Glow Plug Replacement Help?!

[TheBAT]

Hey all,
I have a 1996 F350 crew cab four by four with 200,000 miles. The truck has been a pain to start. It will roll over but it won't start, with lots of white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I initially replaced the GPR hoping that would solve my problems. Unfortunately it did not, and the truck will usually take up to five cycles of the ignition switch being turned on and off before the truck will finally start. With the mileage on the truck I would bet money they are in need of a replacement. The local service station wants almost 500 bucks to do the replacement...How hard is it to replace them myself? Any suggestions or diagrams would be greatly appreciated. Also, what should I expect to pay for glowplugs? One place quoted me at 20 bucks a pop the other place said 10? Thank you in advance for your replies!

Kev

 

[sponge]

i know glow plugs aren't that expensive.. there around $8.75 to $11.00 a pop. replacing them isn't that bad... Just remove the valve cover and be very carefull taking them out <use a 1/4" racket to break it loose and a piece of hose to slide over them>.. and move em up and down gently, incase there is carbon built up on them...you do not want one to break off and go into your cyl head chamber.

 

[Mike]

What sponge says is correct, pop off the valve covers and get to it. Valve covers can be a bit of a challenge to remove, left side requires disassembly of turbo inlet and right side will require removal of small vacuum assist box on the side of the heater blower assy. Once inside the VC's, just pull the plugs out, they are nestled in beside the injectors. You can see the silver tip of one sitting by the empty injector hole in this picture.

Here is a link to an article specifically about injector/glow plug R&R. --->CLICK.

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So, for about 80 dollars and 4 hours of your time you can do it or you can pay someone 500 clams to do it for you.

One question though....... how old are your batteries? Before you go through the work of removing the GP's, ohm them out. They should read .2 ohms.

 

[TheBAT]

Thank you for the picture and assistance! I don't have a meter to test that. Would it be wise to have the batteries tested before removing the glow plugs? I have read that you can test the glow plugs using a test lamp, where the positive is hooked to the battery, and you touch the end of the glow plug. Is it worth all the hassel of unhooking everything just to see whether or not the glow plugs are good or bad?

Kev

 

[Mike]

I firmly believe in testing parts before removal. If not you are just throwing parts at an unknown problem. Find someone with a DVOM (or go buy one, inexpensive ones can be had at wal-mart or autozone) and test the GP's. Take the batts in to autozone and have them load tested as well. Weak batteries can result in hard start issues as well. Do you know how old the batteries are?

 

[TheBAT]

I don't know how old my batteries are. I purchased the truck in August. Does it say a date on the tops of them anywhere?

 

[Mike]

I don't know how old my batteries are. I purchased the truck in August. Does it say a date on the tops of them anywhere?

I dont know, I cant see them from here......

 

[TheBAT]

haha point taken! I'll go out and look. So even though the engine is cranking just not starting, there is still the possibility of it being bad batteries? Also I read your link, do I have to drain the oil and all that to remove the glow plugs?

Kev

 

[Mike]

Yes, even though the engine seems to be cranking fine, your batts can still be a problem.

No, the oil removal was for the injector portion of that link, not the GP service.

 

[TheBAT]

Thank you for all your help 95_stoker. I will get the batteries checked and go pick up a meter. Are there any types of glow plugs you recommend in case the glow plugs are indeed bad?

 

[Mike]

Yes,


BERU ZD-11.

 

[TheBAT]

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted.

 

[sassyrel]

as stroker said---at autozone---for less than 10 each---DONT use other brands--aint worth your time and effort---also--there will be a bit of oil setting around the gps---GENTLY blow it out--dont want it down in the cyl------

 

[TheBAT]

Batteries came back good...They said my alternator may need to be replaced, however both of my batteries were fully charged. Could this be an indication of hard starting or would you say it's the glow plugs? Also am I getting in over my head as in, are they really difficult to replace? Lastly, how great of a chance is there that the tip will fall down into the cylinder?

Kev

 

[Mike]

Not knowing your mechanical abilities I cannot judge if you are in over your head or not. The job is not difficult per se..... lefty loosey - righty tighty pretty much applies here. Getting the turbo inlet hose and tube aligned into the turbo end and air box end is just basic balancing act, pulling the right valve cover can be special, but again, its more oddness of position than it is technical difficulty.

There isnt a high likelyhood of breaking a tip off, you will know as you begin to extract it from the hole, if it doesnt come out easy, it is swelled up or has excessive carbon deposits on it.

I will tell you though, break one off in the cylinder and it is head removal to retrieve it.