2004 R1150RS Reinstalling fuel injector

[MOONDOG59]

As part of troubleshooting a no start issue, I pulled the fuel injectors to swap them and can't put them back into fuel line back to the fuel regulator. Pushed with all my might and it wouldn't go back in. Installs OK in the cylinder. Old rubber? Special tool?

 

[PGlaves]

As part of troubleshooting a no start issue, I pulled the fuel injectors to swap them and can't put them back into fuel line back to the fuel regulator. Pushed with all my might and it wouldn't go back in. Installs OK in the cylinder. Old rubber? Special tool?

You may be able to push the injector back into the line if you oil the O ring. That has always worked for me even on Voni's 1994 model R1100RS. But if that fails to work for you then you have O rings on the injector bodies that are too hard and will need to be replaced. But try oil on the O rings first. I use Three-in-One or similar light oil.

 

[AntonLargiader]

I use a light wipe of silicone grease on all sorts of rubber bits on the bikes. Panel grommets, injector O-rings, quick disconnects, etc.

 

[happy wanderer]

Rubbing alcohol for me! I keep a small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol on my workbench and on my bike. Whenever I need to reinstall a fuel line or any friction fit rubber part I spray it with alcohol and things slide together like butter. Even hard old rubber parts will slide easily. The other thing I like is it evaporates away very quickly and leaves no trace to attract dirt later. 4 pack of bottled isopropyl alcohol at Costco is cheap like Borscht!

 

[blacque jacque shellacque]

Rubbing alcohol for me! I keep a small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol on my workbench and on my bike. Whenever I need to reinstall a fuel line or any friction fit rubber part I spray it with alcohol and things slide together like butter. Even hard old rubber parts will slide easily. The other thing I like is it evaporates away very quickly and leaves no trace to attract dirt later. 4 pack of bottled isopropyl alcohol at Costco is cheap like Borscht!

The rubber is slippery like butter because it is being dissolved by the alcohol. In my previous life I was a technician for mainframe computers and peripherals. The card readers, punches, printers, and tape drives of the day all had multitudes of rubbers parts to grip and move the cards, or the tapes. They all required occasional cleaning. We were trained to never use alcohol on rubber as it dries it out and hardens it. Silicon grease on rubber is the best bet.

 

[PGlaves]

Three In One or Silicone Grease works.

 

[MOONDOG59]

Thank you all for your responses. I tried the oil trick to no avail. Even my friend, a muscle bound monkey, was having a difficult time. Looks like new orings all around. Toying with the idea of replacing injectors but bike has only 47k+- on it. Bet they're expensive.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Silicone grease on anything fuel related on any vehicle with electronic sensors is not a good idea, as it can poison the sensors. A tiny amount will not hurt, but why take a chance. Vaseline is pretty safe.

Rod

 

[gsaddict]

Are you fishing out the O ring from the cup and reinstalling it on the injector prior to inserting?
I use Red Rubber Grease as a lube.

 

[beemermyke]

GSAddict, you may be on to something. It appeared that there was an o-ring down inside that cup, but didn't investigate further. This whole exercise in futility happened because Moondog and I did the dreaded brake bleed on both circuits on the bike two weekends ago. He disconnected the right side fuel injector electrical connector for easier access to the QDs on the fuel lines. After everything was put back together, the bike would not initially start; it just popped and sputtered. We managed to get it half-running yesterday, but not sounding very healthy we shut it off. Noted that the right side pipe was not hot but the left was. We verified fuel was going to both sides, so we were attempting to troubleshoot by swapping the injectors to see if the right side was the culprit. Thanks for that response. We'll check that out.

Regards,
"The Musclebound Monkey"

 

[MOONDOG59]

Well thank you GSAddict and my "muscle bound monkey" friend. I was seeing the "rubber" on the end of the injector and not looking any further.
I will look tonite after I pick up my three-legged cat named "Beemer" from the vets. He did have four legs until yesterday.

BMW doesn't make a trike so I am not sure if he can carry that moniker anymore...

 

[happy wanderer]

The rubber is slippery like butter because it is being dissolved by the alcohol. In my previous life I was a technician for mainframe computers and peripherals. The card readers, punches, printers, and tape drives of the day all had multitudes of rubbers parts to grip and move the cards, or the tapes. They all required occasional cleaning. We were trained to never use alcohol on rubber as it dries it out and hardens it. Silicon grease on rubber is the best bet.

That's interesting but there seems to be no rubber residue left after using it? As far as using it to get fuel lines on which will then be immersed in gasoline I doubt the tiny amount of alcohol is going to make a dent in the life of the rubber.

In any case, using silicone on rubber seals in the fuel injection system would likely damage the O2 sensor. Silicone of any kind should never be used anywhere near the O2 sensor. It ruins them and they are expensive.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Silicone grease on anything fuel related on any vehicle with electronic sensors is not a good idea, as it can poison the sensors. A tiny amount will not hurt, but why take a chance. Vaseline is pretty safe.

Rod

I've seen cases where petroleum greases damage the natural rubber that BMW uses for things like grommets and boots. You'd think, rubber on a vehicle should be resistant to petro products, right? So did I. Did.

 

[dieselyoda]

I've seen cases where petroleum greases damage the natural rubber that BMW uses for things like grommets and boots. You'd think, rubber on a vehicle should be resistant to petro products, right? So did I. Did.

When in doubt, I use ordinary dish soap.

 

[bthreatt]

I put a little oil on my finger and rubbed the ring between them. I also used fel pro orings as recommended on a site for cleaning the injectors. Like you, they were difficult to slide back on, but eventually got the line back on.

 

[MOONDOG59]

Oring found in injector fuel line. I thought it was part of the fuel line, a rubber cup like design that folded back on itself. New orings ordered. Thanks all.

 

[bp@sr9]

Are you fishing out the O ring from the cup and reinstalling it on the injector prior to inserting?
I use Red Rubber Grease as a lube.

+1 red rubber grease. also read that silicone will poison lambda sensors

 

[MOONDOG59]

Continuation troubleshooting of not running situation :

2004 BMW R1150RS ~47K. Installed Barbacks. (Note: 2-3 weeks prior to Barbacks install, I dropped bike on right side during parking lot maneuver, rode home no issues, no visible issues seen except for my pride

Installed longer new front brake line (and new rear brake line because it is 14 years old).

Fuel tank removed. Barbacks and new brake line installed. Brake system bled. Also removed disinegrating shrink wrap on numerous front harness lengths,
re-wrapped with tape and spiral wrap. (Note: fuel tank was stored on floor, rear end up)

Once brakes were bled, fuel tank re-installed for start and short ride for brake test. BUT Wait! One fuel QD found broken, changed that out.

Wouldn't start. Starter engaged, engine turns over but it would only fart, spit and backfire. Wouldn't idle. Ran very rough with starter engaged.

Fast forward to today with "Muscle-bound Monkey Man" and Tim the Pilot, we started to troubleshoot.

Swapped injectors, right cylinder cold.

Swapped coil sticks, right cylinder cold.

Inspected spark plugs on right side. Found piece of carbon on secondary spark plug. Primary plug looked ok.

Swapped out both plugs with known good plugs, right cylinder cold.

Tested spark at secondary and primary plugs, ok. right cylinder cold.

Fuel pressure "good" at injector. (Accidentally did not install fuel line on injector is how I know pressure was good

 

[PGlaves]

Check that the throttle cable is fully seated at the throttle body and at the other end too.

 

[MOONDOG59]

I checked that Paul. It's a wee bit crooked but looks set properly. Beemer myself alerted me earlier. I saw that on my K1100 once.