Anything wrong with these glow plugs?

[73k5blazer]

Is there anything wrong with these glow plugs? I just finished replacing them in my '97K2500 w/6.5TD because I've never done it and the motor has 180k on it. Don't know what a bad plug is supposed to look like. left side was piece of cake, right side I removed the tire and splash gaurd, and I drilled an access hole for get at number 8. 2,4,6 were accessible with the splash gaurd removed.

 

[DieselDan]

Ah, nothing like a little rust to give everything that warm, ancient glow My guess, OE.

 

[73k5blazer]

Everything rusts here in MI. Everything. They are the 11g stockers that were in there when I bought the truck with 22k in 1998..
I replaced them with 60g's. Bad choice? Do those plugs look like they are bad? Truck has been shaking more and more on startup on cold days, so I figured I should throw some new plugs in there.

 

[diesel4me]

look normal to me...

The set of AC G60's I put in my 82 K20 in dec of 03 look exactly like yours pictured already,thanks to our salty roads here! ..rust sucks..

You can clamp them in a jumper cable (negative lead) and touch the positive to the tip,and see if they still glow..I use a manual overide on my trucks glow plugs..I think the stock controller does not stay on long enough to heat G60's up enough for quick starts..haven't checked mine to see if all of the 7 I could replace still work..I got one that wont come out..that cylinder probably is the one causing the skip and shaking!..

My truck shakes and stutters when it first starts cold if its below 40 and no block heater was plugged in..it still "skips" a bit when warm sometimes too,but since I added some "Howes" lubricator anti-gel/ cleaner juice in it,it seems to idle much smoother..my 6.2 was a junkyard takeout someone swapped into my truck-

-I suspect it sat a long time before I bought it and let it sit even more,so the injectors are probably gummed up some,or perhaps pitted if condensation got into the fuel..or maybe the valves stick a bit..but it runs well just past idle and beyond,so I'm thinking the more I use it,the better it'll run..it has been used on short rides and driveway plowing..needs a good highway run to "clean it out"..

 

[73k5blazer]

Started her up this morning, didn't plug it in, low 28 last night, no shaking at all. So I think it was a good call.
What do you mean you can't get one out. Did the hex part strip or something? Mine were a little hard to turn at first, but they came right out. I almost reached for the air ratchet, but then stories of brittle plugs breaking and falling into cylinders came to mind, so I just trudged along with the 1 ratchet click clearace I had on some of them.

 

[kennyw]

You won't be able to see the difference when they are cold if they don't work. Best way to check them is ground the body (threads) to a negative source (jumpercables to your battery negative terminal work). Then take a test light and attach it to the positive battery terminal. Touch the end of the test light to the spade terminal on the glow plug. If the light lights up the plug is still good.

The 60G's are a better plug than the originals as well. Should like them very much.

 

[73k5blazer]

Well, I ran the test light test, and the battery/negative test to see if it glowed.
3 of them failed the test light test (the test light did not light), and 4 of them failed to "glow" when hooked to the battery directly. Of that 4, included the 3 from the test light test. So I guess at least 4 were bad or weak, the others probably weren't that far off. Yep, took her out this evening, started up no shaking, sat til' 2am, started again no shaking. So the 60g's are doing very well. thanx for the help!

 

[diesel4me]

mushroomed...

My old glow plugs were a combo of original 11G's and a few brand new,but very DEAD Champions..only one I failed to get out was the front one on the passenger side..it unscrewed ok,but the tip,it must be mushroomed pretty good..
I try every now and then after a good run on the highway to get it out,but so far it only comes out about 1/4" after its unscrewed..several of the others were difficult to remove too..took lots of carb cleaner,penetrating oil,and patience,along with lots of swearing and spinning them to get them out!..

I'd rather leave it than break it,and have to buy new injector lines and pull the intake the replace them..mine are a bit rusty,and will live many more years IF I don't molest them..so far its never failed to start with the 7
AC G60's I did manage to get installed!..and I have only used the block heater once when it was -10 last winter..

I bet I still could have gotten it started,even below zero----but have you ever heard a 6.2 thats been started without being "plugged in" at that temparature????...sounds like all 8 pistons are an inch too small for the cylinders!..CLAK-CLAK-CLAK-CLAK--- mines a stonecrusher until it warms up....

 

[maynardogle]

Since the front glowplug on the passenger's side is fairly easy to get at, you might try getting hold of the flats on the hex with a pair of 4" vice grips. I had to do that on five of mine. They had screwed all the way out of the threads but would come no further. I grabbed them with the grips, pulled and rotated llittle bit back and forth and they popped out. I saw another post where a guy actually had a little slide hammer welded to a pair of vice grips and said that worked 99% of the time.

 

[diesel4me]

Tried that...

Yep,I've used the vise grips on it more than once..I tried a few times after a fairly long ride to remove it,hoping the heat would have expanded the head a bit ,enough for the glowplug to come out..so far,I've got it to come out about 1/4" past the threaded portion..maybe its carbon holding it in there,but I've twisted and pulled on it enough so it should have came out by now..

I can only do 1/2 a turn though,not a complete revolution..but I've spun it by hand and put the vise grips back on,and tried again,so I wasn't just turning it back and forth in the same spot..didn't help so far..

I think my chances are good that I'll be the 1% that it breaks off,and causes me greif..since its starting ok,and I need the truck for plowing (just plowed my drivway today,and 2 more storms are coming)..so I'll wait until spring if possible,rather than lay the truck up now.... and F$%& myself!..

I wonder why the use such dinky 10MM threads on them..why cant they be at least 14MM like a spark plug??..

 

[maynardogle]

I'm with you there. I couldn't afford to break one off either. I was wondering...and I may post a thread to ask. Why is the hole so tight? If I were ever to have my heads off for any reason, I might just enlarge those holes to 6 or 7mm or so. I measured my new plugs with a micrometer and they averaged 5.01 mm

 

[diesel4me]

Deja Voo!

Funny you mentioned that!--in another post in the garage forum about glowplugs,I asked the same thing,and was wondering if anyone had ever drilled the holes where the tip of the glow plugs go thru the head bigger,so if they do swell up some,you have a better chance of removing them without breakage..( did use a drill bit by hand to remove carbon..but no metal,and didn't dare enlarge them!)..

Nobody answered,but maybe the diesel guys hang out here more than the garage..(it was a newbie asking about glowplugs in the garage,not a paid member yet-)-just like me a few years ago!. .

So!!--HAS anyone hogged the glowplug holes out a bit larger??..or is there not enough "meat" to risk it??

My first post on CK5 was asking about how to wire up the manual glowplug switch on my 82 K20 I'd just gotten..Rene (tRustyK5) answered my question in the "garage",and I soon had the truck running,and I've been on CK5 since..great place,and nice people here,that know stuff from experience,and have "been there,and done that!"..not just quoting stuff from books!..

 

[OFFRDK5]

Oh no, not another post about mushroomed glow plugs!!