Subaru L. Brand new injectors, good engine...well, except for that little thing mentioned above, tranny, everything is good. I've got a ripped boot on the drivers side, but other than that, good parts.

 

Please let me know if it's over. Thanks.

Can you turn it either direction by hand? Remove the plugs and put a 22mm socket on the crank bolt. See if you can turn it. You may be able to free it up. If it's only plastic in the cylinder, you might be able to blow it out.

the other thing it might be is hydraulic locked if you screwed up the injector. Pulling the plugs would free it.

You have probably hydraulic one of the cylinders . When you replaced the injectors did you clamp off the fuel line to the injector rail? If you didn't the fuel in the rail and the fuel line will dump into the cylinder you pulled the injector out of and end in that cylinder. That cylinder comes up on compression and hydraulics , stopping rotation

Pull the plugs and see if it will turn by hand ( like Subarian said)

Just a word of caution , don't turn it over with the starter. It will spray fuel every where and may be ignited by the spark plug leads

 

There is a possibility(low) that you could have bent a connecting rod , but you wont find out until you get it running

 

Hope this helps

SEA#3

i doubt the engine is permanently seized. if it never ran that would be hard to believe. piece of plastic won't keep an engine from turning over...at least not right away....

 

22 mm crank bolt. remove plugs and turn it over by hand. look for fluid (gas) in the cylinders when you pull the spark plugs.

the plastic would be turn to ash at a few 1000 degrees and combustion pressures of 15-18000 PSI. Plastic is softer then metal so it cant even wedge the piston. i'm going to go with hydraulic lock too

 

nipper

Sort of off topic, but.......

 

I was talking the other day with one of my Porsche 356 buds and he was telling me about a little "tech session" the dealership had with a factory mechanic back in the 60's when the 356 was serviced by the dealers.

 

The fuel volume from the accelerator pumps in the carburetors had to be measured with a very small glass vial on a piece of wire held into the carburetor throat. The mechanic went over the procedure and then intentionally did "the unthinkable"......he dropped the glass vial off of the wire and into the carburetor throat with the throttle plate open!

 

At that point he demonstrated the procedure for removing the glass vial from the nether regions of the engine.

 

Foot on the gas pedal about 3/4 the way to the floor, hit the starter and VRRRRROOOOOOOMMMMM WHAAAAAAPPPPP !!!!!! no more glass vial problem!

As always, you guys are awesome. From your descriptions I'm sure that's it. I did not clamp off the fuel rails, and the first one I replaced I noticed the the fuel filling the cylinder. I thought it wierd that plastic would do that, but I was so bummed I immediately thought the worst. I will try this on Monday, assuming that the weather cooperates.

 

On the one hand I'm glad it's not permanent, assuming I did not bend a rod, on the other hand, I had my wife talked in to buying '91 Landcruiser to replace the Subaru. It might just stay broken.

If you decide to get rid of it, check my PM.

If it did fill with gas, do an oil change as well.

I agree with the possibility of hydraulic lock, and also if it happened that an oil change is a good idea. For future reference:

http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/ProperInsideEWFall05.pdf

Thanks everybody. That's exactly what it was and the engine idles just fine, so no damage to a rod. A friend of mine suggested just letting it sit. Since the fuel is les viscous than the oil it will eventually just seep past the rings and in to the pan. Because of my schedule that's exactly what happened. When I started it tonight it came right to life. I ran it for just a few seconds then did an oil change. It runs great. Tomorrow morning we'll see if changing the injectors fixed the hard starting problem or not.

 

Bad news is that now I don't get that Land Cruiser. Oh well. Thanks again everybody!