Discovered a trick for freeing stuck glow plugs without snapping them

I had a 7.3 Powerstroke come in last week with two stuck glow plugs. Normally I'd soak them in PB Blaster and pray, but one of the old guys at my shop in Des Moines told me to heat the block around the plug with a heat gun for about 10 minutes before trying. Worked like a charm on both. No snapped tips, no helicoil needed. Has anyone else tried this method, or do you have a better approach for stuck plugs?

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cameron77019d ago

Pretty surprised nobody in your shop tried that sooner. Heat gun trick works because it expands the block away from the plug instead of shocking the threads. Did the same thing on an old Ford 6.0 and it saved me from drilling out a snapped plug. Just watch you don't cook the glow plug relay or wires nearby.