Had a guy at the parts counter tell me I was overthinking my injector swap

I was grabbing a new set of injectors for an old 7.3 Powerstroke at the Detroit Diesel dealer last Tuesday, and this retiree pipes up saying I should just clean the old ones and run them another 50k miles. He explained how he only ever replaced injectors if they showed metal shavings or a dead miss, and it hit me that I've been swapping parts way too early on these older engines. Has anyone else had a veteran mechanic talk you out of a repair that saved you money and time?

2 comments

2 Comments

piper_green1d ago

Hop over to the 12 valve forums and you'll find that pump leak is usually a return line o-ring, not the pump itself.

wrenwilson1d ago

That old timer probably saved you a bundle. I was gonna swap out my 12 valve's injection pump last year 'cause it was leaking a little, but a guy at the machine shop told me to just snug up the lines and run it. Two thousand miles later, still dry as a bone. We get so used to the whole "replace it before it breaks" mentality that we forget these old diesels will run on hopes and dreams if you let 'em.