Club 80-90 Forums

i think i need to change my glow plugs and have bought some lucas replacements,so i was wondering if anyone has any tips and tricks as iv heard they have a tendancy to shear off! any help greatly appreciated thanks

Hello,

Good luck when removing them - well fitting deep socket etc.... my advice would be more for refitting... don't overtighten when you put them back in - I think it's 11lb-ft (15Nm) but not positive for the JX. You can use something like copper anti-seize compound so they come out again ok and don't shear if you have to change them again....

Ewen

leroiandjayne wrote:..any tips and tricks ..

My tip - get it done by someone else.

Hi, I did this last week on my JX van (as it's getting v.cold over here in Scandinavia and she would not start if left outside below -2 degrees or so).

It is a cow of a job, it took me two hours just to remove the nuts holding the buzzbar in (copper strip on top of glow plugs) without removing anything else nearby. Then a further 3-4 hours to get the glow plugs out after removing the injector pipes between the injectors and injection pump. Speed really depends on how small your hands are and how small/big/good your tools are.

I was managing about 1/4 of a turn on the plugs before my spanner or hand hit something so a slow and frustrating job. If you are patient it is not too bad. Tool wise I would suggest a ratchet spanner 8mm and 12mm with short handle and magnet on a stick to catch nuts and glowplugs. I needed the magnet to get one glow plug located because the pump was so close. I found only one of my plugs was stuck and that loosened with a bit of cleaning spray/lube (cannot remember the name of the stuff but nothing special).

Anyway, job done and she starts again in the cold. Before one cylinder was not firing when cold and so the engine sounded like a bag of rubbish for 10 - 20 seconds until it all came to life. Guess that is a good way to see if they have had it or not..?!

I do think the advice of get someone else to do it is good advise unless you have the time, the tools and the patience.

Good luck!

I sure folk will offer some good advise too.

Tom.

thanks for that tom,i have had a go once before,got the busbar,nuts and injector pipes all off pretty quickly but then realised that i diddnt have a tool to fit the plugs,i recently found a double ended plug spanner that will fit them,it has a long metal spike out of one side for leveridge so im toying with the idea of having another go, many thanks for your post.

Im a tad confused - its a fiddly job but its not that bad!

First thing, take off the injector pipes and get them out the way.
Then take off the nuts on top of the accessable glow plugs and remove the bus bar from them (bend it out the way). Loosen (not undo) the nuts on the other two behind the pump. (This bit is optional if you're not bothered about loosing the nuts on top of the glow plugs that tighten to the busbar).

Remove the first two plugs - dead easy. Refit these two plugs - dead easy.

More fiddly, but unscrew the last two plugs (with the bus bar attached but loose) with an open ended spanner. It does help to have a few different length ones until you find the one that works for you.
When they pop out, use the busbar to get them out the way.
Now, put the new plugs loosely onto the busbar and use the busbar to manipulate the plugs into the holes. Very carefully screw the end plug in using the busbar to help you get it in true - cross threading is a no no.
Using the busbar get the other plug in true and screw that in too.

I bought the proper tool for the job (its a long ratchet ring spanner) and this doesnt help at all. I never use it now.

I have changed my plugs more than i care to remember and this works for me...

Good luck

Ringo

With the right sort of tools and some experience I am sure it can be done in about an hour

Let us know how you get on, it is always good to read of someones successes (rather than questions after problems). Good karma for the forum!!

Good luck with it at the second go.

cheers for that chaps,confidence is now on a high!!! will have a go at it and post on how i get on,many thanks indeed, tally-ho ha ha

yah hey dunnit,it took me a little under two hours but sorted it, i reckon i could have done it in less time but some herbat from a previous life had rounded off the two plugs under the diesel pump but with grunts and determination i sussed it,started up no probs with virtually no smoke from unburned fuel,one of the plugs was greyish white and the others were wet black and carboned up.thanks for the advice and inspiration guys. leroi

I found using a straight bit of stick with a blob of blu tack on the end.Was a good way of getting the nuts onto the hard to reach plugs.

I think Ringo's tip of pre-attaching the busbar to help refit the two starbard ones is v.good, magic in fact

Also agree that the bespoke (Blue-point) magnetic long shank ring spanner is opretty well a waste of space, might be handy for nipping them up

NB. Don't overtorque them, torque is in Wiki, 22 N-m, about 16 ft-lbf I think. There is a VW workshop spec for allowable crushing of the sealing taper or their nose

i used one of them what looks like a car ariel but a magnet that also looks like a pen to put them two nuts back on,i found trying to use the busbar completely impossible it was better out the way cos my hands are like meatplates i needed all the space i could get ha ha,i fired her up at 08.30 this morning and it was -2.5 degs....glow light on for ten secs and......varoom up she went first turn on the key and normal smoke!!!

leroiandjayne wrote:yah hey dunnit,it took me a little under two hours but sorted it, i reckon i could have done it in less time but some herbat from a previous life had rounded off the two plugs under the diesel pump but with grunts and determination i sussed it,started up no probs with virtually no smoke from unburned fuel,one of the plugs was greyish white and the others were wet black and carboned up.thanks for the advice and inspiration guys. leroi

Great stuff, whereabouts are you based, I'll bring mine round

Yup, these TDs definitely like 4 good glows, no doubt about that

T'other thing is a good earth on engine, a good earth on gbox, and a good healthy battery and a starter motor that is in good nick...

Then, all it needs is a wee tickle and away she g(l)ows