Well, yesterday the 83 300D started starting hard, run rough and puff smoke. It would do this for a few seconds then smooth out and run great. Starting warm/hot it turned right over, but cold (even in ambient 70 degree weather) it turns over hard, runs rough and puffs smoke for a few seconds. Classic bad glow plug signs.

Today I metered the glow plugs out and numbers 1, 2, and 3 all read .4 ohms, Number 4 reads 586 ohms, and number 5 reads 750 ohms. So.....I'm assuming #4 and #5 glow plug are toast. Now the question(s)

First, which ones are #4 and #5? I'm assuming they are the back two plugs (closest to the firewall) and not the front two (which look to be the easiest to get to)

Second, what is the best way to R & R them? If the bad ones are the back two plugs they look to be a little bit of a bit#h to get to. I've replaced glow plugs on my TDI Jetta and it is not too rough, but these look like they have been in the engine for the last 20 years so I don't want to screw anything up.

Thanks for any help.

Glenn

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2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 91K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 231K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 196K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 249K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 376K (diesel commuter)