2015 DD13 Rebuild, part 1

This week we officially began disassembly of our 2015 DD13. This engine uses an amplified common rail fuel system. Following our midterm which involved tagging parts on this and other engines in our shop, we began disassembly.

Service information was helpful determining how we were to remove the fuel system. The high pressure fuel feed lines running from the rail to the injectors needed to be removed as well as electrical connections. The lines are fitted to the head with a line nut and a bracket. Unfortunately this setup does not accommodate us easy access, much like our coolant line fitting at the water pump on the N-14 Cummins in a previous post, here we once again break out the crow's foot wrench and ratchet.

Following the removal of electrical and fuel lines, the next step is removal of the actual injectors. Detroit Diesel Power Service Literature recommends a special tool be used for this, but we do not have this tool so we are looking into other options.

Below are a few of the pictures I took of the fuel rail and lines, these will aid in reassembly so we know where everything goes.

Valve cover off, getting ready to remove fuel lines.

Loosened the fittings, paper towels help keep fuel spillage to a minimum.

There's the fuel filter module.

Some reflection:

I have always appreciated and been an advocate of service information since the first day I started using it. I have used it extensively in both our school shop and on my own personal projects. Without it, there are many times where we would spend an hour figuring out what we could have had done in 5 minutes, or worse, guessing at something.

With that said, there are certain times when the "text book" approach will not get the job done, or the tool required is not at hand. Perhaps the wiring diagram gives you wire colors which don't quite match what's in the vehicle.

Service information is a guide and a road map, one which usually puts us where we need to be, or very close to it. But we also have to be prepared to improvise, because sometimes we encounter situations where it's simply not in the text book.

It has been one of those weeks.