Glow plugs, such thing as "service interval or .....

[Diplomat]

Some years ago there was a thread about using an illuminated dashboard rocker switch to either switch the glow plugs out of circuit, after starting, or indicate by means of the light exactly when they were being cycled on.


Frank

[Northern Bongolow]

Ok I will have a guess at this...based on what I see here :

Short (note space between thread and nut):

http://www.mazdabongo.com/catalog/popup_image/pID/220

Long (note space between thread and nut):

http://www.mazdabongo.com/catalog/popup_image/pID/222

I have the expensive long type.

If someone could confirm that would be great but on mine there seems to be more smooth metal above the thread that looks more like the longer ones to my eye. And I bet the long ones are not NGK either it does not say they are NGK (short ones are NGK)

http://www.mazdabongo.com/catalog/filte ... glow-plugs

Will these still be decent quality parts from mazdabongo.com ?

Also have them at Ians shop a little more dosh.. £67.00 (Ian are your long ones NGK branded?)

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/merchandise5.htm

Thanks, though I need to confirm that I have the long uns' first. (looks that way)

you have long uns mate.

[BongoBongo123]

Thanks Northern ! I wonder if Ian can let us know if his long glow plugs are NGK or not ?
Not even sure you can get NGK ones in "long"

I found it interesting that there is thread left to spare coming out of the cylinder head or block.

[Northern Bongolow]

i think they are a tapered thread and should be put in the head at a specific torque setting. to loose and you may see bubbling around them, to tight and you may never remove them.

[BongoBongo123]

Thanks for letting me know Northern. Though the first thought was "Great ..... expensive, not NGK and awkward to remove and put in without a torque wrench"

I won't be rushing them, put it that way.

Squirten zie WD40 en zie beforehanden zie ?

I am sure if I Google the torque setting it will come back as result No. 1 with a money back guarantee from Mazda HQ right? Not ! I dunno....old cars eh ?

Excuse my sarcasm and slight annoyance. In no way directed at the helpful souls on here.

Edited: funnily enough apparently : "The usual is 15-20nm."

Though NGK do not make the long ones.

£100.00 job in the end with torque wrench I do not own, well stuff it, they can wait till it does not start.

[helen&tony]

Hi
Put a little copper grease on before they go in
Cheers
Helen

[wonkanoby]

or put in short ngk and bend the bar to fit

taking care it cannot short

[Snail921]

a smear of copper tease, finger tight, then a quarter turn, no more. Not, as a friend of mine says, tighten til it cracks, then back a quarter.
Regards,
Brian.

[BongoBongo123]

Good tips, thanks, so it is actually possible to insert the short ones, it is feasible? I did read somewhere that people put nuts on, but that would make sense for the long ones, so the tips do not protrude too far into the bore. (and might explain why I have quite a bit of thread showing as someone has estimated the correct nut size to avoid them poking in too far)

[Snail921]

copper grease, not tease. Freudian slip there:-)

[BongoBongo123]

When I do them I will WD40 them 24 hours before removing to help them out. And obviously not start the engine to make it evaporate out of the threads. Thanks for the advice as always, at least I have a better grip on what is involved and what I need to order.

[Northern Bongolow]

yours are screwed into the correct depth, the difference in length is above the thread height so they will both go into the cylinder to the same depth so dont worry about that.

to alter long to short i cut the small screw thread off the old long ones, or the top thread off an old set of spark plugs, take the screw connector top piece off the old spark plugs and screw it half way onto the new short glow plugs then screw the threaded piece into it, nip it up tight then fit the rail and new nut on top, this has the effect of raising the rail height by about 10 -15 mm, enough so the live rail clears the fuel injector steel link return pipe.
if this is not clear it may take up to a couple of weeks to rub through the insulation on the rail, then the live rail will start shorting to earth via the link pipe, this ive seen burn/weld through the link pipe, fuel, ignition, fire.

[TonyW]

Hi all,

Quick question .... is replacing the glow plugs a job an amateur (me) can attempt?

Ours need changing (according to trustworthy Bongo service center) and I'm interested in saving the labor cost.

Thanks in advance and apologies if this has already been asked/answered.

[scanner]

Hi all,

Quick question .... is replacing the glow plugs a job an amateur (me) can attempt?

Ours need changing (according to trustworthy Bongo service center) and I'm interested in saving the labor cost.

Thanks in advance and apologies if this has already been asked/answered.

It is one of those "Yes, until it goes wrong..........." jobs.

Most of the time it will be OK some of the time it may go wrong.



Many years ago I wanted to do a simple job - changing the sparkplugs on a Fiat Panda - easy peasy.

Well it was for 3 of them, but one snapped off at the base of the body leaving the threads flush with the plughole.

It ended up as a head off - trip to Lister Engineering - drill out threads - helicoil hole - replace head - new cambelt etc. job.

If you have a go make sure you have a plan B.

[Diplomat]

More than anything, it's down to having the right tools. Not all sockets will be deep enough to accommodate the tops of the plugs so the correct sized box spanner will be handy. Buy a retrieving tool if you don't already have one. I've got one magnetic one and one claw type. Stick some blu tack in the socket you use to undo the terminals and you might not need the retrieving tool!

You will also need to be aware of the risk of breaking/shearing the plugs as well losing the terminal nuts into the bowels of the engine tray. An experienced fitter would have strategies up the sleeve for dealing with the unexpected. However, we all have to learn and you won't learn by not attempting jobs. This job is relatively simple and well documented. The second time you do it will take only half the time of the first session.


Frank