Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

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Joe Piro
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Location: Columbia SC

Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby Joe Piro » Sun Oct 02, 2022 1:13 am

I am replacing all six fuel injectors at the same time on my 1995 Pathfinder.
The new injectors come with upper and lower o-rings, but they do not come with the spacer that goes between the injector assembly retaining cap or the spacer that goes in the bottom of the fuel injector holder on the fuel rail. The top one is combination rubber bonded to a metal plate and the bottom one is a rubber washer.
Nissan discontinued the bottom one (part number 16636-88G00) and replaced it with a new part number (16636-88G10).
The new bottom rubber washer is thicker and has a groove across it (I attached several photos below).
The new top spacer is 1.66 mm thicker than the old one which is a lot relatively speaking.
I have gotta confess: The bottom rubber washers were $12.18 each (net) from Nissan and I don't know if they are thicker with the groove too (or not).
And the Beck-Arnley kit from Rock-Auto including the two o-rings, the top spacer and the bottom washer and the fuel rail rubber rings between the rail and the intake manifold was only $6.


First of all.....If I put together a fuel injector with a new top and a new bottom spacer, the assembly is 1.76mm thicker than the existing ones I took apart.
Second......Not only is that a lot of rubber to force to fit by tightening the cap screws, but I don't know if the groove in the bottom washer will create a problem?
The attached photos explain it all.
Do you recommend I just re-use the old parts (after 225,000 miles)?
Or is it OK to compress the new parts almost 2 mm?
Or is there a better source for the original parts. (I tried to find the discontinued parts on Amazon Japan, but no luck!)
Sorry to be so wordy, but what is the solution? Thanks in advance for reading all this....
Attachments
Pathfinder Fuel Injection Bracket Gap.jpeg
Pathfinder Fuel Injector Assembly Order.jpeg
Pathfinder Fuel Injector Top Spacer.jpg
Pathfinder Fuel Injector Spacer New.jpg
Pathfinder Fuel Injector Spacer Old.jpg


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palmerwmd
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Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby palmerwmd » Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:32 am

Richard,

this question is beyond my abilities.
but I am sure someone else will come along

Joe Piro
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Location: Columbia SC

Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby Joe Piro » Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:08 pm

Hmmmmm... doesn''t seem like anyone else is coming along.
Hasn't anyone else had this problem?
Thanks,
Joe

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palmerwmd
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Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby palmerwmd » Wed Oct 05, 2022 6:42 pm

Joe Piro wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:08 pm
Hmmmmm... doesn''t seem like anyone else is coming along.
Hasn't anyone else had this problem?
Thanks,
Joe
Rich.
Sorry you havent had an authoritative answer yet.
I will forward a link to this thread to our Senior Nissan tech(s)

Joe Piro
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:04 am
Location: Columbia SC

Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby Joe Piro » Wed Oct 05, 2022 10:08 pm

Thank you very much.
I suppose most Pathfinder owners just re-use the old rubber parts when they replace fuel injectors, but some of my parts seem like the rubber has hardened and it's a lot of work to get to them under the intake manifold if there is a leak.

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palmerwmd
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Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby palmerwmd » Thu Oct 06, 2022 11:09 am

Rich I spoke to one of my 2 main guys on here about your concern.

He looked at your question but is not certain enough of his take on it to post it as an authoritative answer.
Waiting on the 2nd guy...

Joe Piro
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Location: Columbia SC

Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby Joe Piro » Thu Oct 06, 2022 1:35 pm

Thank you. I probably made it sound more complicated than it really is. I provided the numerous photos because a picture is worth a thousand words, etc., but maybe not.
As simple as I can explain it:
ONE: The most bottom seal against fuel leakage in the Pathfinder fuel injectors is a small o-ring. The new injectors come with the o-ring already installed.
Just above the o-ring there is a rubber washer. It sits between the bottom of the fuel injector and the metal bowl shaped thing on the fuel rail that the injector sits in.
Nissan discontinued the rubber washer and the new ones I got from Beck-Arnley are thicker and have a slot in them shown in the picture. I'm afraid the slot will create a path for fuel to leak out and besides the whole washer is thicker than the old one.
TWO: The rubber part (with an attached little metal part) that goes between the top of the fuel injector and the metal cap that is screwed in over it to hold it all in... that new rubber spacer that I also got from Beck-Arnley is thicker than the old one.
So Finally Three, ... If I install the fuel injectors with a thicker bottom washer with a strange slot in it, and a thicker top spacer, and it all including the injector is almost 2 mm thicker than before, am I going to break something if I force it all into the existing cup in the fuel rail where each injector goes? Or should I just screw it down and force it all in? The original parts, all stacked up measure 44.44 mm. The new parts all stacked up measure 46.2 mm. The new ones are 1.76 mm thicker. That's a lot of squeezin' for small parts.
Also, If the bottom rubber washer has a slot in it as shown in the photo, will that be a problem?

I think that's as simple as I can make it. If Nissan had not discontinued the correct parts there would not be a problem.

Really, thanks a million times for trying.

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VStar650CL
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Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby VStar650CL » Thu Oct 06, 2022 2:37 pm

Joe Piro wrote:
Thu Oct 06, 2022 1:35 pm
Just above the o-ring there is a rubber washer. It sits between the bottom of the fuel injector and the metal bowl shaped thing on the fuel rail that the injector sits in.
Nissan discontinued the rubber washer and the new ones I got from Beck-Arnley are thicker and have a slot in them shown in the picture. I'm afraid the slot will create a path for fuel to leak out and besides the whole washer is thicker than the old one.
One thing I can tell you for certain is that those washers don't seal anything. The two o-rings do that, the washers are simply cushions. I've never seen slotted ones, but they definitely won't cause or contribute to leakage. So while you shouldn't take it as gospel, my best appraisal is that they won't hurt anything. Vis the thickness, my bet is that your old ones simply became permanently squashed over years of vibration and heat cycling. They "took a set", as it were. Again, I can't offer gospel, but my opinion is that the new ones should compress harmlessly.

Joe Piro
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Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:04 am
Location: Columbia SC

Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby Joe Piro » Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:52 am

Thank you VStar650CL. I had not considered the possibility that these rubber parts had taken a set, but that is probably the case.
Thanks for suggesting that possibility (and probability).
I'm going to go ahead with assembly, making sure that the o-rings are new.
Thanks again to you and palmerwmd for your help on this site.

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palmerwmd
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Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby palmerwmd » Sun Oct 09, 2022 11:45 am

Joe Piro wrote:
Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:52 am
Thank you VStar650CL. I had not considered the possibility that these rubber parts had taken a set, but that is probably the case.
Thanks for suggesting that possibility (and probability).
I'm going to go ahead with assembly, making sure that the o-rings are new.
Thanks again to you and palmerwmd for your help on this site.
You are very welcome Sir.
We hope it all assembles fine. 8)

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VStar650CL
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Re: Discontinued Fuel Injector Rubber Spacers

Postby VStar650CL » Sun Oct 09, 2022 12:03 pm

Joe Piro wrote:
Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:52 am
Thank you VStar650CL. I had not considered the possibility that these rubber parts had taken a set, but that is probably the case.
Thanks for suggesting that possibility (and probability).
I'm going to go ahead with assembly, making sure that the o-rings are new.
Thanks again to you and palmerwmd for your help on this site.
You're most welcome, happy to help.


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