1993 F250 - GlowPlug broke off, easy removal not possible. - Diesel Forum

bdoss123 · 08-19-2008, 04:41 PM

So I dropped my truck off at the shop last week for some minor work.

As luck would have it, on the last glowplug that they changed, the glowplug sheared off. Now the tip is stuck in there, and all of the "shortcut" methods to get it out have failed.

My next option is to have the head removed in order to get it out. My question is this - If I go through the time and money to have the head removed, what other items should I have them look at/replace?

Thanks,

- BD

cdnsarguy · 08-19-2008, 09:08 PM

Did the tip fall into the cylinder.......or was the piston at TDC when the GP was to be removed....... I normally advise piston at TDC for each GP being removed so tip does NOT fall into the cylinder.......

Guess the shop is doing the work for you FREE.......... their error.

LMJD · 08-19-2008, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Guess the shop is doing the work for you FREE.......... their error.

What qualifies you to make a judgement like that? Were you there leaning over the mechanic's shoulder? And your personal in shop on the floor experience as a mechanic which DOES qualify you consists of exactly how many years and where? How many TDS "experts" have done the same thing under the shadetree and somehow that's never their fault but if a fully qualified mechanic has one break as he's removing it, he's automatically a moron?

bdoss123 · 08-20-2008, 08:20 AM

Good point - I still can't figure out where I stand on this issue. The work is being done at a local dealership but the shop manager works with me on occasion so I don't pay full price for labor. Due to this fact alone, I don't have a lot of room to complain.

Back to the problems at hand - what else is worth looking at while the head is removed?

- Brendan Doss

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMJD

What qualifies you to make a judgement like that? Were you there leaning over the mechanic's shoulder? And your personal in shop on the floor experience as a mechanic which DOES qualify you consists of exactly how many years and where? How many TDS "experts" have done the same thing under the shadetree and somehow that's never their fault but if a fully qualified mechanic has one break as he's removing it, he's automatically a moron?

LMJD · 08-20-2008, 08:40 AM

It takes very little additional time (20 min.+/-)to "break down" the head for inspection. Meaning while it's off, most shops, with your permission, will want to pull the valves, check for excessive valve guide wear, visually inspect valve seats and valves themselves for correct seat contact and of course check for any head cracks between the two seats (the most common area to crack). If overall condition is good, you're good to go, however if the valves, guides, or whatever were in terrible shape that would sure be an indication the other head would be the same.

Snotzalot · 08-20-2008, 02:37 PM

A friend who has a trans shop did a fluid and filter change on my E4OD a few years back. Several of the bolts stripped out upon removal. This required inserts. Shop time probably added 15 minutes or so to the job. It wasn't his fault the bolts were stripped, I paid him for the time to do the job.

The same goes with this broken GP.

bdoss123 · 08-20-2008, 10:18 PM

I think you're right - most likely there is nothing he could have done differently to prevent this from happening.

In any case, I am going to pay to have the head removed regardless. Just trying to make sure there isn't anything else I should have looked at or checked while the head is off.

- BD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snotzalot

A friend who has a trans shop did a fluid and filter change on my E4OD a few years back. Several of the bolts stripped out upon removal. This required inserts. Shop time probably added 15 minutes or so to the job. It wasn't his fault the bolts were stripped, I paid him for the time to do the job.

The same goes with this broken GP.