do you guys recommend changing all the glow plugs at once or is it ok to change a couple if needed?


i just checked five of mine with a test light. the middle two on the drivers side dont work. and i havent tested the back three on the passenger side yet. i can get autolites for 8 ea and ac's for 10 ea at napa. i dont have the 80 bucks lyin around to buy the good ones from kennedy. Edited by: steiner43511

Pull them and check the physical condition - let that be your guide for replacement.


The good ones are LDM - see if you can find the brand.


AC-60G's require longer glow time, but will survive longer glow time.


AC-9G's start easier - 11g's are stock. survive extended glows longer than 9'sEdited by: gmctd

I've seen the tips totally missing. Since the glowplug remains whitehot in the prechamber, I can see how they remain part of the ignition proccess after starting.


If you move mudflap on the pass wheelwell the last three are accessable but the middle two are in heat sheilds.Edited by: quantum mechanic

the ldms only have a one year warranty, those ones for ssdieselsupply have a two year. i can get the ssdiesel ones (also the ones that kennedy sells) off of ebay for 60 bucks. that works out to 7.50 a piece. thats pretty cheap. or do i just go buy 2 or 3 and replace the bad ones? which ones, 9 or 11 or 60g's, are in a 97 stock? the LDM ones are 16 bucks a piece. Edited by: steiner43511

checked all but one on passenger side. the one right by the downpipe is the one i cant get to. that bigger downpipe almost covers the whole. shoulda checked that one before i put the new pipe on. might have to drop the whole exhaust to look at it. so far out of seven i have only found 2 bad and those are easy to get to on the drivers side middle. might just leave that one go......

Just remove the downpipe. The last glow plug is above the exhaust manifold.

my exhaust is all one piece. its all welded together. gettin hooked backup is a pain by myself so ill have to wait till somebody can help. i just pulled the front three on the drivers side. ac 11g's. this means they have been changed before. they dont very old still have a nice shine to em. im not gonna bother changin em all.


how do you test them out of the engine?Edited by: steiner43511

i just did an ohms test on the bad ones compared to the good one and they are definately bad.


i read somewhere someone said put to use antizieze? is this a good idea? im sure it cant hurt.Edited by: steiner43511

11G's should be stock - see that data didn't make it thru my orig post so I corrected it.


Good plugs are 1.2 ohms.


Can use metallic anti-sieze sparingly - plug body is the electrical ground connection.


Each connector should measure ~1.2ohms to engine ground when plug is installed.Edited by: gmctd

ive checked at napa, autozone and advance auto and nobody carries the ac-delco 11g's. they have the 60g's. they also have autolite 1110, which i assume are like 11g's. but they look pretty damn cheap if you ask me. i guess tommorrow ill check carquest and then the stealer if i have to.

You could put a switch in the ECT wire - open ckt would call for max glow, then close switch when Wait To Start indicator times out, to get normal starts.


Would force 60G's to correct starting heat, while also providing normal advance characteristics for cold starting.

nobody carries the 11g's anymore, even the two stealers in town. i dont really want to put two 60g's in with 6 11g's so i might have to break down and change em all.

Hit one of the local boneyards, pull a few used plugs - maybe you can find a couple good ones to tide you over.......

good idea!

steiner - looks to me that the 11g glow plug is obsolete...More than likely the only way you'll find them new is by finding a dealership that has been sitting on them for a while...Bosch also makes glow plugs for the 6.5,,,part number is 80034 - I have yet to have any customers use them so I have no clue as to how reliable they are....however, I have not had any luck at all with autolite glow plugs......

i just think the autolites look really cheap. do the dealers sell the boschs? the only ones other than ac's i could find were autolites and champions. i found some on ebay that im hoping i can win. 8 11g's for 34.99. i called around to the local junkyards but nobody had nothin.

I don't know if you'll find a store that stocks the bosch glow plugs
steiner, but I know I can order them for next day delivery on my stock
orders (through napa) I just wish I had one on hand to compare to the
autolites and ac delco units I have on hand......

Lucas/Delphi makes the best.

What is the brand stamping on the Lucas\Delphi plugs? Edited by: gmctd

i havent seen anybody yet carry the lucas/delphi plugs

i just saw that heath diesel sells them for 95 bucks!!!! ouch.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley19.gif

i just replaced all 8 glow plugs on my 98. to replace the last glow plug(furthest back on the passenger side) i cut a 5 inch slice in the metal wall and peeled it back and there it was plug #8.i also have a flowmaster downpipe and had no problems. i just stuck the metal back together with rtv black.better than ripping off the exhaust. i used 60g $15 ($12.50usd) a piece from a wholesaler in canada man you guys are lucky down there. also diesel just hit 80 cents a litre in alberta (2.65usd/gal).i remember seeing a post that explained how to wire a switch to get a cold start but cant find it in a search can anyone refresh my memory. thanks

well those 11g's went for too much on ebay. im not gonna pay 50 bucks for em when i can get better plugs with a 2-year warranty for 65 bucks from ssdieselsupply.com. i guess i will just wait till thanksgiving break to change em.


would there be any harm in running a couple of the new instant-heat plugs while the rest are 11g's untill i get em all switched out? cant see why it would make a whole lot of difference as long as i dont cycle em much.


i can get to the #8 glowplug from the top. that one wont be as hard to get out of the way as the one that is blocked by the downpipe. the flowmaster and kennedy downpipes must be bent different cause mine is blocked halfway by the downpipe. Edited by: steiner43511

Do not use Delco 9G's or 11G's unless you want to remove the heads after a tip mushrooms!!! Use only Delco 60G's. My 60G's are very old and I have never had one fail. I have a manual switch and I warm them for 20 seconds before cranking the engine when it is cold. A worse condition would be to mix them.

I bought all new Autolite plugs and they are junk. My truck will start, but it belches out a whole hell of a lot a smoke, and stumble profusely for the first 5 seconds or so.

AC Delco were always hands down better than Lucas. No telling what happened in the Delphi transition, but the ones that I sell are what I have tested and found to work the best.

I had a hard start the day after thanksgiving. It took several tries and a cloud of white smoke to start it. Out of the 6 that are easy to check the #1 and #2 glows were showing no change on the ohm meter. They were both AC 9 G's I got at pepboys two years ago. I replaced them with bosch plugs, 188? too many numbers.

The longer one is the bosch. Notic the soot buildup on the dead plug.

Gotta love that show and tell. So, why is there a build up of soot at the tip?

I imagine since the glow isn't getting hot at startup and mass fuel is being dumped to start it, the carbon is able to build on the plug, where if it got hot it would burn white hot and not acquire a soot build-up.

I've recently been having rough smokey cold start as well, 'tis the season right? I already knew I had a hodge podge of different used plugs in there, so seeing AC, Lucas, Autolite and Bosch plugs all in there didn't really surprise me. Installed 8 new Delphis, ran new wire, soldered connectors on both ends, zip-tied the wire away from hot spots, man I can't wait for it to cool off to see the difference.

TDG, same here..i'm plugging in but the colder starts are getting rougher ...so i'd like to update mine.. .did you run heavier gauge wire for the new glow leads? the OEM looks like 18ga , and i'm thinking it could stand to be beefed up.
also, what did you use for connectors, original, or something different?

Plugging in... in Vancouver? I used to live there and it rarely dropped below freezing. If your having hard cold starts you must have a plug or two gone. I've always went right to the dealer for my plugs and really never think about plugging in unless its going to drop below -20C. Never had a start problem unless the plugs were bad.

Hmmmm.... but that could change now with the re-flash...

Wires and connectors I got from Canadian Tire, 25ft 10 or 12ga works perfect, yellow blade connectors and eyelets.

new LDM glows in the spring. just did a quick check of the driver side(12v+ thru light meter to glow ), easy to get at, and all were ok. got to get at the p-side; batterys are good. compression was good last year. i need to check the glow controller too, its original.

dropped to 1C last nite. believe it or not, its trying to snow here tonight on the north shore. plugging in is a habit i learned in Edmonton, spent 2 yrs there

i find that as soon as it drops below 40F, my cold starts get harder. by harder i mean longer cranking, not rough idle.... with a nice blue puff of unburnt fuel on startup. i've tried pulling the Temp sensor, to trick the PCM into thinking its -40, and it starts much better. i tried repeating the 'wait to start' process, ie a double cycle, and find that helps, so does plugging in.

Hm... guess ive been lucky, i won't plug in unless i hear a forcast for at least -15C. I do know that even with 1 bad glow it will start like a piece of ***t below 0C. I always carry 1 spare with me and hope its never #8 that goes.

i just changed all eight to the instant heat ones from ssdieselsupply. changed em all in about a half hour. had to remove the downpipe though. ended up bein 3 bad 11g's. sure does start a lot easier. i usually plug my truck in if it gets below 40 degrees F. i like having heat come out of the heater. and it does make a difference when starting. all eight plugs that i pulled out had soot build up on them.

How do the ssdieselsupply glows compare to LDM's? hotter? faster to heat? longer life? reliability? anyone with any comparative experience?
the pics on their site look good...they seem to get more of the stem redhot than oem's. but how do they rate against others?

I bought my truck just over a year ago and don't have a clue what it's got for glows, but I plan on checking them tonight. I actually hope to find one or two that aren't up to par anymore to explain some minor hard/smokey starting that's been occuring lately.

Questions:

What are the odds I find a plug that's swelled to the point that I can't get it out?

Are there any plugs (9G, 11G, 60G) that I should stay away from?

As of now, I'd likely install whatever the GM dealer parts guy gives me.

i like the ones from ssdieselsupply cause there cheaper than the 60g's the parts guy will give you and they have a 2 year warranty.

I just replaced mine with dual coils I found on E-bay($72 inc. shipping). It had been making quite a racket durring cold starting, and sure enough the number three had a hole burned in it and was not working. Mine were 9G's so I guess I'm lucky only one was burned out. Truck starts super smooth even onder 4inches of snow.

I found a set of new 11G's... delivered to my door for $40. Not sure what brand they are, but if they're junk I'll just sell 'em on Ebay and find a better set.

Tested my plugs on the driver's side this morning. The first three measuerd 1.9~2.0 ohms. The last one was dead.

Is there a difference if you measure them when they're stone cold in the morning, like I did? Or are they all shot since they're measuring >1.2?

How much greater than 1.2 ohm if in meg ohm no resistance they are burned open I'd replace all to zero time the set 11Gs are good 60s are better. Iv'e been running Kennedy quick heats and have had good results with those.

How much greater than 1.2 ohm if in meg ohm no resistance they are burned open I'd replace all to zero time the set 11Gs are good 60s are better. Iv'e been running Kennedy quick heats and have had good results with those.Hey Doc, can you clear that up a little for me? The first sentence makes my head spin.

After a quick glance under the hood this morning, I'm not looking forward to changing out the passenger side. :eek:

Guys,

Well since it was only in the mid to upper 30's this morning when I tried to start my truck... after 2nd time it started .. it is time to check and replace the plugs..
if I don't when it really get cold around here I will not be going anywhere fast...


Pete

The latest Delphi plugs are the ones to get. Any good fuel injection shop should carry them. Make sure they are in the Delphi box. They light quicker than anything out there. Note: Just because the Ohms reads right and they get hot does not mean they are good. Some plugs will start glowing in the middle before the tip gets hot THATS bad. Some take to long to get hot thats bad to. Some just take up to much amps and steals juice from the others. Get the good stuff > Delphi.

Go thru the wheel well not too bad to get at the plugs that way, 11mm deepwell socket fits over the spade lug so you can get it out.

Meg ohm is infinite resistance as opposed to when you touch 2 meter leads together which reads 0 ohm low resistance; more resistance the higher the reading.
On an open(burned out) plug will read in meg ohm range or no continuity across the plug.

Zero time is a phrase from my day job, on some engine parts or the engines themselves we monitor time or cycles (number of starts and stops or energize events) since they have been installed, to zero time it would be replace and start the clock all over again.