Good Morning,

I am helping my lil brother with his 1988 F150 XLT Lariat that has a 351 Windsor in it. We have been facing some fuel issues (rough idle, dies on deceleration, etc.) and are checking the injectors after replacing/cleaning most of the rest of the fuel system. After disassembly, I have found that the head of one of the injectors has a crack in it (see photo). Is this the kind of issue that requires an injector replacement? Are we ok to full send these injectors after cleaning them out? I do not know much about Fords so any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

That is just the DRI tip
The "deposit resistant injectors" like yours, had that little plastic cover / shield
You can discard it or try to find some newer ones at the junkyard
I do not think you will be able to buy new ones separate from new injectors
I also do not think they will fall off and lunch the mill
They are usually on there pretty tight