Broken-off direct-inject injector

A guy on a Jag forum I'm on was using the proper slide-hammer tool to pull one out, but something went terribly wrong and he broke off the injector assembly about half way down. Tool and broken upper part on the left. Good one on the right.

What are his options other than pulling the head? About all I could think of is to try an "EZ Out" and pull on that, but they're not meant to be pulled on and seems really unlikely to work. Another idea would be to drill into and tap the remaining part for a large bolt, one long enough to extend out the top, and attach a slide hammer to that. Other ideas?

So there isn't anything holding it in?  Start the engine and let it get to temp?  Alternatively, heat and an airline to the cylinder?

Nothing holding it in, but since the fuel lines had to be disconnected to attach the puller, the engine can't be started. Apparently age and/or carbon in the chambers really jams these things in there. Jag themselves use a slide hammer tool as a matter of course since they don't easily pull out even when new, apparently. He's sort of past the point of making it easier to pull on, since it's now broken. He'll have to attach something to it to get it out regardless.

(No, this isn't a disguised "asking for a friend" post, it's not my car. I'm just trying to help this guy out with ideas. Pulling the heads on modern V6 engines is an expensive PITA and I understand why he's looking for alternatives. So far I like my bolt idea but am hoping someone comes in with a better outside-the-box idea.)

I like Mr_Asa's suggestion of pressurizing the cylinder. If he could get that cylinder to where all the valves are closed, and lock the crank in place using perhaps a socket on the harmonic balancer bolt and a breaker bar and some zip ties, then apply air pressure through the spark plug hole. (Hint: some compression gauges come with the needed adapter.) Just a few PSI at first then try pushing down (like, with a tool - a long socket extension or something) and releasing pressure on the remaining injector body. You just need to break the seal and it'll let go. You don't want a ton of pressure because then you'll shoot the injector body out through the hood and your eye and into the stratosphere once it lets go. Maybe put something over the injector to catch it or at least slow it down.

Alternatively, he could try turning the motor over a few times, using the starter. That would build up pressure then release it. Leave the coils unplugged and the fuel pump fuse out! And otherwise make sure the car isn't going to be spewing flammable liquids and issuing high voltage shocks. Also make sure to put something over the injector body because this could also launch the injector through the hood or ceiling or your eye.

I have heard of guys using starting fluid and cranking and them shooting out, not sure how stuck it is, or how disassembled the rest of the engine is.

I have had to unstick them from the chamber side before, but the head was already off.

dculberson's method has much merit.  I'm guessing you will need more pressure than the part sees on the normal compression stroke.  Many leak-down test kits have fittings that will screw tightly in the sparkplug hole.   Anytime there is pressure in that cylinder you MUST have something to prevent the possible flying piece from doing damage to property or persons.

I worry the "air pressure" method will be twarted by the air going out through the tube that the fuel normally goes in.

It looks like there is still a plastic bit above the metal base.  There is a metal tube running down the center.  Maybe an easy-out into that metal tube?  I fear an attempt with any easy-out may just cause the piece to spin in its hole and the easy-out won't be able to get a grip.

All that said, I would try easy-out type methods before pulling head.

Maybe use a small screw like pictured that can be driven into that center metal tube.  Then you would have a perch to pull on.   

How about this: add some oil to that cylinder, then crank the engine. That cylinder would hydrolock, but since it's just the starter, it shouldn't bend anything. That should apply pretty good pressure to the face of the injector, but I'm betting money that it needs probably 1,000 psi to unseat it, via a slide hammer. I'll post the idea anyway.

I've heard about (online not first-hand) rods getting bent from the starter turning over a hydro-locked engine. 
 

but the idea of filling the cylinder with oil (or maybe grease?) and then rotating it with a breaker bar on the crank might work.  Then cleaning it out as best as possible...

Hmm, well that wouldn't be good. Also, the laws of force over area don't work in his favor for this. That is, applying a force over the face of the piston does not equate to more force over the face of the injector, it's the other way around. It's probably on the order of 400 times less, unfortunately.

kb58 said:

How about this: add some oil to that cylinder, then crank the engine. That cylinder would hydrolock, but since it's just the starter, it shouldn't bend anything. That should apply pretty good pressure to the face of the injector, but I'm betting money that it needs probably 1,000 psi to unseat it, via a slide hammer. I'll post the idea anyway.

A starter on a hydrolocked engine CAN bend rods ... some starters are quite powerful.

I like a few of the ideas offered here.

-Pull the other plugs and use the starter to spin the engine - see if there is enough compression to pop it out.

-Run the engine on ether with the fuel pump disabled - see if cylinder pressure will force it out.

-Fill the cylinder with thin oil (ATF?) and then manually crank it over with a bar on the crank bolt.  Pull the spark plugs from the other cylinder but leave this one in place.  That way you can feel when this one cylinder loads up.  Be gentle.

-Make sure to put a rag and then maybe a heavy object like a 2x4 over the remnants of the injector so it doesnt take flight.

-Borescope the hole after the offending debris are pulled to make sure everything is out.  

-if there is enough meat, drill the injector with a sharp drill bit, tap it with some fine threads, and then do a poor mans puller using some nuts on a long piece of allthread to see if you can get it to walk out.

Back in my 6.5 diesel days, glow plugs would routinely get stuck in the heads, similar to this issue.  The solution was to start the engine with one glow plug loose, then pull out on the glow plug with the engine running and use the heat and force of compression to squirt the glow plug out.  Of course, diesels have a much higher cylinder pressure so they have a bit of a leg up.  

I assume that previously there was *something* holding the injector in. A fuel rail or the like? Now there's no fuel rail attached so it should at least be a bit easier to dislodge it. Now what's holding it in is carbon and of course that can be pretty tenacious. My hesitation about drilling and tapping anything is - where are the shavings from the drilling going to go? Also there's a nonzero risk of going off center and drilling the head instead of the injector. Especially since some of what's left is plastic and I assume access isn't super easy, so you'll potentially be working with a long drill bit or an extension giving you lots of slop or flex. Drilling in anything in the head of a Jag engine while it's assembled just makes me uneasy.

Yes, they're mounted on a fuel rail, and yes, all these workarounds have risks associated with them. I'd assume that the owner is bright enough to be really careful, and to use a vacuum to pull all the chips out of the way. And yes, it's very easy to armchair-quarterback the whole issue when we aren't personally or financially involved. Not sure how I'd approach it if it was my situation.

The tip of that injector is certainly less than 1/2 square inch.  A cranking engine produces, optimistically, 180 psi, so you would be applying less than 90 pounds of force to something that was stuck hard enough to break in half.

No.

Any update?

Nothing. I'll keep an eye on the thread and report back. Very few people these days are willing to get their hands dirty, but since he did try removing it himself, we'll see.

Get some PB blaster or other similar chemical with an appetite for carbon build-up in the chamber. Solvents like carb cleaner might wash rings and drain out of the region of interest before doing any magic, stick with light oil type options. Not enough to fill the chamber. Spin the motor over a few times to distribute. Repeat? Let sit overnight. Tap what's left with hammer and punch to try to shock the bond loose, including down (assuming there's a seat of some kind). Then engage dculberson's projectile method. 

Streetwiseguy said:

The tip of that injector is certainly less than 1/2 square inch.  A cranking engine produces, optimistically, 180 psi, so you would be applying less than 90 pounds of force to something that was stuck hard enough to break in half.

No.

At a training class, I saw a Focus with its front end lifted off the ground by a cherry picker attached to an injector.

Nothing is going to pull it out, it will have to be driven out with the head on a bench.  The forces required will bend a rod or break a piston.

Someone said they'd done exactly that, lifting the entire front of the car by the extractor attached to the injector and an engine hoist. It needs a shock load to unseat it, hence the slide hammer part of the tool. I suspect that the guy who broke it was either wiggling the tool back and forth, trying to "loosen" it, or was using the slide hammer off-axis, jerking the injector assembly to the side with each hit. I didn't bring that up since all it would do is make him feel bad.

I got all hopeful reading some of these ideas, but I think this is an example of one of those times the hard way is actually the easiest way available, and time spent trying not to pull the head is just time that could have been spent pulling the head.