[V8] Portland man goes balistic...

[Jeremy Ward]

Yesterday I sprung a pretty good sized oil leak.  Couldn't tell exactly
where it was coming from, but it appeared to be valve cover gaskets.  I had
bought a pair from Bruce about a year ago and decided to install them today
to see if it would fix my leak.

 

Passenger side valve cover was difficult to remove with the fuel pressure
regulator / fuel lines in the way, so I removed the two acorn nuts holding
the fuel rail down and pulled it slightly out of the way.

 

After changing the oil, valve cover gaskets, and spark plugs, I decided to
fire it up; it ran like a hairy dog and then died.  I suspected the fuel
injector gasket on #1 cylinder because it looked very loose when I had the
fuel rail up.  To confirm my suspicion, I removed the fuel rail again and
guess what.  No o-ring or tip!

 

So, what do I do?  Do I assume that this little rubber piece didn't damage
the cylinder?  Is it possible to blow compressed air down into where the
injector goes and see if I can get chunks to come out the spark plug hole?
Do I replace the rubber o-ring / tip and hope for the best?

 

I assume taking it to a shop (parts and labor) would cost a fortune.  If the
head must come off, I should probably do the t-belt job while I am at it
(170k).  How much does a 3.6 motor with ~100k cost?  4.2 liter?

 

Anybody have a source for the o-ring / injector tip?  Used PT injector?

 

I can't believe I gave up beer for lent.  :-(

 

Thanks in advance for your advice,

 

- Jeremy