How to Change Glow Plugs

StateGuru

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Diesel engines are designed different than gasoline-based engines. One of the most significant differences is diesel engines have glow plugs instead of spark plugs. Spark plugs create a spark that ignites the fuel to power the vehicle. Glow plugs rely on compression rates to raise air temperature to the point of spontaneous combustion of the diesel fuel. To save money, here are a few tips on how you can change your own glow plugs.

Steps

Find the glow plugs in the engine compartment. They are usually on top of the cylinder head.

Remove the glow plug wires. The glow plug wires are beneath the engine's valve covers. You will find one end attached to the top of the glow plug and the other attached to the engine. Remove the wire attached to the glow plug. Remove the small nut that holds the wires to the glow plugs with a wrench. Push the wire aside. Repeat this process to remove each glow plug wire.

Remove the glow plugs carefully, one at a time. Loosen each glow plug from their sockets using a ratchet.

Clean each electrical contact and nut. Similar to battery contacts, glow plug wires can become dirty, which can result in a poor electrical connection.

Use reamer and ream the glow plug hole for each glow plug. This is just to clean out the glow plug hole, so ream only long enough to remove any buildup.

Replace each plug and tighten them down with a ratchet. Tighten them just to the point of slight resistance. If you tighten them too much, the next time you need to change the glow plugs you might break one off trying to remove it. This can result in a costly repair.