I haven't seen such a DIY yet on toyotanation, not with photos anyways.
since i had to remove my fuel injectors for cleaning, flow testing and balancing i decided to shoot a few pics and describe the process, so others can benefit
My car is gen1 2000 Solara SE i4 (5s-fe california specs). in fact that model shares same chassis, engine and transmission as any gen4 2000 Camry i4. I guess it will be very much similar for all 5s-fe engines.
It took me maybe 30-45 mins to remove injectors, starting the process with a running car - now dead in parking lot
Remember, you will have to open the valve cover, otherwise i can't even imagine getting access to damper nut and 2 fuel rail mounting bolts on the back of the cylinder head. so it might be a good time to replace your valve cover gasket and spark plug tube nut seals as well, maybe replacing the PCV valve and grommet too if you haven't done this yet.
Tools needed:
-regular pliers (for loosening & moving hose clamps)
-30mm socket 1/2'' drive for spark plug tube nuts (
I used a loaner part from autozone: OEM axle nut socket 30mm p/n 27053) $20 deposit
-10mm socket with 1/4'' drive ratchet (e.g. mini toolbox from Walmart is fine) $9 or so
-
3/8'' torque wrench (e.g. 5-80ft-lbs, $15.99 on promo in HFT) for re-installation part of DIY,
you will also need a 1/2'' adapter, good set in Harbor Freight Tools at $2.99
-19mm (? maybe 20 or 21mm ?) regular wrench or crest wrench (small/medium size) for damper banjo, few $ in local autozone
-12mm flare nut wrench or angled box end wrench for fuel rail mounting bolts,
good set in HFT at $9.99
Prerequisites:
a) leave car running parked in a place where it can stay safe (dead for a week if you planning to send injectors for cleaning like i do).
b) open your fuel tank door and release pressure by loosening the fuel tank cap.
c) open the hood and open the engine compartment fuse box on driver side.
d) while car is still running, pull the EFI fuse (15A on my car) out and let it die. this process drops the fuel pressure in fuel lines AND it disables the whole Electronic Fuel Injection circuit.
sorry for crappy quality of this pic, will try taking a better one some other time.
e) if your ride has a crossbar installed on strut mounts above the engine (like mine does), you have to remove it in order to get a better access to top of cylinder head area. it's held by only 4 bolts (14mm, regular socket will do, torque for re-installation is ~50ft-lbs)
Rail and Injectors removal steps:
1. disconnect the battery negative terminal, you can also secure it e.g. with masking tape.
2. unplug all spark plug wires, you will have to remove them from plastic clip holders as well. take a pic before touching them, so you won't have trouble re-installing them in correct spots and order. as you can see the plug wires clip on top of between cylinder #2 & 3 is broken off. i did it when forcing wires out in a harsh way (using one hand). be gentle with them
replacement from dealer is probably a few $ only, but i was too lazy to get it.
3. release and move clamps on 2 PCV hoses sliding them to center, unplug PCV hoses from PCV valve on top and driver side of valve cover.
4. use 30mm socket to remove tube nuts.
you will need a 3/8'' torque wrench for re-installation (17ft-lbs in 3 equal passes of 7, 13 and 17ft-lbs, starting from middle ones first then outer ones). since 30mm socket is usually 1/2'' drive, you will need an adapter to fit it on 3/8'' ratchet.
5. use a small flat screwdriver to pry the tube nut seals out and remove them. be careful not to scratch anything. put them aside in same order, so you can match them when reinstalling.
6. loosen 2 top bolts mounting the timing belt cover (10mm socket, 1/4'' drive ratchet fits the area). you don't have to remove them, the idea is to only slide the wire harness clips off them, nothing more.
7. move wiring harness aside.
this is a picture of valve cover not being held by anything now:
8. pull the valve cover up. if it's never been touched then you may need to use a large flat screwdriver to pry it a little, being careful not to scratch the matting surfaces and not to damage the gasket (if planning to re-use).
you may also need to turn the throttle linkage (just like accelerating engine) to pass the bolt and pull the cover out completely.
9. disconnect 4 electrical connectors sitting on all 4 injectors. you have to press the middle flap down and pull plug's body up at same time.
10. unclip the wiring harness from 2 hangers and try to push it up above the metal hangers, so you can get space to work on fuel rail. you may have to move individual connector wires up and hide them behind the harness, so they don't disturb you when working on fuel rail.
11. now you need to release the fuel pressure by loosening the fuel rail damper on right side.
mine was never touched, and i didn't have the correct wrench for that. i think it is a 19mm nut, flare nut wrenches won't fit, you need regular wrench..
i ended up using a crest wrench. this nut was never touched on my car, so it took some monkey force to loosen it (counterclockwise). once done, you will notice some fuel rushing out of it (it's good).
12. loosen the nut completely with fingers and move it aside. be careful not to loose 2 metal gaskets sitting on both sides of banjo.
13. remove 2 bolts holding the fuel rail to cylinder head. they are 12mm and angled flare nut wrenches come in handy here! it takes a little force to loosen them (torque spec is only 9ft-lbs on my ride). remove them with fingers.
passenger side:
driver side:
14. now there is literally nothing holding your fuel rail and injectors are attached to it with rubber o-rings only. pull it back GENTLY, rotate it a little toward you while pulling further up to remove completely from engine.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO DROP THE INJECTORS !!! YOU WILL DAMAGE THEM IF THAT HAPPENS!
To remove injectors from a rail, simply twist and pull. Picture of my current injectors:
and the dirty one (#3) screwing up my fuel trims and making my ride burn +20% more fuel:
15. that's it. now secure the opening in engine block and damper with something like paper towels plugs sitting in injectors holes. I used masking tape to secure my "plugs" to block.
i covered damper with a plastic bag.
clean old injectors and replace all grommets and o-rings with new ones or install new injectors if you have them handy ... or send your current setup to a professional fuel injectors cleaning shop. if planning to send for service, then wrap them up in paper towels, secure with masking tape, mark them (#1, 2 and so on) and put them in plastic bags to avoid any fuel spillage.
Shops like RC Engineering (RC Fuel Injectors in Torrance, CA) will measure the volume output of each injector, clean them by putting in a chemical & ultrasound bath and then calibrate them to stay in 3% range of each other ($24/each). they will also replace all rubber grommets and o-rings for plug&play re-installation.
New injectors are very expensive, new OEM online ~$130 each, cheap aftermarket is not an option for me. This is the reason i chose keeping OEM parts and having them professionally tested, cleaned and calibrated off-car by a professional shop.
While you send you injectors out for cleaning, it is a good idea to close the engine up and put everything (doesn't have to be tight) back together for the time being.
Installation is the reverse of removal.
Have a cold one
P.S. Total cost of tools needed was around $50, but if you work on cars you probably have all of them by now
Instead of getting new injectors for total of $520 ($130 each ordered online, no tax, free shipping) I chose to send my own ones for testing & cleaning service (total $140 including 2nd Day shipping both ways).
I don't even want to know how much a local dealer would charge for those and how much a local shop could charge for labor (IF they could clean them on their own, i think they'd rather replace them) ...
Disclaimer:
If you screw up something or hurt yourself…that’s your fault. Neither myself nor TN are responsible for any injury, damage, or even death caused by this DIY
DIY Fuel rail & injectors removal - 4cyl i4 5s-fe gen4 camry - PICS !
it means that car was fed by dirty fuel filter for 35k miles past change interval (every 30k miles) ... and both prev owner and I used to run it on cheap regular fuel ... but that's past, now i fill her up only at Shell, Exxon or BP using mostly mid-grade 
, that's called strategic thinking 
The other day I needed a rubber end cap for my plug wire on #1 cylinder (that one especially tends to dry out and crumble) and worse, it got stuck in the plug tube which took some doing to get it out. I found a couple good ones, and the girl at the register looked at them and said no charge for those. That's good karma, practice it.
Goldie
Piece of Crap
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