Here are some tips for assembling and servicing DT, DTEGR, and VT engines.

To unhook the injector harness from the valve cover/intake manifold, don’t use tools to pry on it. Just squeeze the sides and pull.

To release the injector harness pass-through from the valve cover, use a 1 3/16’’ 12pt socket. Just put the socket over the pass-through plug and push.

If the plastic fuel sediment bowl behind the fuel filter is too tight to turn off by hand, use a 1 1/4’’ box wrench.

Drain the high pressure oil manifold before you remove an injector. Remove the plug at the rear of the manifold with a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar or impact. If the oil isn't drained before an injector is removed the oil will fill the cylinder and the engine will hydrolock when you try to start it.

After a rebuild, injector change, or anything else that drains the high pressure oil system, leave the injector harness unplugged. Crank the engine until you get oil pressure, wait a minute, then crank twice more and connect the harness. This will get oil back into the rail, make fuel pressure, and the engine will start right up. Injectors can be damaged if they fire dry.

To release the injector pass through on the Ford 6.0/International VT 365/275 use a 12point, 19mm deep socket. Take the connector off at the head and put the socket over the pass through and push to unlatch the connector.

After an inframe or removing the high pressure manifold on EGR or VT engines it usually isn’t necessary to unhook the injectors during starting. Just prime the fuel system with the hand primer. Pump until there is significant resistance and bleed the air out from the Schrader valve at the front of the intake manifold. Repeat until no more air comes out the bleeder. When the engine starts let it idle until it is running smoothly. Hammering on the throttle right away can damage injectors.

Don’t install the vibration dampener by pulling it on with bolts. Just warm up the center of the hub to about 200 - 250 degrees F (no hotter!) and it will slide right on the crank nose.

Try a Lisle wrinkle-band piston ring compressor. I haven’t found anything that works quite as well, and they are inexpensive.

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