Clogged fuel pressure regulator (with pics)

[AUFanboy]

While playing around with my scan tool I noticed my car's (AU I6) fuel trims were very negative at idle and overrun, around -15 to -30%. This means ECU is cutting back on fuel in response to a rich condition. Generally this indicates leaking injectors, excess fuel pressure or a regulator leaking fuel through the vacuum line. I did some googling and found that AU Falcons have an issue with the fuel rail rusting internally and plugging up the regulator, leading to excess fuel pressure because the regulator is on the outlet end of the rail (it bleeds the surplus fuel back to the tank to control pressure). Decided to pop the regulator out for a look and here's what I found:

http://fordforums.com.au/attachment....1&d=1347197294

That's supposed to be a clean filter screen! Proper fix is a new regulator and fuel rail, but I decided to just clean the screen and re-install for now. After cleaning with a cloth and a can of WD-40 it looked much better:


http://fordforums.com.au/attachment....1&d=1347197294

Re-installed and went for a drive. Fuel trims are now back down in the 0 to -10% range and the car is idling better, so it seems to be fixed for now

Probably worth a look if your car is running rough/rich and you've already tried new plugs/leads etc. Here's how to remove the little b@#$%^#$:

1 Remove fuel pump relay and crank engine to bleed off any pressure.
2 Remove vacuum line then remove the circlip that holds the regulator in its seat - circlip pliers help here.
3 Attempt and fail to pull the regulator out by hand.
4 Use vicegrips wrapped in cloth to twist, wriggle, and pull on the regulator.
5 Curse and swear because it's not coming out and the vice grips are just slipping.
6 Get rid of the cloth and just chew up the regulator casing with the vice grips, with enough force it will pop out (o-rings are a very tight fit).
7 Clean or buy new regulator.
8 Try to push the reg back in by hand, fail and swear some more.
9 Tap it back in with a rubber mallet, socket extension bar, and cloth.
10 Reinstall circlip and vacuum line.
11 Before starting engine jump fuel pump relay with a wire to run the pump and check for leaks.