[Joseph Upson]

I am afraid that not an option right now..to make things worst I have broken one of the bolts of the rail while tighten it . My next step will be taking it to the a shop,after trying to drive it as it is ..

is changing fuel injectors supposed to be this hard ? I mean it feels like who ever engineered it didn’t expect someone to be changing the injectors without taking the motor out

It's a consequence of the design. Those high pressures have to be contained in the fuel rail and in the combustion chamber which the injectors are amazingly directly connected to. If the injector seal is breached as a result of injector movement, you leak combustion gases, if fuel leaks as a result of a failed connection/part, you may get a fire. That's why so many parts on the high pressure fuel rail side are one time use.

The intake ports are high flow plus the dual intake valves and that stuff takes up a lot of space. The LLT 3.6L injectors are a challenge to remove, but not quite as bad as the LFX arrangement which the 3.0L is along with its different rail arrangement and injector retaining clips. There is a specific sequence to removal and installation for this process.

 

[Rabea]

Ok … so after you all got me scared , I’ve decided to do it the right way with the clips.
Removed the broken nut for holding the rail, ordered a new one but as for the then i will do without it.

removed the coolant pipe as suggested ! It made taking them out at least easier

Now am going to reinstall the clips and try to insert the rails with the clips !

Just one question .. dropped some gasoline while talking out the rails in between where the rails go and also on the wiring to the injectors … is there any risk for starting a fire when i a run the engine when i’am done ?

 

[CTS Wagon 3.0]

I am sure it will evaporate

 

[Rabea]

So finally finished with the job !!! It was a pain in the butt to get those rails with the clips back in place .. it took me hours
won’t have done it without your input, thank you!

the only thing that is missing is one bolt for the rails I have broken

So you guys think its crucial I get a new bolt and install it ? It seems to be held down really tight, I tightened the bolts to 18lbs

 

[Nonsmiley]

I would say definitely replace this bolt. This fuel system is high pressure, and the missing bolt isn't holding the injector as tight as it needs to be. A fuel leak could be catastrophic.

 

[NorthernSRX]

Yeah. Order a new one. In a pinch, you could try to find an identical bolt from elsewhere in the car that isn't doing as critical a job and then later replace that bolt with a new one.

 

[Rabea]

I found the bolt holding the battery similar but shorter. Ordered a new one from ebay.

Is there anyway to detect small fuel leaks with a bidirectional scanner ? Just to make sure i didn’t mess anything up

 

[Rabea]

And also i keep getting this p0420 code , it was there before i changed the injectors and I thought changing them would fix it.

it appeared after I drove it for a while

any thoughts on what should I do next ? O2 sensor ?

 

[CTS Wagon 3.0]

I got my injectors and rail in today. Picked up a torque wrench tonight and will hopefully get it all back together this weekend. What a major pain in the ass. Whoever says there is a easy way to twist and turn this fuel rail in and out, I want to see it.

Loosened thermostat housing, thermostat housing pipe bolt and pulled the pipe away, removed fuel rail spacers (spacers that align the fuel rail bolts, removed electrical line clips from rail and let dangle, straightened the electrical line holder tab (metal piece that holds the clip in place, and gave it a little/lot of force to get it in. Praying for good results.

 

[Rabea]

Like you said there is no easy way to do it, I was wondering if GM has a way or speciality tool to do it , otherwise it would also take hours at the shop.

Removing the thermostat housing and coolant pipe was a major help in all of this. also the spacers, which without removing them i think it would be impossible.
the second time i did the clips it took be two minutes for a clip rather than 30-40 minutes the first time.

If you having done so already, make sure you tighten those 3 high pressure lines coming out of the high pressure fuel pump and the rail pressure sensor, mine leaked and had to re do it.

now i have to figure out that p0420 code , i don’t know if its connected to all of this

 

[CTS Wagon 3.0]

So did the injectors fix anything?

 

[Rabea]

So did the injectors fix anything?

The car definitely drives better, but its hard to tell if its because of the injectors only because I also changed the gaskets for the intake manifold, cleaned the throttle body and its gasket, and also cleaned the mass airflow sensor.

but the code p0420 stayed.. its such a generic code it could mean lots of things. I am going to start with changing bank 1 sensor 2 oxygen sensor.

 

[redheadedrod]

With the coolant line removed and the small fuel pressure line and sensor off the fuel rails should come out reasonably easy and should go back in the same way. Don't remove those alignment pegs. All you need to do is pull the injectors loose then the whole rail slides either forward or backwards about 2 inches and it comes right out. To install reverse. One side slides forward, the other backwards.

I snapped one of the bolts off when I was doing mine. Luckily the dealer had them on hand and I was able to drill out and use an easy out on the old bolt. I was tightening mine down if I remember right and I had not set my torque wrench correctly.

Clips are a PITA to remove, even more so to reinstall. I don't know if its possible to get the clips back on without bending them without the $300 tool GM has for it.

It is VERY important to get all the clips and the bolts back on. When I was checking the pressure on my car the pressure got up to about 3200psi at higher RPM. Without the clips the injectors will separate at the rail and leak on your engine compartment. Without the bolts, the injectors will back out of the holes they are in as the combustion chamber is high pressure as well. (Thus the reason for the high pressure injectors...) I have been told you can get away with reusing the high pressure bridging line if you are using a new one and have to remove it while you are doing this job. I swapped out my HPFP first thinking it was the problem without checking the injectors. In my case one of the injectors was bad. I sent them in to be cleaned and tested and one ended up being toast. The other 5 I reinstalled. Seems like the clip I used vise grips, a regular pair of pliers and a larger flat head screw driver and it still took me like 3-4 hours to get the clips off and a little longer to get them back on.

My clips were slightly bent but they still do the job. The biggest issue is now the ticking you hear when the engine is running is louder because they move around a little more than they would with unbent clips. Note when I say bent, if you compare one to a new one you can see the difference. Installed they look pretty much the same.

 

[CTS Wagon 3.0]

I got it all back together and it’s running even worse!!! I checked voltage and my car was only creating about 11 volts while running. Took it for a drive around the block and when I got home I only had about three starts until my battery died. Took the alternator off which is equally a pain in the ass, went to 4 different parts stores to test it and sure enough, nobody could test it because they couldn’t figure out how to mount it to their machines. It’s maddening because they have the pieces to mount it, they just couldn’t figure it out.

Anyways, I bought the new alternator and will try to get it on. I am wondering if all my issues were a bad alternator. I know that sounds crazy but I have read several stories of low voltage causing weird problems.

 

[tinman]

I got it all back together and it’s running even worse!!! I checked voltage and my car was only creating about 11 volts while running. Took it for a drive around the block and when I got home I only had about three starts until my battery died. Took the alternator off which is equally a pain in the ass, went to 4 different parts stores to test it and sure enough, nobody could test it because they couldn’t figure out how to mount it to their machines. It’s maddening because they have the pieces to mount it, they just couldn’t figure it out.

Anyways, I bought the new alternator and will try to get it on. I am wondering if all my issues were a bad alternator. I know that sounds crazy but I have read several stories of low voltage causing weird problems.

And it does. We're pulling for you

 

[Rabea]

With the coolant line removed and the small fuel pressure line and sensor off the fuel rails should come out reasonably easy and should go back in the same way. Don't remove those alignment pegs. All you need to do is pull the injectors loose then the whole rail slides either forward or backwards about 2 inches and it comes right out. To install reverse. One side slides forward, the other backwards.

I snapped one of the bolts off when I was doing mine. Luckily the dealer had them on hand and I was able to drill out and use an easy out on the old bolt. I was tightening mine down if I remember right and I had not set my torque wrench correctly.

Clips are a PITA to remove, even more so to reinstall. I don't know if its possible to get the clips back on without bending them without the $300 tool GM has for it.

It is VERY important to get all the clips and the bolts back on. When I was checking the pressure on my car the pressure got up to about 3200psi at higher RPM. Without the clips the injectors will separate at the rail and leak on your engine compartment. Without the bolts, the injectors will back out of the holes they are in as the combustion chamber is high pressure as well. (Thus the reason for the high pressure injectors...) I have been told you can get away with reusing the high pressure bridging line if you are using a new one and have to remove it while you are doing this job. I swapped out my HPFP first thinking it was the problem without checking the injectors. In my case one of the injectors was bad. I sent them in to be cleaned and tested and one ended up being toast. The other 5 I reinstalled. Seems like the clip I used vise grips, a regular pair of pliers and a larger flat head screw driver and it still took me like 3-4 hours to get the clips off and a little longer to get them back on.

My clips were slightly bent but they still do the job. The biggest issue is now the ticking you hear when the engine is running is louder because they move around a little more than they would with unbent clips. Note when I say bent, if you compare one to a new one you can see the difference. Installed they look pretty much the same.

For the clips after a lot of sweat and frustration figured a way not to bend them without the tool, its similar to what i saw on youtube for a v6 impala, You basically first insert the horseshoe like clip inside the bigger clip, and with the injector inside its port you start twisting the clip sideways until it snaps on, it hard to explain without a video.
i had more trouble with reinstalling the rails

 

[Rabea]

I got it all back together and it’s running even worse!!! I checked voltage and my car was only creating about 11 volts while running. Took it for a drive around the block and when I got home I only had about three starts until my battery died. Took the alternator off which is equally a pain in the ass, went to 4 different parts stores to test it and sure enough, nobody could test it because they couldn’t figure out how to mount it to their machines. It’s maddening because they have the pieces to mount it, they just couldn’t figure it out.

Anyways, I bought the new alternator and will try to get it on. I am wondering if all my issues were a bad alternator. I know that sounds crazy but I have read several stories of low voltage causing weird problems.

what were the symptoms you started out with ? Are are you getting any codes?

 

[redheadedrod]

These cars are very sensitive to low voltages...

You will have a lot of weird codes throw when a battery is getting old long before it shows bad on a tester. I would have to believe would be worse with a bad alternator. Not sure why you say the alternator is hard to remove... Has just 3 bolts. If you get under the car the alternator is easy to swap out. From the top side it is a PITA.