Glow Plugs on 6.9

[Elite1]

I have an old (86') Ford cargo Van with a 6. 9 litre diesel. It is very cold blooded... I am not a mechanic, but would like to try changing out the glow plugs. I found a source for 11. 00 per plug. Do I need 8 of them? Where are they located? Is it a tough job?

 

[BV]

Yes I would go ahead and change all 8 unless you want to sneak over to The Diesel Stop where the Ford guys hang out and learn how to test with an ohm meter.



Also - Be careful which brand you use. I hear that the cheap ones can swell up and then the break off when you take them out. Beru is one of the better brands. I think Autolite was listed as a cheap brand.



With that said... . They are located right next to the valve covers on the engine side. They can be hard to see because they hide under and between the injector lines.



It's not tough unless you break a tip off. I have read that it is best to have the cylinder at the top of the cycle so if the tip does break that it will not fall into the cylinder and allows you to fish it out with a magnet.



Here is the url to TDS http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/

 

[CChase]

I have an old (86') Ford cargo Van with a 6. 9 litre diesel. It is very cold blooded... I am not a mechanic, but would like to try changing out the glow plugs. I found a source for 11. 00 per plug. Do I need 8 of them? Where are they located? Is it a tough job?

Fairly easy job, the only difficulty maybe due to having a van (I have never worked on one, so I can't say).

You'll need a 3/8" deep socket for the GPs and a couple of extensions and universal joints to get around the injector lines to get to a few of them. They are on the intake side of the head (the top of the engine towards the air filter/intake and are recognizable by a single 10ga wire going to them.

If you don't know if they have ever been changed out, go ahead and spend the money and replace them all. Get Beru's or Motorcraft (same plug, different label if'n I recall), the Autolites are generally regarded as garbage as they are known to swell and break off in the chamber = bad.

Also as mentioned, the best practice is to bring each cylinder to TDC to avoid the tip (should it break off) from going from the prechamber to the combustion chamber. The idea is that if it does break off, you maybe able to remove the injector, put a shop vac to the injector hole and compressed air to the GP hole and suck the thing out of there. Not sure what the success rate is, but if you lose a tip into the chamber, you're looking at pulling the heads off to avoid destroying the engine.....

If any issues crop up while changing them out, post back or go over to http://forums. thedieselstop.com, the guys in the 6. 9L board will be able to walk you through any issues. Plus they're a friendly bunch.....

 

[bmoeller]

Autolite= POS



They didn't last long in mine. I think the ones that were in mine before the relay stuck on and ruined the last set, were Motorcraft.

 

[Elite1]

It sounds to me like alot of people are having problems with that relay box as well, maybe it's best to change that out as well. Thanks again, you guys are the best!

 

[CChase]

It sounds to me like alot of people are having problems with that relay box as well, maybe it's best to change that out as well. Thanks again, you guys are the best!

Best bet on the older style (non solid state GP controller) is to bypass it entirely. Some have had good luck with them, while a lot have had them stick open and fry the plugs sometimes swelling the tips. Going to a bypass control is not that hard, requires a momentary contact switch and a couple of wires to ground the correct pole on the relay. If you want to go that route, look in the 6. 9 forums for Ziggster40 on The Diesel Stop. On his webpage, he has a wiring schematic for the bypass of the old system.

 

[barbwire]

A lot of good advise on this thread. Just my $. 02. I say if it aint broke don't fix it! This pertains the glow plugs that test to still be good. Heck if they lasted this long, who is to say that they won't last quite a bit longer. Not to mention that just because you put in new ones, does not mean they will last any longer than the old ones would have. Just change out the bad ones.

D15treez's advise on how to test with just a plain piece of wire, is what worked for me the 17 years I owned one(6. 9). Simple & easy.

CChase's idea on the controller bypass, is also a very good & economical solution. Not to mention "more reliable". This is all FWIW. Good luck

 

[mhenon]

GLOW PLUGS?? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN GLOW PLUGS!!



Sorry... I couldn't resist