So at the advice of one of the places I take my 89 GTA to, I bought these fuel injectors.

They were put in, and seemed ok for a while, but I started getting some smoke from the engine on initial start and took it to get looked at to a different place.

They said that these injectors don't fit right, that there is some clip system that normally keeps them in place, but my car doesn't have. I have also included pictures of the injectors in the car and you can see how they are in numerous vertical positions up and down.

After trying to adjust one as I was directed I now have gas spewing all over my engine when I go to start the car.

What I would like to know is, who screwed up here, my garage(s) or five0motorsport.com for listing them as fitting my car as an "upgrade" or am I just missing a needed adapter or clip that will make them fit properly. Or is it on me for not knowing better?

 

If your car is an 89 trans am and you have a stock intake they are not going to be plug and play. They are going to spew fuel all over because they are bosch lll's and they are too short. They will fit an LS1 but not a stock set up for an 89 gta. You don't need a "clip system" either. Give us a call and we'll tell you what to do to fix it. They are either going to need our adapter on the bottom or you can just add another oring.
We'll help you out

516-442-4707

 

Thank you. I just shot a message through your website for more details. Thank you!

 

I have 24 lb injectors from Southbay. They are excellent and the price/service was top notch. I used a 22 lb set on a friend's vette with similar excellent results.

They are loud though - due to the bank fired design if the Tuned Port system it fires 4 injectors at a time and the clicking of these Bosch III's adds up. It will sound a bit like there's a lifter tick. Not to worry though this is normal. If anyone asks - "Because Race Car".

$60 per injector? Holy cap man! That's insane. Don't go back to that shop. They should have never let it leave like that. And they ripped you off if you paid that kind of price.

GD

 

Left you a voicemail and responded to your email.

 

Thanks man. Happy they worked out well. Unfortunately some of the bosch lll's do make that loud clicking noise. I know it's a pia for some of you guys, however it has nothing to do with the function of the injector.

 

Another eeeeeeeeezy fix is to just grind/wizz-wheel a bit off the little boss thing the fuel rail sits down on. 1/8" or just a bit more will do it. If you ever decide to put the longer stockers back in, just stack up a few washers on there.

The clips really do help... theoretically once the thing is put together they aren't needed at all; but they REALLY DO help out during assembly, keeping the whole thing from falling apart while you worm it in there. They just make life that much eeeeeezier. You can pick em up off of about ANY vehicle(s) at yer local buzzard nest.

 

I didn't miss the clips. No modern cars have them really. Everything is held in by rail pressure now. The Southbay Bosch III's have adaptors on them to extend them to fit the TPI rails. No issues with anything falling out during assembly. The o-rings hold them in place just fine.

Rick

 

Hey guys, yeah sadly I am not super good with doing this stuff myself, I am more of a computer guy than a car guy as far as DIY goes. So I try to learn what I can online, and pass that information onto whatever garage I might try at the time, sometimes it helps, sometimes its a disaster.

This particular endevour with the fuel injectors was more of a disaster. I probably have about $1500 now into getting these on the car (between buying the injectors themselves ($500), having one garage install them ($500 labor), and having my every day place trying to fix the leak (another $500 in labor to take the whole thing apart and put it back together for no reason) and I am still not done yet. Now just have gas spewing everywhere because I tried to shimmy one myself that was leaking a bit just to make it drivable, and only made it worse. I'll have to be getting it towed to the garage this time, I don't trust the amount of gas coming out to drive it there.

Hopefully the adapters do the trick.

 

Shops in your area must be expensive. It doesn't take all that long to do injectors. You can find kits on eBay, etc to replace the plenum and runner bolts with stainless socket head's. This, and a ball-tipped 1/4" drive socket make a world of difference in getting to all the bolts. Once that's done I would say it's no more than an hour or two to change injectors.

Maybe someone on the forum here knows a shop in your area that's familiar with TPI. It doesn't seem like the places you are taking it have any experience with these.

The second shop should not have taken if apart, let alone charged you for it, if they did not know the problem and how to fix it.

GD

 

Listen,,, all you need is another oring on the bottom of the injector to make it the correct height. You can do this. Look at the bottom of the injector. There should be a plastic piece that is holding the oring ring in place. Right above that oring there's a groove. Just put another oring in that groove. Install into the intake and make sure that the second oring sits on the outside of the intake. It just acts as a spacer and will give you the exact height that you need. Lubricate the upper orings with some liquid dish soap and lower down the rail....your leak will stop. Don't let someone else charge you an arm and a leg for a simple fix. Other option...send the injectors to us...we'll apply our adapters to the bottom...NO CHARGE! That will solve your problem as well.

 

uggghh...sorry didn't know that you already spoke with Frank this morning. Well it seems as though we both gave you the same advice anyway......LOL

 

So I just went ahead and bought new injectors from you guys, figuring, what could go wrong, just in case, may as well replace them with new ones. My garage replaced them, and they fit great but the car runs horribly. Not sure if its rich or lean.

The injectors from the other place were " 22.75 lbs/hr at 43.5 PSI" The ones I just got from you guys are "22.3LB/Hour 232cc/mn at 43.5Psi"

I didn't expect that .45 to make that big of a difference. Do I need to get this tuned again or is something else the issue?

 

It should not make enough of a difference that the ECM can't easily compensate. I highly doubt the injectors are your issue. I put in 24 lb injectors on my 305 (originally equipped with 19's) and though I did install a chip at the same time, it was a chip that was setup over the internet for me as I didn't yet have my Moates.net equipment to do it myself. It ran GREAT and he had reservations about the flow rates being adequate.

Realistically, if the injectors are within a pound I think you would be hard pressed to even tell by listening to how it runs. The ECM has the ability to adjust quite a bit and would pull a little fuel or add a little fuel. That's what the O2 sensor is for - it allows the computer to adjust for changing conditions and aging sensors, injectors, etc. Less than half a pound flow rate is not the issue. That much I can tell you. Now that's assuming they *are* what the box says they are (most likely, but shipping and boxing mistakes happen so definitely verify), and that what you pulled out was what you think it was. I would be looking for another cause after you double check that you installed 22's.

Oh and I put the 22's from Southbay in a 1990 Vette for a friend. Ran like a CHAMP and that car has a stock ECM with no tuning.

GD

 

hey i'm sorry you're having a problem. .45 will not make a difference at all.
You should not have to retune the car. Can you give me more info?
Tell me exactly what's happening