Thinking of buying cheap glowplugs?

[dandywarhol]

A friend decide to finally sort out his lumpy cold running and got the glowplugs replaced.
The engine's been starting pretty well in warmer summer months but a bit "chuggy" in winter.

Here's what came out of no.4 cylinder These were fairly recently changed plugs before he bought the Bongo, no country of manufacture and the details FC 5320 stamped on them.
The fact it doesn't say Made in Japan probably means they're inferior copies.

The electrode has actually fallen out - so it must either still be in the precombustion chamber of been VERY lucky and spat out the exhaust If it can happen to one - it can happen to others!

Does anyone have a clear photo of a Bongo cylinder head combustion chamber so I can see the size of the flame hole?

[bigdaddycain]

WOAH!...thats not good I think mine are economy plugs!

[petebee]

I had new Ebay glowplugs fitted, two weeks later 2 of them died. Then had to pay again to have 4 from the Bongo

Shop. Now all O.K.

[scanner]

Dandy get hold of one of the small headed magnet thingies for picking up (ferrous) things you dropped and see if you can hook anything through the glowplug hole.

I don't know about the WL-T, but on XUD Citroen engines the flame hole is way smaller than the knobhead off your glowplug - only a few mm square.

[dandywarhol]

Thanks scanner - I didn't do the job but might have a crack at it with the magnet probe. I was hoping the hole was small on the Bongo - I've seen the XUD head too - a photo of a Bongo's chamber would put the owners (and my) mind to rest.

[scanner]

If you think about it from first principles it HAS to be small.
If it was too big it wouldn't be a pre-combustion chamber, it would just be a combustion chamber.

So I think it just has to be measured in mm rather than cms.

[Simon Jones]

I'll take a pic of my newly skimmed head tomorrow. I can't see any way it could have got into the combustion chamber & out the exhaust, so it's probably still in there.

[dandywarhol]

Thanks Simon - thank JC it's not a DI engine

[Ralph]

Must be still in there dont screw the new ones in till u are
sure it's not as some combustion chambers can be pushed
out or even just drop into the cylinder dont know if it can
happen on the Bongo but have a real good look.

[dandywarhol]

It's run with the broken bit in there for some time Ralph. The garage gave a long think about it, put in the new one (it went in and torqued down fine) and the van's running fine. It must be lodged in there under the precombustion chamber "disc"
I'll remove the new one and waggle a magnetic probe as scanner suggests but I'm also wary of dislodging it

[brorabongo]

That is a bit of a worry.
I had to replace my cheapies within a year, as one failed. So I replaced all 4 with NGK's. They only cost me £35.81 including VAT for all 4, from a motor factors.