smoking injector, ugh

[bill209]

I was working on the engine and I noticed a bit of smoke in my flashlights beam.
I tried my best to trace it down and it seems to be coming from this injector (see pic) where it screws into the housing. This is somewhat confirmed by the hose below it being covered in black.

I am unable to wipe the black off the line giving me the impression this may not be a new issue.

Any thoughts on what and how serious this problem may be?

Any carbon monoxide concerns?

[note: I did put a wrench on the injector nut and turned it slightly, but it still smokes and I am too afraid of injectors to tighten it any further. It already seems fairly tight however and may not be in need of anymore tightening.]
Thank you!
bill

 

[bill209]

Well I’ve also discovered the first injector hose has a leak where it enters the housing.
I have tightened it down a tad but it still leaks.

I believe this is a second issue as I do not think this is causing the smoke described above as the gap between the two (12 inches) seemed to be clears of air.

 

[Grand Illusion]

The black mark on those two injector lines in the first picture is likely where there used to be (and probably should be again) a line clamp. Just like the one visible directly above the injector pictured. Mine all look like that underneath the clamps, they have a rubber insert that can wear the paint off the lines with the vibration and I think the rubber eventually breaks down with exposure to oil leaks, etc. and darkens the line underneath.

The "smoke" may very well be diesel vapor from a slight leak at the connection. Try zip tying a small piece of oil absorbent pad to that area and see if it turns red with diesel after a run. You could also try removing the valve cover and running the engine to get a better look at the actual connection point on the injector to see if you can spot an obvious leak. Those injector lines should be pretty tight, but often times the cause of a leak is some contamination on the sealing area.

A mechanic showed me his trick to fix those pesky leaks, he removes the line completely, polishes the end with a gray scotch brite pad, then sprays it off with brake cleaner to get rid of any debris and diesel residue as he said that will attract dust from the air and could be enough to prevent a good seal. Once cleaned in this manner, quickly reattach before the end has a chance to get dirty and torque down appropriately.

Same idea for the leak at the connection on #6 line on your injector pump. Line wrenches help to get these on and off, although #1 and #6 have plenty of swing room so shouldn't be an issue if you don't have one. If the above doesn't fix that leak, it may be the seal under the delivery valve holder, which takes a special splined wrench and is more involved if the seal needs replacing. Start with the line though, that may be all it is.

Edit: I suppose the "smoke" could also be blowby gasses leaking past a hardened worn out injector line oil seal, but I would expect a pretty big oil leak in that area if that were also the case. But, the oil diaper zip tied should show if the vapor is brown/black (oil) or red (diesel).

 

[rgano]

I had a diesel leak on a high pressure line which turned out to be a split "olive" on one end of the line. Pull the number six HP line a using a magnifying glass look over the olives on the ends for possible splits.