Well, I'm done for now.....dropped my 8mm wrench down beyond the 3rd glow plug! It's a tiny wrench and I can't reach it. Guess it'll either stay there for a while or fall out. Tried getting it with a magnet but I don't have anything that'll reach down that far. At least I can tell my mechanic that it's probably the 4th and 5th (and maybe 3rd) glow plug. Hope the wrench doesn't get loose while I'm driving it and destroy anything!!

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JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

Rule number one for glow plug work: Jam rags down between the block and IP and oil filter housings so wrenches and nuts can't disappear.

Does seem like there's a harness problem. That's not very common. I'd check the resistance on each wire between the relay and the glowplug end.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

At autozone they have magnets on an extendable stick. I dropped a wrench and a screwdriver bit down there and got them both out with the magnet. You can get your wrench out..its big enough for the magnet to find easily..keep trying!

As for wrenches, I used gear wrenches for both the little nut and the plug, but next time I'm going to go to sears and buy a craftsman 12mm ratcheting box end wrench with a nice 5 degree swing, because my gear wrenches almost didn't cut it...I have barely enough room to swing the wrench. But its not that hard...I was a little daunted by a few of them and they turned out to be easier than I though. And since its something that you've going to have to tend to every year or two, it would probably be best to get familiar with changing the plugs.

Good luck, and don't forget to put anti-sieze on the new plug threads to make your work easier next time around.

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1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

I can do mine in 20-30 minutes without a problem, they unscrew with just my fingers once I loosen them about 1/2 turn. It gets easier after you've done a few.

I ended up getting my 1/2" ratchet driver down in the crack, batted the wrench out of sight, and reached up from underneath to grab it. I will stuff rags down there--thanks Kerry. Nice to know rule #1 about a job after having broken it

I will be MUCH more inclined to chase down these discrepancies/unscrew the wires/plugs once it's not freezing outside. I am moving to Austin, TX later this year, so in the mean time, i think this will go onto the list of things the mechanic will look at in the upcoming week. I don't know if you guys remember but I posted a month or so ago about a whole mess of front end rebuild work, with parts prices and labor quotes. The unanimous decision was that the mechanic was very reasonably priced. So, the wagon goes off to get $1600 worth of bushings and whatnot installed.....here's the link to that thread, in case you're curious:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=210145

Luckily I just got married this past fall, so we're putting all our wedding gift money toward this laundry list of fixes for our car. The wife is behind it. Without this money we couldn't afford to do this, no matter how reasonably priced it is. $1600 is a lot to put into a car that ostensibly runs well enough. Alas.

Thanks again for all your guys' help! This forum makes jobs easier; lacking a proper set of tools and buying faulty meters makes it frustrating...and all you can do is smile

(and go broke)

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS