Hi Martin, like you I was a little unsure about the validity and engineering safety in using the Honda injector washers. But I have recently had all four of my 1999 108CDI’s injectors out – for the umpteenth time – to cure yet another leak, and on that occasion finally decided to use the Honda washers that I had bought earlier.

Needless to say, I wish I had known about them the first time round, and fitted them much sooner; they would have saved me an awful lot of time and effort. Since then the van has covered more than 500 hard motorway miles, and there is not a sign of the dreaded ‘chuffing’, or fumes in the cab.

I am not sufficiently qualified to comment on whether, with the Honda washers, the ‘stretch’ injector retaining screws will be performing exactly as per M-B intended, but there can’t be much difference, if any – and I concluded that I had nothing to lose by trying.

I have always fitted brand-new injector screws each time I have removed the injectors, by the way, and have taken great care to make sure that their threaded holes in the cylinder head are absolutely clean and dry before fitting them. I bought a specially long M6 tap for that purpose, gently winding it in and out with the aid of a piece of small-bore plastic pipe pushed tightly over the upper end of the tap.

Don’t forget the required torque for the injector screws: ie 7Nm, plus a further 90 degrees of rotation. (You will, of course, need a suitably low-scale torque wrench, probably with 1/4-inch drive. I bought one from Laser, via Amazon)

No less crucial than all that, though, is to make sure that the face at the bottom of the injector hole, against which sits the copper washer, is clean, smooth and flat. Again, Laser/Amazon do a seat cutter for this exact purpose. Omit that step – as I admit that I did the first couple of times I did this job – and you are pretty much wasting your time.

Finally, yes, I think it’s vital to use that special M-B ceramic grease. It’s quite expensive, as I recall, but do it by the book and you are giving yourself the optimum chance of success. I’m not sure what it’s meant to do (except, perhaps, prevent the injector stems corroding if they get wet, which is possible if the engine’s top cover is missing, like mine), but it will certainly help get the injectors out again if you ever need to.
Good luck,

Chris

Hi Stephen,
65611 will do the trick.
Regards
Steve

Hi Jay,
Thanks for the input, its a great read. Do you still get any warning in the form of the EDC lamp illuminating? I would have thought the fact that the valve was no longer opening closing and altering the manifold depression as it should would have been flagged and a code stored. Maybe not. Very interesting information for the memory banks – thank you.
All the best
Steve

Great news!
Regards Steve

Hi Beverley,
You have my sympathies.
If I were to guess, I would put my money on the injector seats being irregular and scored. Caused by previous leaking injectors. It is essential to inspect the seating surface in the head, as simply fitting a new copper washer/seal would not provide the suitable gas-tight seal required. Alloy is soft in respect of the cutting action of hot exhaust gasses under extreme pressure. It is quite a simple task to lightly recut and clean the injector seat with the correct tool. Just to give everything the very best chance of sealing, selecting the Honda copper washers is key, as they are a little softer in composition to the Mercedes OE ones and are able to distort/crush forgivingly on clamp down, helping to take out any remaining irregularities between the seat and injector body.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Steve

Thanks for the comments Les, that was a memorable call-out and its been a while since I have seen a filter quite that bad!.
All the best
Steve

Hi Bobi,
Some vin numbers are not listed, I stand a good chance of assisting if you can let me have the Becker serial number from the side of the radio.
All the best
Steve

Hi Steve,
Once the shoes and springs are all removed from the back plate (dust cover as you say) it is quite easy to give them a good going-over with a rotary wire brush on an electric drill. This will remove any rust and scale readying them for painting with a liberal covering of something like Hammerite or other rust preventing paint. Once it has fully dried, clean off the ‘raised’ areas where the shoes ride and pivot points (this can be done with a sharp knife or old woodworking chisel) these will ultimately be smeared with a thin coating of copper grease to assist the shoes travel on the back plate as they are applied and released.
Hope that helps.
All the best
Steve

Hi Mark,
Some vins are not listed, I stand a much better chance if you can let me have the Becker serial number from the side of the radio.
All the best
Steve