Glow plug tip broken off, stuck in hole. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jul 10, 2012
Threads
20
Messages
354
Location
Canary Islands (Spain)
1990 2L-T been struggling to start, 15 seconds of cranking, loads of smoke at start. So today I decided to replace plugs and do compression test while at it. Number 4 plug broke coming out and left its end in the hole. Photo shows plug alongside its buddy so u can see how much is missing.

I haven't tried poking or drilling it out. Is it a head off job? Sure i can get it out but am seeking advice on how to do so without damaging anything else or leaving debris that will go thru engine and turbo.

IMG_20191214_135554.jpg
 
Same thing happened to me when I first bought my truck. I was able to get the tip out without removing the head. I followed the instructions of another thread on here where someone had that happen. I'll try to find it. Basically though, I very carefully drilled a bit of material out of the broken end, then tapped it. I fabricated a simple puller tool to pull the broken end out. Worked like a charm; but definitely a stressful thing!

The ends bulge if people glow the system too much. Also, next time you remove the plugs work them back and forth very carefully as you remove them.
 
Found the thread. I did a little nicer version of this. Still have the tool somewhere. Real Time help Needed! Glow Plug tip in Cylinder Head
Thanks, that could work. I might struggle with space to manipulate a drill as its the 4th piston. The end of the plugs are tapered but is the taper in the swirl chamber or is it fitted into a tapered hole. If the hole isnt tapered i reckon i could knock it thru into the swirl chamber and retrieve thru the injector hole. Its only the end of the tip thats missing in my case
 
Thanks, that could work. I might struggle with space to manipulate a drill as its the 4th piston. The end of the plugs are tapered but is the taper in the swirl chamber or is it fitted into a tapered hole. If the hole isnt tapered i reckon i could knock it thru into the swirl chamber and retrieve thru the injector hole. Its only the end of the tip thats missing in my case

You could remove the hood for more room. I'd say pushing it into the swirl chamber should only be done if nothing else works.

My broken tips were just very small too. The puller method still worked fine.
 
Will try the puller method. Just looking at my taps, I've not got one that is long enough to reach the remains of the plug so will try the wood screw method from the other thread. Thanks for your advice and for linking to that thread. Had a look at the manual and seems like taking the head off wouldn't help anyway as would need to get the swirl chamber out, which in turn needs tapping out thru the glow plug hole.

1576360740230.png
 
Hi Canarias. Check out post # 20 in this thread following my glow plug adventures...


I had a tip stuck and blew it out with engine compression. No tools and no risk of pushing it further in. Instructions in the thread.
 
Last edited:
Got a woodscrew half a turn into the stuck tip, but got no kind of puller. The screw is 5mm, same as the hole. 4mm screws aint long enough and its not easy to get stuff on the weekend here. Cranked the starter a few seconds as well, no joy. Tomorrow I'll get a new set of glow plugs, put 3 in and fire it up, and see if i can make a puller as per the first thread linked to.
 
Yep, good luck with just the engine compression- I had to rev it up a hill to get it to blow out. Turning the engine over with just the starter didn't even get close. Neither did revving it in neutral.
 
I have a 7.3 with glow plugs similar to those, I soak them with this stuff works wonders on carbon build up and removing stubborn GP...

5592B9FB-2F66-4E75-BBF1-316BE010FB6C.png
 
3 new plugs in. Fired straight up from cold. Took for drive, got up to 3k rpm uphill, plug tip still stuck. No sign of diesel blowing past on tickover but after driving the area was wet with fuel. Will give it another wiggle when cold.
 
I have a 7.3 with glow plugs similar to those, I soak them with this stuff works wonders on carbon build up and removing stubborn GP...

Cant read the label, would injector cleaner do a similar job?
 
Cant read the label, would injector cleaner do a similar job?
Mercury power tune most boat shops have it. It’s specifically designed to break up carbon. You need something to break the carbon up I don’t think injector cleaner would work. Google stuck glow plug you’ll get a ton of hits.
 
Sorry to hear that compression didn't work. I had high hopes. It may mean that the glow plug actually melted and deformed somewhat. Try the carbon cleaners (carefully, as Gerg says), but they may not help much if the glow tip is bulbously melted.

When I was trying to pop the tip out of my engine, there was a fair bit of noise of exhaust gas escaping. Sounds like yours is pretty solidly stuck.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom