Changing my glow plugs

[fields_mj]

I'm going to test my glow plugs today and try to change out at least some, and hopefully all of the bad ones. I ordered a set of Motorcraft ZB9 plugs from Rock Auto and they came in this week. I think mine are mostly burned out. Its still dark out right now. I plan to take the air compressor and blow out any junk (dirt/leaves) from around the plugs, then hit them with some KROIL until I run out (I don't have much left) then do the rest with PB. Actually, thinking about it I may do the PB first and save the Kroil for any that give me problems. Then I'm going to go finish putting the motor on my garden tiller, and hopefully get the engine on it started. Then maybe try to get the bad plugs out. If they don't come out very easy, I'll hit them again with the oil, and then go back to my shed/shop and land the wires for my welder onto the new disconnect that I installed for it, and also probably wire up a new disconnect that I mounted this week for my belt grinder, and maybe install a new switch for it too. It's a 2x72 that I built to make knives with, very similar to a KMG. Then go back and start working on getting the plugs out again.

Sound like a decent plan? Any other suggestions that I should follow along the way?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[jonathan]

sounds like fun. it soundnt be that hard. when i did mine it about 30 min

 

[TWeatherford]

After reading all the horror stories on here I was mentally prepared for the worst when I went to do my glowplugs. It turned out that all mine were Berus, and 3 or 4 were bad. I just replaced them all with new Berus and kept the old good ones as spares. Maybe not a half hour job, well under two.

 

[Knuckledragger]

When I did mine, in order to get to some of the GPs with a socket, I had to disconnect all of the injector lines. Once all 8 of them are loose from the injectors, you can pull on the harness to move each line out of the way to get your wrench in. Made life real easy. And put a pallet in front of the truck to stand on, makes it way easy to get to everything without laying on the radiator. I'm 6'3" and still needed some help reaching the rear GPs. A 6" to 8" lift in front of the truck did the trick.

A little thread anti seize will help a lot for the next change, too.

 

[jonathan]

my old plugs were autolights and came out good. if the new ones dont wont to go in use a pick or something knock out the carbon build up were the tips go into

 

[fields_mj]

I had 6 of them bad. One of them I know was bad when I got the truck a year and a half ago. The top of it looks like it exploded, and the bottom of the plug has a burn hole in the side of it. I don't even have anything to put a socket on with that one, so I left it for now. The others all came out pretty easy. I let them soak with the PB for about an hour while I worked in the shop. The one on the drivers side under the fuel lines I took off with a 1/4" drive 3/8" deep well and an extension. I removed the clamp that was in the way, and then I was able to slide the 1/4" extension down between the lines. The rest I used a 3/8" drive 3/8" deep well. They all came out pretty easy. Putting the mounting bracket back on the fuel lines, and putting the air filter housing back on probably took longer than actually changing the plugs. I went a head and put some copper anti-seize on them just in case. What's even better is that I got the engine on the tiller, and got all my wiring done including hooking up the new welder Now I can start on my list of repairs...

 

[jonathan]

thats a good deal

 

[Diehard450]

I gotta ask "whats Kroil and PB?"...

 

[turbodiesel94]

Kroil and PB are penetrating oils Kroil comes in an orange can (I prefer it over anything) and PB blaster comes in a white can with yellow top.