Swollen glow plug removal

[DriverSideImpact1008]

I have seen the type that ebay sells, i'll probably settle and pick up one of those.

But, i'd really like to get one of those tools the OP was talking about. From what i've seen, they appear to be quite effective.

Oh well.

Don't buy the ones on ebay. Those OTC brand ones are total crap. I bought a set, and it didn't even last long enough to get one GP out. Fortunately I got a refund.

The ones from jjandaracing.com are really nice products, unfortunately they tend to be out-of-stock quite often. PMD cable which is now Leroy Diesel sell the same style of GP remover (and it's a little cheaper). I bought one a couple years ago (cuz JJ and A was sold-out then too), and it worked great.
http://leroydiesel.com/Accessories.html

 

[soldierman79]

Don't buy the ones on ebay. Those OTC brand ones are total crap. I bought a set, and it didn't even last long enough to get one GP out. Fortunately I got a refund.

The ones from jjandaracing.com are really nice products, unfortunately they tend to be out-of-stock quite often. PMD cable which is now Leroy Diesel sell the same style of GP remover (and it's a little cheaper). I bought one a couple years ago (cuz JJ and A was sold-out then too), and it worked great.
http://leroydiesel.com/Accessories.html

Awesome! Thank you!



See, that's why I love this place!

 

[daniel.7575]

Hi there,

I had the same problem today with my M1008. I've been having trouble starting from cold...having to heat twice etc..
so bought a set of plugs from the good old USA and decided to fit them..
most came out no problem, had a few problems getting the connectors off initially but all came off in the end, got to the last plug (drivers side nearest bulk head) it unscrewed ok but would not come out.. I figured the end had swelled up and tried various methods pliers etc but was really awkward to get at.

In the end I made a Nut that matched the thread on the glow plug (M10 x 1.0mm pitch) I then put the nut in a vice and cut through one side of it with a hacksaw. With the saw I then continued through the other side of the nut till I almost broke through leaving just enough material to allow the nut to retain its shape and stay in one piece.. I then inserted a screwdriver into the sawn slot and opened the nut up enough to fit over the 3/8" dive portion on the glow plug. The part of the nut I didn't cut through acted as a kind of hinge and after I slid the opened nut over the stuck glow plug I got a pair of pin nosed mole grips (lock jaw pliers) and closed the nut around the thread making sure the threads seated together. Leaving the mole grips in place I slid a long reach socket on to the glow plug and holding the mole grips slowly undid the glow plug. The nut pushed against the side of the cylinder head and the plug just unscrewed! Simple as that!

An an easy solution to a potentially expensive problem. Oh by the way I ran an M10x1.0 tap straight through a 3/8" UNF nut.

anyways hope this maybe helps anyone with the same problem.

 

[DriverSideImpact1008]

Nice work, that's essentially how the OTC brand is made, but the nut has an actual hinge on it, and it's made out of cheap cast metal. If it was made with a stronger grade nut then it would work just like the one you made.

 

[acesneights1]

I recently had 2 glow plugs break tips break off (about 3/4" long) inside the glow plug hole and there was no way of getting them out, so I thought. If the tip breaks off inside the pre chamber, remove the injector then stuff a paper towel or small rag inside the chamber to block off the hole going from the prechamber to the actual cylinder. Then use needle nose pliers to take the tip out of the prechamber. I had to use a big flat head screw driver to bend the glow plug tip into an "L" shape while it was partially still in the glow plug hole and partially in the pre chamber to be able to push it all the way into the prechamber to be able to retrieve it with needle nose pliers . Wasn't a bad job, just make sure you plug that hole so it doesnt fall into the cylinder.

This.
Best way to avoid this in the future is use Bosch duratherms. The WAP's (aka Wellman) glowplugs commonly used in these are known to swell.
You can buy a set of 8 for around 60$ from RockAuto. It's all I will use.

 

[TropicalThunder]

Just pulled my glow plugs today. all but drivers side rear came out. the 7 that came out look pretty good but I searched online but my plug connector looks different than the ones I found online. mine don't have the male spade connector but just a tip. anyone know the difference?
thanks

 

[cucvrus]

If you had a bullet tip in lieu of a 3/16" spade. I am thinking HMMWV glow plugs. They fit and work. Did you get the swelled glow plug out?

 

[TropicalThunder]

If you had a bullet tip in lieu of a 3/16" spade. I am thinking HMMWV glow plugs. They fit and work. Did you get the swelled glow plug out?

I did not get it out. I jumped on here to see how to get it out. lol I'm gonna try the vise method but want to take the injector out. I got the truck with all the plugs disconnected. gonna try and figure out the GP wiring.

 

[cucvrus]

I have had great success getting them out with the injector removed. I used a curved jaw vise grip and broke the tip after I had it clamped in the jaws it came right out. I did have to take the inner fender out to get in there real good. Good luck. Have a nice day.

 

[Flingarrows]

I have had great success getting them out with the injector removed. I used a curved jaw vise grip and broke the tip after I had it clamped in the jaws it came right out. I did have to take the inner fender out to get in there real good. Good luck. Have a nice day.

X2, I use curved locking foreceps that were $4 on ebay

 

[Ridgeback]

X2, I use curved locking foreceps that were $4 on ebay

Yup. The glow plug extractor mentioned early in this thread (JJ&A Racing) is pricey, but will save you so much pain in the long run. If a tip breaks off when you are trying to Pull it out, yank the injector and get a pair of surgical hemostats (wife is a Nurse...she knew what to get for me) with the long, curved jaws in there and fish that badboy out.

 

[Drock]

I was able to get one out with ah pair of needle nose vise grips and ah claw hammer. I clamped the vise grips straight on the glow plug nut. Then while holding it straight with the grips, used the claw end of the hammer, on the tip of the vise grips to slowly pry it out. The key is to keep it as straight as possible while your pulling it out.

 

[TropicalThunder]

I tried starting it without GP plugged in and it took a couple of tries but it started. I doesn't get any colder than low 70s F. here so maybe I would not need them. If not I'll just leave that one in and keep the plugs disconnected. But if it would help start on the first crank then I'll have to see why they were disconnected to begin with.

 

[kfrosty]

I'm going to try and piggy back off this thread.

I've been working on a new to me Hmmwv. I had a wiring problem and thought all was well. Finally got the 10 sec wait like when the vehicle wasn't warm but the temp dropped this last week and now starts are hard on a 48 degree morning.

I noticed my volt meter is never dropping during the wait light time. So tonight I decide to pull the brand new glow plugs I put in.

Well as luck would have it, the first one I pulled I had to use my extractor tool. I got it from the online place or Kascar, can't remember. The second one I'm on, the tool won't even get it to come out. I'm putting so much pressure on the wrench it's starting to mushroom the head of the glow plug.

I've read to get it hot and try. Any other tips on how to get one out that's swelled so bad the extractor tool won't remove it?

I've got a trip scheduled this weekend and worse case I'll leave the vehicle in the garage and start it up before I leave so it will start. But if I can't get the any bad plugs out, I was going to go ahead and replace the ones I can.

Leave the bad ones in and just leave the wires off them. Would that cause any problems?

 

[Drock]

If you could pull it while it was hot it would probably work. Otherwise you could rotate the piston to TDC and break off the glow plug. Then remove the injector and pull the piece out from there.

 

[kfrosty]

Ok, I finally got them out. One was swollen bad and the end was a little bent. The other two, I think it's the tool I have. Again I think I got if from Kascar. I think the glow plug head was getting a little crossed up in the tool and what was causing the problem. The two I had the problems with were the passenger side center 2.

I kept taking the tool off and trying to get it started as level as possible, especially when it started getting tension. Then after about 6 or so tries, all of a sudden they would come out.

Finally I started wiggling the tool when I was running it on with my hand to make sure I didn't feel any type of "catch" while threading up to the side of the head and that seem to work the best

 

[gem1410]

I own the pricy tool-----can remove 8 swolen plugs in a humvee in 1 hour---never had a problem--the tool is excellent and works--I use it all the time

 

[Ue413]

What causes these glow-plugs to bulge? I replaced mine, and it was strange as driver side were all bulged and passenger side were not.

my method was needle-noise vice grips, clamp as close to the head as possible. Then take a 2 foot long flat blade screw driver and wedge between tip of vice grips and head then twist. Worked well.

 

[amgeneral72]

I own the pricy tool-----can remove 8 swolen plugs in a humvee in 1 hour---never had a problem--the tool is excellent and works--I use it all the time

The removal tool is one of the best purchases I ever made.

 

[PJL]

What causes these glow-plugs to bulge? I replaced mine, and it was strange as driver side were all bulged and passenger side were not.

my method was needle-noise vice grips, clamp as close to the head as possible. Then take a 2 foot long flat blade screw driver and wedge between tip of vice grips and head then twist. Worked well.

This method worked for me. Be careful and pull it straight out.