F40 Fuel Injector Removal

My F40 is pulsing a little bit at idle. When FOA did the major in January I discussed this issue with the Tech and he thought that after a couple of tanks of gas with fuel injector cleaner it should be good so FOA never pulled the injectors. (The car sat for a period of time in a small collection before I bought it last year and the gas that was left in the fuel filter was very discolored). In hind sight I should have requested they do this.

Its not bad, but like most Ferrari owners you want everything perfect.

There are 16 injectors burried under the manifold. It looks like the plumbing needs to be removed and the manifold taken off to access the fuel rails to get to the injectors.

Can anyone provide some advice on the difficulty on removing the injectors on an F40?

I'm pretty handy with these cars but am not a Ferrari mechanic by any means and it might just be better to let the shop do it or just live with it till the next belt change.

Apprecaite and help.

Drew Altemara

 

I am fine with FOA. When I picked up the car the tech mentioned the pulsing. The pulsing is very minor. He said to take them out, and send them out for cleaning would be over a thousand dollars.

He thought that running with a good quality fuel and something like Tehctron would cure the problem. Everything was above board. He was being cautious with my money.

The issue is that I still have very minor pulsing; so it was worse than we thought. It would not bother most people but like a lot of other Ferrari owners I am fanitical about how these cars work.

Now, does anyone know how much is involved in getting to these darn things.

And yes, nice problem to have. The car is incredible and I can't stop driving it.

Drew

 

You know that's a fair question about the plugs. Never thought of checking. I suspect they are fine but who knows. Would not hurt to check.

I have no fear to tear into the carbs on my Daytona or Boxer, setting timing, sending out the dizzy for calibration, etc., but for some reason all this plumbing on the F40 makes me nervous.

I suspect the hardest part of getting to the injectors is removing all the plumbing so you can remove the manifold on top.

The injector appears to be expensive and what looks like a complicated injector so I don't know if you can just send them out to Mr. Injector.

That's an expensive car and before I go tearing into it I'm just looking for a little guidance even if the guidance is "Drew, you are in way over your head, take it to someone to do it".

I'm hoping one of the guys that have serviced these cars chime in.

By the way, I miss JRV as well. I got to know him when I lived in Houston. Sometimes cantankerous but he did know how to keep these cars running and in good order.

 

Dave,

Is removing the manifold fairly straight forward? There looks to be a fair amount of plumbing but after disconnecting the clamps from the throttle bodies it looks like it should come right off.

Then unbolt the fuel rail and the injectors pop out. Am i going down the right path?

Drew

 

Thanks for the comments guys.

But I do have to admit that after posting in the technical section I am a little dismayed that no one has answered the question.

After from removing the plumbing, the intercoolers and manifold you should have access to the fuel rail and injectors. Was just looking for a little help and support.

Regards,

Drew

 

I thought I'd post some progress on this as there is little out there on removing the fuel injectors on the F40.

Some notes:

Its not a complicated job but a long, grungy, tight job that eventually gets you to a "while you are in there mentality".

I had previously removed the shielding for the waste gate as I followed the TimF40 tutorial to clean up the membrane. My membrane was fine - I did clean it though and I lightly lubricated the waste gate shaft. (And by the way, that little nut with a keeper that holds the diaphram mechanism to the shaft comes of with a air inpulse gun set at low level). I also replaced the BOVs as they were getting sticky and were cheap. After I did this I did not notice any performance difference as everything was OK. Anyhow, good preventative maintenance.

To get to the fuel injectors you have to remove the manifold. To remove the manifold you have to remove the intercoolers. The intercooler removal is straight forward.

The manifold removal is another story. Conceptually easy but mechanically challenging. You remove the stainless clamps on the eight manifolds. Four are addressed from the rear of the car and the front four are from inside by removning the firewall. There are metal C clamps that have to be popped off the rubber piece that mates the manifold to the throttle bodies. These are a pain in the rear. Don't dare drop one. After about 6 hours you can lift the manifold about a half inch and slide it rearwards - success.


PS: take lots of pictures along the way and take pleanty of notes. There is a lot of plumbing to remove. Mark it, photo it, diagram it!

Now you have access to the fuel rails and injectors. Remove the fuel rails and pop out the inecjtors. Send them out to RC Fuel Injection in California and start clean and replacing stuff that has not been addressed in 20 years because you have to remove the manifold to get to it.

With the manifold off you can address the hose in the V that runs between the engine and thermostat. All my other water hoses and fuel hoses had been replaced previously. But this one would have gone eventually. You can also clean up the inside of the throttle bodies being careful not to get anything down the throats. I remember doing this on my NSX throttle body a couple of years ago and the difference was dramatic - guess we'll see when everything goes back together.

Also now is a good time to address and lubricate the accelerator mechanism.

David Helms provided some good information, help and tips along the way and I am grateful to him for taking time to share his information. I need to repay this debt.

My car did not seem to be as bad as some of the others David sees. My fuel and water hoses were new and after draining the fuel tanks there was zero debris in them. I suspect this has been addressed at some other time. And I know FOA replaced the fuel and water hoses (except the one in the V) last year.

I contemplated going with the gold connector kit David sells but just don't trust myself with all the wire cutting and crimping. David told me that his customers notice improved around town throttle response and I believe him. At this time I just don't want to cut the wires and my around town throttle response is very good. I did clean all the contacts and put electrical cleaner/lubricant on them. I may eventually regret this decision but I was worried about causing more harm than good. If its an issue, David can address it later as I am convinced to only let him do my next major service.

If you remember the reason I wanted to remove the fuel injectors was that I had some mild pulsing at idle. My fuel injectors definately benefited from the cleaning. See results below - remember there are 16 of these - two per throttle body. I am just posting the left side, The right was similar.

I've got everything clean and lubricated and over the next two weeks will be putting her back together.

I am very curious what I'm going to find performance wise as the fuel injectors definately needed a cleaning and I think cleaning up the throttle bodies will help.

I am wondering though with the increased flow if I will have to have the car retuned. Does the F40 fuel management system monitor O2 and adjust A/F ratio or is this set manually? Now I am really in over my head. Anyone, with some knowledge, got any thoughts on this?

I know people like pictures but quite frankly my cheap camera will not do close ups well.

I'll try to post some of the clearer pics late tonight.

Regards,

Drew Altemara
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Thanks for the reply guys. I got everything together over the past couple of weeks. Checked everything and cranked her up. One burst on the starter for 5 seconds, then a second and purring like a kitten. Warmed her up for about 10 minutes looking for fuel leaks. Put in the fire wall and seats and took her around the block with big fire extinguisher in passengers seat. Everything good so far.

Time to hit the open road. Idle is good - will see if it remains that way. Much better throttle response on both low and high end. I suspect cleaning the throttle bodies may have helped on the low end.

The car is definately quicker by the seat of the pants feel. Hard to be objective as I don't have any comparitive data. I also, curiously, seem to have about a pound or two more boost. Use to peak out at around 17psi, now hitting almost 19 psi on to gauge. Will check all hoses again. Though I cleaned the waste gate I did not move the screw that sets the spring. But dam, it was fast before, better now - it was definately worth the trouble. It is not a hard job - just a PITA job

I've tuned my carbed cars before (Daytona and Boxer). The F40 looks similar in that you have to get all the throats pulling the same vacuum by adjusting the idle screw and then matching up the throttle body to throttle body.

It looks like from reading the manual that you have to use an SD reader to set the CO as it attaches to the two ECU's in the cabin - am I right on that or can I just use a CO exhaust gas analyzer and adjust as I tune the throttle bodies comparing vacuum, ear and CO reading? It looks like it would take all day to get it right - at least it did on the Dayton and Boxer.


I'm going to enjoy driving her for a while before I take the next step. Air is cooler now and the car just loves the cool dense air.

Again, appreciate the replies and help.

Drew Altemara