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Changing glow plugs

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  LMJD 
#1 ·
I have been wanting to change the glow plugs but all the horror stories about seized or broken tips scared the crap out of me. Mine were all Motorcraft Beru and came out fine. Easier than changing spark plugs on an old E 350 van. I bought DieselRX. Made in U.S.A. Motorcraft are not. If DieselRX are good enough for the Military they are good enough for me. All the boots were gone so I bought the 7.3 crimp on heat shrink kit. The GP arrrive Thursday. At my age and the cold weather I broke down this project into 2 days.
 
#2 ·
Never been in the military, but from what my sons say about it, you're placing a LOT of faith in them. I tend to go with what I know. I have never had bad luck with Motorcraft, but the rest of them weeell that's another story. They don't always swell, but they all tend to burn out much sooner than the Motorcraft.
 
#4 ·
But the military buys their stuff from the lowest bidder. ;)
Motorcraft GPs are made by Beru (I think in Ireland) and are top notch quality. At least they're not made in that "C" place.
 
#6 ·
Never been in the military, but from what my sons say about it, you're placing a LOT of faith in them.
Holy Crap, Oldrebuilt, you read my mind! Years ago one of our really sharp heavy equip/truck apprentice mechanics had just got out of the service and the tales he could tell. One money saving feature for us taxpayers, he said if any vehicle came in the army shop, the oil and filter was changed automatically regardless if it was just changed the day before, 2 days before, week before, month before, whatever.
 
#8 ·
Our military is the best in the world at what they are trained to do. It aint vehicle or equipment maintenance though. I give my sons crap about jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, and they say...No somewhat serviceable airplanes.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The 8 DRX glow plugs took an hour to in tall and went very well. They kind of snapped into my 1/4" drive 3/8" deep socket with a 6" extension so I could just spin them in by hand first. .
Terminating the wires took an hour and a half. 2 had very short wires and took 45 minutes. The other 6 were longer and took 45 minutes. Not terrible. It was warm today in Michigan.

It is possible for GPs other than Motorcraft to actually work, not swell up and last. The DRX tips are around 19.5 mm. The old Beru/Motorcraft tips where from 20.5 to 21 mm. I did a deep dive on the glow plug wars. I see folks are very loyal to Beru/Motorscraft. I like made in the U.S.A. if the product is as good as the imports. BTW Motorcraft/Beru glow plugs are imports.

So far so good!!
 
#9 ·
One thing with military mechanics is that they have no problem pulling the head off of a engine to repair a $10 part.

I have known and worked with a few of them and I was never impressed by them.
 
#11 ·
One thing with military mechanics is that they have no problem pulling the head off of a engine to repair a $10 part.
I have known and worked with a few of them and I was never impressed by them.
Yeah, not trying to sound like a know-it-all, but I remember a few that came to work in shops I worked in and they lasted about 2 weeks.
 
#10 ·
I have worked with a few helicopter mechanics from the military. I don't understand how they ever survived the rotor, they were that dumb. I've also worked with some who had a little common sense.
 
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