Vehicle & Technical > Discovery

Glow plug broken

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SteveGoodz:
Today I removed the remaining glow plugs and tested them using my jump starter and they all glow cherry red within 6-8 seconds, so they're okay and not the cause of my poor starting. Whilst this is good news it still leaves me with about an inch of element stuck in the head  :(

Taking a much closer look at the new glow plugs today I can now see that the taper at the end of the element on the new ones are not as sharp as the originals. I've emailed the supplier to get his views as they were advertised as for the 300Tdi and if he's sold me the wrong ones then he's likely to be paying to have this one removed .. whether he likes it or not!

So the difference in shape and the fact that the element of the new one bottomed out in the hole before the threads were fully home kinda suggests that the bottom of the hole is also tapered to accommodate the correct ones. If this is right then the new one won't be able to drop into the cylinder because it's too fat at the end ~ which is some consolation anyway.

So, what has been causing the starting problems? Well about 5 or 6 weeks ago I noticed I was getting gurgling noises from the heater matrix and it was suggested on here (and elsewhere) that this was probably a blown head gasket. After jet washing the engine yesterday I noticed a smear of oil on the block immediately below the head gasket so I guess that's the problem. I'm waiting for my tame mechanic to let me know when he can have it in to sort out. He now has 3 jobs instead of the one we originally spoke about last week ~ crankshaft rear oil seal, head gasket and glow plug removal. Not what I need just before Christmas  :cry:

I'll post back when the jobs are done.

SteveGoodz:

--- Quote from: "Range Rover Blues" ---I can't visualise which part it is that bust off, but I think he's right.  Aluminium expands almost twice as much as stell, so it'll certainly be loose once it's hot.
--- End quote ---


It's the element part, which is about 1 inch long


--- Quote from: "Range Rover Blues" ---Thing is if it does blow out, does that mean the job's done?

I can't see if falling into the engine given that it was tight going in with a socket.
--- End quote ---


Hopefully, yes, except that the head is going to have to come off anyway to replace a blown gasket (see my recent post). I also tend to think it can't fall into the engine ~ but I'll be keeping my fingers, toes and other paired body parts crossed anyway  :D

Range Rover Blues:
The good news is that a new head will only cost you £300, I've just done 2 and the first one cost me a few quid to get skimmed, I didn't have it pressure tested though.  The second one had a glow plug snapped off in the hole (no.1, what a coincidence) and the last injector wouldn't come out, so I couldn't have it skimmed and went for replacement.

The glow plug had snapped just below the hexagon head, ie the threaded part is still in the head.

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