The #1 Reason Why Diesel Injectors Fail

Nowadays, we see many vehicles operating in good condition at well over 300,000 miles thanks to significant improvements made in diesel injectors. Whenever a customer purchases diesel injectors from us, we try our best to let them know how they can care and ensure that their engines and parts operate properly for a long time to come. Let’s go over some of the most common reasons for premature injector failure.  

The #1 reason for injector failure

Fuel contamination from dirty diesel. We can’t emphasize enough how bad it is to use contaminated fuel when installing new injectors or adding more fuel to your engine. Over the years we’ve repaired and have across hundreds of failed injectors and/or engines simply due to contaminated fuel. Fuel contamination occurs when debris in the fuel gets past the filtration which then destroys the sealing surfaces. This debris cannot usually be seen by the human eye. 

To prevent fuel contamination and to keep your fuel system clean, change fuel filters, purchase fuel from reliable sources and do not use red diesel. 

If you find that fuel contamination was what caused your injectors to fail, make sure to clean your fuel tank, fuel lines, and common rail, change the fuel filter and add a plastic clear filter before the manufacture filter to see how clean your fuel is. 

Other common reasons for injector failure

Water — Water in fuel can also lead to injector failure. Water causes corrosion inside the metal injector. If you live in an area that gets a lot of rain or has high exposure to moisture, it’s important to think about where you store your vehicles to prevent water from reaching these areas. 

Improper installation — Be sure you install your injectors properly. Make sure you install injectors with a seal ring (we include rings with all of our injectors for the D24 and D34 engines), properly tighten the parts and clean the nozzles correctly. Neglecting this process can lead to poor performance, misfiring, black smoke and more. 

There can be many other causes for injector failure, but we listed some of the more common reasons for you to keep in mind. In general, it’s good to schedule regular inspections and cleaning.

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