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That cheap injector puller that cost me 3 hours and a trip to the machine shop
I picked up a $30 injector puller off Amazon for a job on a 6.0 Ford last Tuesday. Figured it was a steel tool, how bad could it be? Well the threads stripped out on the second injector and I spent over an hour trying to get the damn thing off the injector stud. Had to cut it off with a die grinder, then drive 45 minutes to the local machine shop to have them extract the broken piece. That little shortcut cost me $85 in machine shop fees plus a whole afternoon of lost labor. I should have just borrowed my buddy's Snap-On puller or bought a quality one from the start. Anyone else get burned by cheap Chinese specialty tools that just waste more time than they save?
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cooper.drew1mo ago
Man that's the WORST feeling when the "cheap fix" ends up costing more than the real tool would have. Did you check the Amazon reviews before you bought it or just go with the price? I've noticed a LOT of those cheap pullers have fake 5 star reviews that don't mention any issues with the threads. Also curious what brand it was so I can make sure to avoid it on my next job.
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evan_cooper731mo ago
$30 for an injector puller on a 6.0 Ford? Man that's just asking for trouble right there. I've seen those Amazon specials strip out on the second injector like clockwork, the threads are basically soft metal painted to look like steel. Had a buddy try one of those on a 7.3 and the whole handle snapped clean off while he was pulling, sent him flying backwards into his toolbox. The worst part is you spend more time fighting with the cheap tool than you would have just driving to borrow a real one. I still can't get over the $85 machine shop bill on top of losing a whole afternoon.
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emmam891mo ago
Man you really never know until you're halfway through the job and the tool gives out. Did you at least get a refund from Amazon or did they give you the runaround? That's the part that gets me, spending money on something that just makes the job harder.
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