[mattl]

I just bought a 1993 F250 with the 7.3. My friend who I bought it off of told me that the glow plugs needed to be replaced. My mechanic friend (owed me money) told me that the glow plugs were easy to do and that I could do them myself.

Long story short, I tried to do the plugs myself and got 7 done without any troubles. The number 5 plug however decided to snap flush with the engine. I found last night that the element had managed to fall down into the engine. I have 3 mechanical opinions in front of me on what to do. Which would you guys feel is the best way to go?

1) Remove stuck plug, insert new and pray for the best - can do this myself or with mechanic buddy.

2) Remove exhaust port? and attempt to fish the element out through there. - can do this with mechanic friend.

3) Remove head and go looking for element. - Mechanic says $2,000+. Spent $4,500 on the truck and only worked it one day. Truck isn't worth $6,500.+

Thank you all for your help.

 

[OkieGringo]

[ QUOTE ]
I just bought a 1993 F250 with the 7.3. My friend who I bought it off of told me that the glow plugs needed to be replaced. My mechanic friend (owed me money) told me that the glow plugs were easy to do and that I could do them myself.

Long story short, I tried to do the plugs myself and got 7 done without any troubles. The number 5 plug however decided to snap flush with the engine. I found last night that the element had managed to fall down into the engine. I have 3 mechanical opinions in front of me on what to do. Which would you guys feel is the best way to go?

1) Remove stuck plug, insert new and pray for the best - can do this myself or with mechanic buddy.

2) Remove exhaust port? and attempt to fish the element out through there. - can do this with mechanic friend.

3) Remove head and go looking for element. - Mechanic says $2,000+. Spent $4,500 on the truck and only worked it one day. Truck isn't worth $6,500.+

Thank you all for your help.

[/ QUOTE ]

DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, go with option #1. Unless you want to find that piston in lotsa small pieces in the oil pan!!!

Bring that piston up to TDC, remove the injector, hook shop vac over the injector hole and blow compressed air into the GP hole and the broken off tip should come out. Disconnect the IP fuel shutoff solenoid so that the engine won't start before attempting this proceedure. Replace glow plugs with ONLY Motorcraft ZD-9 from Autozone for $9.00 each. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use Autolite glow plugs and this won't happen again. Use small amt of anti-sieze grease on the new gps. Good luck, OkieGringo

 

[mattl]

My mechanic is telling me that the head MUST be removed in order to get the element out, and to get the stuck plug out... I've been told several times now to either drop a pencil magnet in there or to suck the shavings out with the shop vac. It's not worth the $2,000 to me to have the head removed just to drill this thing out. I think my mechanic is just being lazy.

 

[tim94f250]

No, your mechanic isn't lazy. He has to make a living too. In fact, pulling the head is the hardest way to go. Try the other suggestions first and save pulling the heads for last. Because if you're gonna pull one, you should do both head gaskets. Good luck, Tim

 

[mattl]

Sorry about the confussion, I didn't mean my mechanic as in the guy I pay, I meant my friend the mechanic, whom owes me money.

 

[fordrox]

do i understand correctly,

the threaded part of the gp is stuck in the hole, not wanting to come out? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

if so i wondered if anyone else picked this up. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif

 

[OkieGringo]

Soak the broken plug with SeaFoam Penetrant overnight. Try drilling a small hole, but not all the way thru, in the gp and use a easyout to back it out. OkieG

 

[Freighttrain]

YOUCH,$2000 plus?That Friend is really trying to rip you a new one.I am paying around $1200 bucks to have 2 engines pulled,head gaskets replaced along with head studs installed(I supplied the parts but gaskets only cost about $175 for top end work),having all the sensors and turbo changed from teh 7.3L to the 6.9L,and having one engine put back in.Pretty much what you are having done shouldn't be more than $500 since being only one head you can get away with a cherry picker and pulling the head off with the engine in the truck.

 

[mattl]

Sorry for the confussion, please allow me to try to clear things up a little bit.

There are 2 mechanics in this situation... one who owes me money for work I did at his house, and the other is the one that my family uses and pays.

Yes, the element has fallen into the engine, and yes, the entire threaded part of the glow plug is still in the engine. I am going to attempt to suck out the element and drill the plug today, tapping a new hole and inserting a hydrocoil for the new plug.

Oh, and that glow plug is NOT going to get backed out. I've already tried easy outs and soaking for 24 hrs. Haven't snapped an easy out just yet, however other things have broken in the attempts to get this thing out. I realize that it MUST be drilled.

 

[cdnsarguy]

[ QUOTE ]
The number 5 plug however decided to snap flush with the engine. I found last night that the element had managed to fall down into the engine.

[/ QUOTE ]

First question I must ask is:

If the gp is broken off at the head level, then the threads are still in the head right.

How do you know the tip is broken off and is in fact in the engine, did you drill too far..

Was the piston at TDC on that cylinder before begining the removal.

 

[mattl]

As far as I know the piston was not at TDC before beginning removal.

I know that the tip fell into the engine because my friend the mechanic told me to drive it for a while and hopefully the plug would loosen up just enough so that we could remove it. After closing things up, I tried to start the engine and heard that there was air being sucked into the system from somewhere. The truck never turned over, but it did backfire.

The threads ARE still in the head.

I drill wood, or stupid metal things, my mechanic friend is the one who drilled the GP in order to get the easy outs in.

 

[mattl]

I'm in the middle of trying to suck out the element with the shop vac and the air compressor. I've been finding little bits and pieces of black something or other coming into the holding tank for the vac. How will I know when I have sucked it all out? I cleaned off the area the other day with compressed air, so I would hope that the black stuff isn't coming from the surface. Would it now be safe to drill the stuck plug?

 

[cdnsarguy]

Unfortunately IF your friend drilled too far into the GP the tip would fall off......consequently if the piston was NOT at TDC then it may/would fall into the cylinder. If you tried starting the engine with a hole into the cylinder via the GP you would get an extreme air noise and a backfire possibly. Are you getting any knocking and did the engine roll over completely several rotations.....

You may be lucky if the gp tip is hanging by a thread, so leave that cylinder at TDC. Work on the GP with easy outs and release agent, remember to remove the excess liquid fron that cylinder before installin the new GP should you be lucky enough to get it out. The black stuff is carbon from the precup.

 

[typefour]

Probably should pull the valve cover and the rockers on that cyl and see if one valve is lower that the other, If the tip went in and you can here air sucking it could have bent a valve. Heat that broken glow plug with a torch good and hot then let it cool, it should shrink enough to loosen up, done it lots, watch out for flaming liquids /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[tim94f250]

I hate to say this but, before you damage the piston, if it was me, judging by what you have told us, bite the bullet and pull the head. I don't trust either one of your mechanics. If either one of them were competent mechanics, diesel or not, you wouldn't be here looking for help. But, you have done the right thing by coming here and asking for help. Pull the head and forget about the if, ands or buts. Tim

 

[wheeze]

Buy a couple of cans of freon used to clean camera's (FREON, not just compressed air).

Turn can upside down so that liquid comes out instead of just air.

Spray liquid onto the glow plug where the the GP goes into the head, and spray the area around the hole. This will make the hole get slightly larger, and will shrink the size of the GP.

You may have to hit each GP with a couple of cans of freon each.

If really helps a stuck GP, and is far easier then pulling the heads.

 

[cdnsarguy]

I like that approach Wheeze, CO2 fire extinguisher may work too... watch your eyes for back splash.......

 

[tim94f250]

Perhaps a little liquid nitrogen or hydrogen. -300 degrees should do it.