We receive many requests to have Common Rail injectors tested, and the comment we most often receive is "Why is this so expensive?".

Common Rail injectors are very complex, and a proper test should include a complete flow test.  Our test procedure includes:

• A pop test:  This simply involves pressurizing the injector inlet with a conventional nozzle tester (see our setup here) and firing the injector using an electronic control box.  This test is inexpensive to do, but is limited in what this tells us about the condition of the injector.  This test will indicate if the nozzle is firing properly, if any holes are plugged in the nozzle, or if there is any nozzle seat leakage.  If an injector has a problem with excessive return leakage, or a low pressure leak this "may" also be evident with this simple pop test.  If the injector fails any of these tests, there is no point in going any further.  However, an injector that passes all these tests may still have further problems.

• A flow test:  An injector flow test involves mounting the injectors to a rail and running them using a very expensive test bench designed for this purpose.  This procedure is more involved than a simple pop test, and since it takes considerably more time it is also more expensive!  This flow test provides fuel flow values under various conditions, including idle, pre-injection, part load and full load.  This test also includes a high pressure leak test, as one of the most common issues with common rail injectors are high pressure leaks. Return fuel problems are also easily detected when running the injectors on a test stand.

A complete and proper flow test for a set of 8 injectors will take several hours including the time to install/remove the injectors and the high pressure pump from the test stand.  However, testing only 1 or 2 injectors will take almost the same amount of time, as most of the time is spent doing machine setup.  Since we use a special high pressure pump to test your injectors, there will also be additional charges to test your high pressure pump, as it is tested independent of your injectors.

All of our remanufactured Common Rail injectors are tested using both methods to insure the quality product that our customers have come to expect.  Don't settle for anything less!