Old school trick I still use for tough injector cups

Been doing this 15 years now and I still see guys fighting with injector cups on older Cummins engines. My old mentor showed me this back in 2010 on a job in Denver where a cup was stuck bad. We got a cheap induction heater from Harbor Freight and heated the cup tube for about 45 seconds. Came right out with just a slide hammer and no drama. Anybody else got a weird one-off trick that still works way better than the fancy tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan6664d ago

That induction heater trick is solid. I keep a cheap one in my box too for injector cups and also for seized glow plugs on older 5.9s. Another one I do on the common rail injectors is hit the hold down clamp with a brass drift and a hammer a couple times before I even pull the nut. Breaks the corrosion seal and keeps the cup from twisting in the bore.

taylor.jessica4d ago

Man I feel this one hard. It took me way too many years to learn that lesson and I still kick myself for all the cups I fought with before someone showed me the heat trick. @rowan666 nailed it with the brass drift on the hold down clamp too, that's actually something I picked up from a guy on a job site in Wyoming last winter and it's saved me so much headache on the common rail stuff. The worst is when you think the cup is gonna come clean and then it twists the bore and suddenly you're pulling the head. There's something about that cheap Harbor Freight heater that just works even though every fancy tool I've bought from the truck brands felt like a ripoff in comparison. Honestly half the battle on these old engines is just knowing which shortcuts actually save time versus which ones make a bigger mess later.