Biodiesel as solvent
 

Yes, agree with using bio rather then petroleum based. I have not taken anything apart yet, but is it feasible to soak inside of Plug with biodiesel? Will it damage to the head/cyl/rings? Would imagine best to vacuum out an crank to expel as much as possible.

Any thought on worth it or not to try this? On the flip it may actually make matters worse. It may loosening up the carbon weld/build up which secures the gp tip to the head. If the gp breaks at the thread. When you drill out to remove, the tip may fall into the head :(.

I also agree heat/expansion works in your favor. Do you prep the intake manifold before warming up? Loosen the lower intake hose bolt prior to heating up engine? Try to minimize the amount of work needed to take of manifold once engine is warm/hot. Any suggestions to prep removal steps prior to warming up engine? Or, do you just remove the intake as normal when engine is hot/warm?

Thanks in advance.

I get it good and hot from a trip and then start taking things off. You need to be a little careful of the hot engine, but it actually turns out to be pretty painless pun intended. :)

If you have not broken the glow plug yet:
Get a 40 ft/lbs 3/8" drive torque stick.
Use it with a low power impact wrench, air or electric.
Soak the thread area with penetrating oil. Keep soaking it down for overnight or a day or two if you have the time.
If you can run the engine up to temp, that will also help.

Apply the impact wrench, using the torque stick to limit the torque. 40 ft/lbs should be low enough to not break off the plug or ruin the nut. Keep it up for as long as it takes. Some will take over an hour.

When I first read about the procedure I bought the torque stick. Fortunately I have never needed it. The person who wrote up the procedure had use this method on every stuck plug in a 606 that he encountered. He claims that he never broke the glow plug and he got every one out.

Ken-tool Item # 30256

http://rover.ebay.com/ar/1/711-53200...2F300632507727KEN-TOOL 3/8" DRIVE 40 LB. TORQUE LIMITING EXTENSION - NEW - MADE IN USA | eBay

Home - Rownetco, Inc.

Tool
 

Greg, any idea how this thing works? Looks like nothing more than an extension.

Jeremy

Think of the torque stick as a spring. When you approach it's designed torque limit, it will start to twist/flex and thus limit torque applied to the fastener. They only work on impact wrenches as they depend on the hammering effect to twist/release/twist/release. If you use a normal ratchet, then they would not limit torque and act as a socket extension.

They are mostly frowned upon for any real use in regards of torque, one should never use them as a method to torque a fastener. They are best used to snug lug bolts or fasteners at a torque threshold below what is needed to do a final torquing with a proper torque wrench. Example, use a 80ft lb torque stick to snug up lug bolts and then come back setting final torque with a wrench to 95ft lbs etc.

For this application, they could be a great way to "hammer" safely on the glow plugs while keeping the torque below a threshold which might damage the plug.

So it seems like one could you a cordless screw gun with a normal extension if the torque was set to less than 40 lbs.

You need the repeated hammering that a impact wrench provides. Constant pressure at 40 ft/lbs will do nothing. I don't think that your cordless driver is going to last for an hour or more if that is what is needed.

True my cordless drill doesn't hammer like an impact driver (I have both), but it will run for an hour and it does mimic the hammering when the torque is set. I have used it in that manner to back out screws that would not come out. I have a second battery with a 30 minute charger, so run time is not an issue.

As I understand the procedure you wouldn't want to run it for an hour anyway. You get the car hot, quickly pull the intake and then ratchet for a few minutes. Squirt PB Blaster or the cutting agent of your choice and then come back and ratchet on them for a few more minutes and repeat until they come out.

Having said that, I have an OM603 and have never had to do any of that. I would be happy to come over and lend my cordless screw gun to any member in the area with stuck glow plugs.

That may work. But in the procedure that I read, they applied the impact wrench continuously until the glow plug came out. They claimed that it always worked.

BTW, we are taking about glow plugs in a 606, not a 603. Very different.

OM606
 

Thanks, Greg. Now that I have two 606s I'll have to keep it in mind. So far I've had to remove only two glow plugs. One took a little care and the other was 603-easy.

Jeremy

Yes that is why I mentioned that I have a 603. I'm familiar with the difference. My glow plugs always come out and don't break off.

"Having said that, I have an OM603 and have never had to do any of that. I would be happy to come over and lend my cordless screw gun to any member in the area with stuck glow plugs."

$40 Lifesaver: 3/8" Close Quarters Drill with Keyless Chuck

I always removed & reinstalled my 617's GPs every winter just to be careful. When I was reworking the head this winter I broke off two even though they were less than a year old and had antisieze. Bosch brand.

Unless the engine is out of the car, and the ip is removed, and the oil filter housing is removed, there is not enough room to allow for a torque stick, deep socket and impact driver. Sorry. There is JUST enough room for a 3/8 drive ratchet and a deep well socket. The little electric tool pictured above will NEVER work on a stuck 606 glow plug. It may work on a 606 plug that isn't really stuck.

I wonder how burning biodiesel all the time helps keep the carbon cleaned off the glowplug tip? Im not an owner of one of these cars yet but am about to be. Im just a member now researching and learning. I am buying one because I have been making biodiesel for a couple of years and running it in my 1999 7.3 Ford SuperDuty. I would think running bio through the combustion chamber for a few months might actually help getting the glows to come out a bit easier. Just my thought. Ok, carry on.