Thread: stuck plugs

help , i have 2 glowplugs that won,t come all the way out. they unscrew all the way and come out about an 1/4 inch then stop.1 other 1 the end has swelled up a little bit and i fear that has happened to the other 2 that won,t comeout and of course those r the 2 that i have to replace. help and sugestions????

Swollen plugs are tricky.There are a couple of ways to get them out.If they are really swollen and refuse to come out,you can remove the injector for that cylinder and once you do that,you'll see the glow plug tip.Clamp on a pair of needle nose locking pliers onto the glow plug tip to be sure the tip won't fall into the cylinder when you try to unthread the plug.That'll act as a safety to be sure the tip does'nt fall into the cylinder.Or you can try to shoot some liquid wrench down the plug hole and clamp on a pair of visegrips on the hex of the plug and use a small prybar to pry against the visegrips.That can yank the plug out of there.If you loose the tip,you'll need to remove the cylinder head.Be patient and it'll come out.

Stuck,
I'm a newbie so I can't be much help. I'll be changing my glows on Saturday and I'm really hoping I don't run into the swollen plugs like what you have. Let us know how things turn out.

Ps where in Alaska are you? I'm here in Wasilla. We might be neighbors.

Good luck.

Eric

1 more question, what size socket will i need to remove the injectors and how much to retorque them back down

There is a Kent-Moore special socket for injector installation. You can remove them with a 30mm socket but installing them without the special socket puts the return nipples at risk of being damaged. Do not twist the injector body when installing the injectors.

Injector torque is 50 ft-lbs. Be sure to install new copper washers over the nozzle of each injector when reinstalling them.

Injection line torque is 22 ft-lbs. "Wrench tight" will be enough for the lines, unless you have a crowfoot attachment for your torque wrench.

Just a thought, but some people have successfully removed swollen plugs by using the engines own compression. If you can unscrew it all the way, so that no threads are still holding it in, I would try cranking the engine over a few times. Just be aware if it does come out, it will shoot out like a bullet.

Originally Posted by 5.7L Oldsdiesel

Swollen plugs are tricky.There are a couple of ways to get them out.If they are really swollen and refuse to come out,you can remove the injector for that cylinder and once you do that,you'll see the glow plug tip.Clamp on a pair of needle nose locking pliers onto the glow plug tip to be sure the tip won't fall into the cylinder when you try to unthread the plug.That'll act as a safety to be sure the tip does'nt fall into the cylinder.Or you can try to shoot some liquid wrench down the plug hole and clamp on a pair of visegrips on the hex of the plug and use a small prybar to pry against the visegrips.That can yank the plug out of there.If you loose the tip,you'll need to remove the cylinder head.Be patient and it'll come out.

Another way to remove it is to take a 3/8 prybar or similar diameter bar and grind a groove the size of a glowplug into the end of it. Unthread the plug and use the bar to pry it out. If the tip breaks off it will get caught by the pre-combustion cup so it shouldn't fall into the cylinder. simply remove the injector and use needle nose pliers to extract the broke off piece.
This is how we remove the glows on Marine Corps Hmmwv's(Hummer). And it is ALMOST always sucessful. Good Luck cause the engine compartment is alot tighter on a p/u than in the trucks I'm used to!

I have read about this method of removing stuck glow plugs but have never had to do it.

You find a nut that will thread onto a glow plug. I am not sure what size they are but I do believe they are metric. Put this nut in a vise and use a hacksaw to cut through one side of the nut. Then spread the nut open to look like a letter c. Now slide it over your stuck plug and use vise grips to squeeze it back closed and clamp it. Now just keep turning the glow plug until the threads on this nut pull it out.

Jim P.