Swapped my old injector puller for a slide hammer set on a job in Tulsa

I always used the old screw-type injector puller on 7.3 Powerstrokes. Worked fine for years, no complaints. But last week I had a 2000 Ford with a stuck injector that would not budge. After 45 minutes of wiggling and cussing, I borrowed a buddy's slide hammer set from his truck. Popped that thing out in maybe 3 minutes tops. I was dead set against slide hammers cause I figured they'd damage the bore, but he showed me the right adapter and it came out clean. I ordered my own set that night. Has anyone else been converted to a different tool for a job you thought you had figured out?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_drew6d ago

Is it just me or does every toolbox have that one tool you're way too loyal to for no good reason? I was the same way with my old ratcheting screwdriver, swore by it for years, then borrowed a buddy's impact driver on a seized caliper bracket bolt and had it out in under a minute. Made me feel like I'd been doing things wrong for a decade. @the_lucas you nailed it about that humbling feeling, I spent the next weekend going through my whole box wondering what else I was missing. Now I'm looking at my old tubing cutter sideways and thinking there's gotta be a better way.

the_lucas6d ago

Man I feel you on that. "After 45 minutes of wiggling and cussing" - that hit way too close to home. I had a similar deal with my old impact driver, thought it was perfect for everything until I ran into a rusted bolt on a suspension job that just laughed at it. Switched to a breaker bar with a cheater pipe and felt like an idiot for not trying it years earlier. It's humbling when you realize you've been making things harder on yourself out of loyalty to a tool that worked okay most of the time. Glad your buddy was there to show you the right way with that slide hammer, those stuck injectors are a nightmare. Now you're probably looking at every other tool in your box wondering what else you've been doing wrong this whole time.