That common glow plug replacement mistake that bit me (and probably you too)

So I was helping a buddy swap glow plugs on his 7.3 Powerstroke last weekend, and he kept saying the new ones were too loose going in. I looked closer and realized he was putting the wrong ones in for the application. He had bought the longer ones meant for a different head design, and they were bottoming out before they even seated. I told him to stop right there, because I've seen guys crank those down anyway and snap them off inside the pre-chamber. That's a nightmare to extract, and it can ruin your whole weekend. We ended up having to order the shorter ones from the parts store, and they cost like $40 more but at least they fit. Has anyone else dealt with mixing up the two different glow plug lengths on these older Fords?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily5747d ago

Gotta disagree with you on this one, man. I think the longer plugs can work fine if you just take your time and double check the part number before you start. The real mistake is not reading the box, not the plug length itself. I've swapped those on a 7.3 before and had no issues as long as I matched it to the head casting code.

craig.brian7d agoTop Commenter

Bet dude, totally agree. I did the same swap on a buddies 7.3 last year, matched the casting code and it fired right up no issues. People get too hung up on the length when the real trick is just doing your homework first.