OPERATING

INSTRUCTION
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy
Engine section Engine type Ref. Date Issue Document No. Page
16 Injection system See below WFI–S 23-Jan-2012 04 WS16Q010 1(4)

Fuel injection valve maintenance

Engine type This bulletin concerns following WÄRTSILÄ® engine ref. types equipped
with fuel pressure controlled injection valves:
14, 14T, 14TK, 22ABC, 22HF, 22MD, 22/26, 24TS
W20, W20DF
32, 32DF,32GD, 32LN, 32LNGD (Vasa 32 based)
W32, W32GD, W34DF (W32 based)
W46, W46GD, W46F, W50DF
Note! For DF engines, this instruction concerns only the main injection needle, not
the pilot injection.
Note! For GD engines, this instruction concerns only HFO/LFO injection, not gas
injection needles.

General There are different practices on evaluating the injection nozzles.

This document contains some general instructions to unify the rules and
practices for nozzle testing and evaluation.
See also chapter 00, 04 and 16 in the engine instruction manual.
Note! Utmost cleanliness must be observed when working with the injection
equipment.

Calibration oils It is recommended to perform the tests with clean calibration oil according to
ISO 4113, e.g.:
Shell V-Oil 1404
Typical characteristics of calibration oils:
Viscosity, cSt / 20°C 3,8
Viscosity, cSt / 40°C 2,6
Flammability, °C > 99
Density, kg/l at 15°C 0,827

Handling Handle the injection valves carefully. Take special care not to damage the
nozzle tip. Never place the injection nozzle standing on the tip. The tip is
very sensitive and can easily break.
Always store the injection valves in a clean place, all the openings must be
covered and protected.
Atomization test It is not possible to do an evaluation of the nozzle atomization when using a
needle opening pressure (NOP) test pump, the delivery of the pump is too
small and does not describe the situation in the engine.
Reference Record the measurements in WV98V030 Injection valve test record,
issue 04.

Wärtsilä Finland Oy P.O. Box 252 (Tarhaajantie 2) Telecop. +358 10 709 1847 Tel. +358 10 709 0000 Business ID 0773744-3
Services, Vaasa FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland Telecop. +358 10 709 1380 Registered Office: Vaasa
Wärtsilä Finland Oy P.O. Box 50 (Stålarminkatu 45) Telecop. +358 10 709 3279 Tel. +358 10 709 0000
Services, Turku FIN-20811 Turku, Finland Telecop. +358 10 709 3410
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy Operating Instruction
Issue Document No. Page
04 WS16Q010 2(4)

A. Testing and inspection of new injection valves

A new injection valve must be washed with clean fuel oil or similar to
remove preservation oil before the injection valve is mounted.
Flush, test and, if needed, readjust a new injection valve to the stated
needle opening pressure before mounting it in the engine.
It is not required to dismantle the nozzle before taking a new injection valve
in use.
A.1 Nozzle spray hole test
This test is to verify that the nozzle spray holes are open.
Release the spring tension.
Check the flow-through pattern of the nozzle with a few test pump
strokes. All holes must be open and produce an even distributed spray
pattern.
- If the nozzle fails the test, open and clean the nozzle once.
- Replace the nozzle if it fails the second test.
The nozzle does not need to make a chatter noise when tested.
A.2 Checking the needle opening pressure and tightness of the nozzle
seat
Assemble the injection valve in the test pump and adjust the needle
opening pressure (NOP). Start from a low spring tension and increase it
gradually. Tighten the lock / counter nut to stated torque after the stated
NOP has been reached. Release the pressure.
Raise the pressure slowly to 20-50 bars below NOP. The nozzle should
be completely tight. No drops are allowed within 5 seconds.
- If the nozzle fails the test, open and clean the nozzle once.
- Replace the nozzle if it fails the second test.
Record the measurements in WV98V030 Injection valve test record,
issue 04.
The nozzle does not need to make a chatter noise when tested.
A.3 Back flow test
The purpose of the back flow test is to check the needle clearance, i.e.
wear. Testing of a new valve is not needed, but it will give a reference value
when evaluating the nozzle after it has been in use for some time.
Raise the pressure slowly to above 250 bars and stop pumping. Measure
how fast the pressure will drop from 250 to 200 bars.
Vasa 14, 22ABC and 24TS: Raise the pressure slowly to above 200 bar
and stop pumping. Measure how fast the pressure will drop from 200 to
150 bars.
Different test devices can give different back flow values because there
might be a leak in the test pump as well.
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy Operating Instruction
Issue Document No. Page
04 WS16Q010 3(4)

B. Testing and inspection of used injection valves

B.1 Visual inspection
Clean the nozzle tip from carbon deposits, preferably with a chemical
carbon dissolving solution. If such solution is not available, immerse the
components in clean fuel oil or similar to soak the deposits, and then clean
the parts carefully.
Note! A brass brush can be used if needed. Do not use steel wire brushes or hard
abrasive tools.
Check the condition of the nozzle tip for wear of nozzle holes and possible
corrosion of the nozzle. Replace the nozzle if corrosion is found.
B.2 Checking the needle opening pressure (NOP) and the tightness of the
nozzle seat.
After cleaning, test the needle opening pressure (NOP) and record it.
Assemble the injection valve in the test pump and adjust the needle
opening pressure (NOP). Start from a low spring tension and increase it
gradually. Tighten the lock / counter nut to stated torque after the
recorded NOP has been reached. Release the pressure.
Raise the pressure slowly to 20-50 bars below the recorded NOP. The
nozzle should be completely tight. No drops are allowed within 5
seconds.
- If the nozzle fails the test, open and clean the nozzle once.
- Replace the nozzle if it fails the second test.
Record the measurements in WV98V030 Injection valve test record,
issue 04.
The nozzle does not need to make a chatter noise when tested.
Note! The needle opening pressure of a used injection nozzle will be lower than
for a new one with the same spring setting. The NOP drop is caused both
by exhaustion of the spring (see B.5) and normal wear of the seat contact
area.
When the fuel pressure affected area increases it will result in lifting the
needle with lower pressure by the same spring setting. This drop in opening
pressure is observed when using testing devices where the pressure
increase is very slow compared to the conditions in the engine.
B.3 Nozzle and holder inspection
Check the nozzle needle lift according to the engine instruction manual,
change the nozzle if the wear rate is exceeded.
Check the wear of the impact sleeve of the nozzle holder according to the
engine instruction manual. If the wear rate is exceeded, recondition the
nozzle holder. If the recondition rate is exceeded, replace the nozzle holder.
Services, Wärtsilä Finland Oy Operating Instruction
Issue Document No. Page
04 WS16Q010 4(4)

B.4 Nozzle spray hole test

This test is to verify that the nozzle spray holes are open.
Release the spring tension.
Check the flow-through pattern of the nozzle with a few test pump
strokes. All holes must be open and produce an even distributed spray
pattern.
If some spray holes are clogged they must be opened. Open the spray
holes with the tools for this purpose.
The nozzle must be rejected if it is not possible to open the spray holes.
The nozzle does not need to make a chatter noise when tested.
B.5 Readjusting the opening pressure
Set the NOP to the value recorded in B.2 or max 20 bar higher. If the
opening pressure for a used injection valve is adjusted back to the nominal
value, the valve spring will be more compressed and loaded and it will
eventually result in spring failure.
The exhaustion of the spring causes a NOP drop of max. 20 bar.
For W46 engines, see Operating Instruction 4616Q006: Adjustment of fuel
valve opening pressure.
B.6 Back flow test
See A.3 for instructions.
Recommendation Never recondition or repair the nozzle by lapping into its needle or seat.
Change the nozzle when:
a. The orifices are clogged and cannot be opened.
b. It is leaking.
c. Any signs of corrosion inside / outside the nozzle.
d. The engine performance has deteriorated.
e. Max recommended service hours are exceeded.
Note! Some spill fuel may appear from the nozzle holder due to leakage along the
side of the needle. A small amount is considered to be normal, check that
the connection piece is tightened and check the condition of the sealing
surface in the nozzle holder. If leakage from the nozzle top surface is
suspected, reconditioning is not allowed for the nozzle. The nozzle holder
can be reconditioned.
Letter distribution Wärtsilä Services Network and operators/owners of engines concerned.
Letter validity Until further notice, replacing issue 03 dated 22-Oct-2008.

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