This engine has always had a shake at idle. Not bad but not right either. It has always started easily until the other day when it was under 20*F which may be a battery or glow issue. The engine doesn't have excessive smoke and loosening the oil cap results in the cap only jiggling a little. The engine didn't turn at the normal speed and seemed to have an easier then harder time turning over but I know the battery was low at that point.
The glow light didn't seem to stay on as long as normal so I compared plug resistance to a used but working plug that I had in the used parts box. All closely matched. I also swapped in another used glow relay since it was handy and easy. No change in the light and I did get close to battery voltage at the glow plugs. There was some voltage drop in the wiring but I don't remember exactly how much.
A seemingly small measured voltage drop is significant so I'll revisit tomorrow when I have some time.
Car battery voltage - all you need to know
I'm really hoping there is nothing significantly wrong as I have too much stuff on my plate to take on a head or engine swap.
Is there an easy way to diagnose injection pump delivery valves?