Several Questions on my 99 C3500

Ok I need to replace several injectors. I have a 99 454 (7.4) dually, got it used and it has 50K miles. I tried several cans of injector cleaner. I have a hot start problem. When it is warm - hot and after it sits for a bit it has a long crank and when it fires it has a cloud of black smoke. When its cold it fires 2nd roll over! I did the fuel press check and its ok. I ran codes and thats ok (after I changed the plugs coil and rotor and cap). When I took off the throttle body intake hose the fuel smell was very strong. I think I have 1 or several injectors dribbling. When I did the fuel press check the press dropped off immediatly. But after I pinched off the return it was ok. So I am going to order a set of injectors from fiveO fuel injectors. They want 358.00 and a 80 dollar core, this is one of the cheapest I have found yet. The injectors are on the bottom of the page.
http://www.fiveomotorsport.com/Injector_SetsTPI.asp
I would appreciate any info on these people. I plan on changing the full set. When I am in there I will also replace the fuel pressure regulator.
My question is do I only need a upper intake manifold gasket set (felpro MS-95787 "Upper set" or will I need to get the lower set fel pro MS-95826). I should only need the upper set but I hate to make runs for gaskets when I am in the middle of the repair and find none. What would be the normal gasket sealer if used? If you have any helpful info please chime in.

Thanks
Gecko50

I recently resealed the intake manafold on my 99 tahoe. The injectors were nasty. I had to clean the carbon off all of them. I don't really know how it ran with them caked with carbon. You will need the upper intake gasket set to remove the injectors.

Ok I plan on changing the injectors this weekend. I got a set of rebuilt and balanced Injectors for with a core charge of about 430.00 bucks. I also picked up a set of upper plenum (intake) gasket from NAPA. Last night I picked up a fuel pressure regulator (since Im in there I'll change it) from the stealer. I looked at the situation and it seems the only possible problem may be the air line that goes drivers side intake. That is a 1-1/8 box wrench and I got htat covered. I dont think I have to remove the distributer to change the injectors. I plan on keeping the old set after I figure out which ones are bad and leaking when hot. So I'll report back after I'm done.

Thanks for the info.
Gecko50

Your problem sounds like FPR , the pinching of the return line and the fact that pressure bleeds off are key symtoms of a FPR gone bad. Oh and you do not need mess with distributor or lower intake manifold. Your fuel metering body is just snapped into place under the upper manifold. you do need the meterbody o-ring and upper intake seal, some fuel pipe o-rings should also be replaced. And when you take out your old FPR look to make sure the o-ring came out too.Your new FPR should have a o-ring already on it.

Skipr Thanks for the info on the O rings, I thought this 7.4 had fuel rails? So this metering body is just clipped up to the upper plenum? Ill check for some O rings with the stealer. I'll get some today. I think the existing FPR is ok as I didnt have the return line pinched off enought. It is the hardend plastic fule line, I was afraid of cracking the line. When I did get it pinched off it still lost pressure. So that told me it was the injectors, also when I took off the intake snout hose to the intake it had a heck of a fuel smell. I do understand that the FPR when raptured will bleed thru the vacume system of the truck. When I pull my old FPR out I'll use a hand vacume pump and see if it holds.

Thanks Again
Gecko50

Ok update time with added frustration! The hardest thing to remove was the EGR line on the drivers side (GM should have rethought that one). I had every thing ready to take off but I knew that the EGR should be the first thing so I worked on it (most people dont have a 1-3/8 open end wrench), I had a crows foot and thought that should work. Well I was wrong, I had to buy a torch and heat it up as the fitting was gauling and hard to remove. I also used some anti seize to the threads while heating it to draw in the anti seize. Well after I got it all off and replaced it and my back was killing me so I left of 2 wire bundle brackets and fired it up. It ran like a top! closed things down for the night and returned Sunday morning and completed both brackets and warmed it up. While running the girl friend to Starbucks I floor it thru a intersection (also a check out) and all of a sudden I get a rough idle and smoke! UH OH! so pull into Starbucks and I try to see what happened. While there I smell major raw fuel smell in the exhaust. So head home and of course the SES light is on and flashing too. Got home and tore out the intake only to find that the vacume hose for the fuel pressure regulator was disconected from the intake. Ok so I figure thats a wrap and put it back together with in 2 hours. Start it and run it over to Autozone and they reset the SES light (Multiple engine misfire). Run the truck and while running on a medium rate of accleration same thing happens. It was dark and it was running late so I hung it up for the night. SO today I'll try to reach the vacume line and see if its still connected, if it is then I'll run it as this appears only after it has warmed up. Then I'll check my plug wires and see if I messed one up.
More Later all!

I think I finaly got this done, at least for now. Last night I yarded out the upper intake and checked the distributer rotor, wires as well as a visual on my fuel pressure regulator. While not finding any thing that would make the truck run bad. I took my time and started to look things over. I then cycled the ignition and to pressure up the injectors low and behold I hear this swishing sound, no not the fuel pump but a errant #4 injector! That puppy was running wide open, In a horror I cringed at the next thoughts. Washed piston and rings, (thats were oil smoke was coming from!). So I went back and got the closest injector by ohms to the new set. I tossed that puppy in and got this all done in less than 1 hour and 35 minutes. No air tools. The question came when I fired it up and she ran like a brand new truck! I still had reservations..... so after the GF came home I took it out for a ride and run it thru upshifting and down shifting and no problems.... for now. When I first fired it up I remember that it took a long time 10 minutes or so to begin to clear up the cats must have also got flooded with oil and fuel. But after a long idle and run on the street it cleared up. In a few days I'll go thru the entire install make a write up for others to use.

Gex