Glow plug tip break off while driving

[oldtoyboyd]

Anybody had a glow plug tip break off while driving? If so, what was the out come? Did it spit it out or do engine damage?

I had one come loose while on an on ramp right before Christmas. I was noisy for a little, but got quiet before I had a place to pull over.
I can tell if the engine is a little louder at idle now or if it is just in my head. I am debating tearing it down or not. The truck runs good and at speed it doesn't seem to sound any different.

What say some of yall 6.2 guys?

 

[ak diesel driver]

I'd run it. It's probably squished into the top of the piston

 

[WarWagon]

Did the glow plug light come on while at full temp and cause this? Mine, 1988, did that from a bad cut out sensor on the rear of the head. The injectors blew several overheated glow plugs in half. One stuck in a valve for a bit and we revved it up till it spit it out. (Seriously how much worse is it going to make it? It in fact cured the problem.)

We changed the glow plugs and ran the engine another 50K miles. Until the block plug heater fell out and cracked a head. Then we got to see the damage.

To our surprise there were chunks of glow plugs still impacted in the pistons and one had hit on the edge of the piston and severely scratched/gouged the cylinder.

The damage has already been done, no matter how fast you shut it off. The only question at this point is what you want to do about it.
Consider the engine is running fine now. Sure a part could come loose again from the piston and stick in a valve seat and break a valve. That is the worst thing I can think of. Parts are pretty flat now and the glow plugs are fairly 'soft' so not very likely.

Otherwise you are going to need a few pistons and if the valves hit from a chunk stuck in them maybe replace them as well. Bent rods are also possible.

We ran ours because we did not confirm it was the plugs that went till later as we were having serious glow plug controller problems. Then after we figured it out it out the engine was running very well so why look for trouble and expense?

 

[oldtoyboyd]

I had neglected to replace the glow plugs. It happened within two miles of cranking the truck. It was only the number 6 plug. I was going to put a turbo on this truck later. It has had 500 plus miles put on it since this happened.

 

[L98TPI]

Way back when I was really active in the Olds diesel stuff. I pulled the head off one and found a little impression in a piston top. Somewhere in the past it had ate the tip of a glow plug. The wagon had over 200,000 on it and the current owner had put a 100k of that on it himself with no glow plug issues. So...run it.

 

[WarWagon]

Running it NA isn't going to really hurt anything.

Turbo is different. Debris in an engine can be thrown into the intake manifold or exhaust manifold and enter other cylinders. So pulling just the head with #6 on it to look for debris will not be enough. You run a real risk of a part becoming dislodged in the future. Adding a turbo would put it at risk of being a grenade should a dislodged part of a glow plug go through the exhaust wheel.

As you should pull the heads and use 6.5 head gaskets for turbocharging anyway I would recommend at least pulling the heads and removing impacted chunks. Damage to the pistons from this, well, I can't see anything but pulling the engine to correct it. I wouldn't run damaged pistons with a turbo as the turbo is too expensive to risk. Complete piston failure will ruin a turbo, where a cracked piston burning through one may or may not ruin a turbo.

I would recommend leaving it NA.

 

[L98TPI]

I wouldn't run damaged pistons with a turbo as the turbo is too expensive to risk. Complete piston failure will ruin a turbo, where a cracked piston burning through one may or may not ruin a turbo.

Yup. I would change any pistons that have impact damage, considering you know it could have some. You can reuse the rings keeping them in their original holes and orientation. Eyeball the valves to, check the seats for marks from debris and make sure their not bent. Put the turbo on and then drive it like you stole it. :thumbsup:

 

[Pepperidge]

mine got caught between the exhaust valve and the seat...ended up causing a hot spot and burning a nice hole through the valve, through the seat and left a burn mark on the head casting...

 

[wirenut450]

I know this is a very old thread, but thought I would post what happened with mine. It broke off while driving freeway stop and go traffic no load really. Cracked the Piston concentrically down both sides of the wrist pin to the oil control ring groove and strait across the one side of the Piston along the full length of the oil ring groove.

 

[wirenut450]

Luckily no damage to the cylinder wall. So far I have deglazed that cylinder reassembled a new piston and rings, replaced all the rod bearings while I was in there and had the head rebuilt. Bolted back up currently and hope to have it back up and running in the next few days. The engine was running with that cracked piston it just had a tick sounded like excessive valve lash.

 

[MrMarty51]

Old thread but I ticked the like buttons on every post, some with like, some with WOW and some with a sad face. LOL
Good that You tore down the enjun and found that piston, surprising that it had not shattered and the rod busted through a cylinder wall.

 

[wirenut450]

Yes, my thought exactly. I actually was in route from Seattle WA area to Portland to pick up a Tahoe. I hauled it back on a U-Haul car trailer with that broken piston. Feel like I got really lucky.

 

[wirenut450]

Here are some pictures of the repair in different stages.

 

[MrMarty51]

Nice job. Install new Delco GPz whilst itiz apart too. LOL

 

[wirenut450]

And the head bolted back up. I had that head rebuilt, the machine shop replaced all the intake valves said there wasn't any bent valves. They did a valve job and shimmed the springs set the valve hight and surfaced it.

 

[Will L.]

You do know to use new head bolts?
I had a bosch 80034 drop the entire element within a year or so of new. Ruined piston, nothing else. Got lucky. Never found the element.
Back to trusty AC Delco 60G for me.

If you have descent amount of miles on there, consider all new rocker arm retainers. I hate plastic

 

[wirenut450]

Yes, those are new Fel-pro head bolts. I would have done ARP studs but I will wait till I have the engine out of the truck. The engine I a Navistar w/ about 100k on it. Yes I already had new rocker arms installed because that exhaust valve for that cylinder hammered the valve tip, leading up to pulling the head I had previously tested all the injectors replaced all the lifters and pushrods thinking the tick was coming from valve lash. Kept digging and this is what I found. I have been running the Bosch duraterms, I've been running them in another truck for years with this being the first problem I had with them.

 

[Will L.]

Yeah the bosch duraterm/ 80034/ 02502020126 same are all the same part. They have been great, until last couple years. Now a ton of people having problems. Get them all out now before loosing more engine parts!

Bosch will not stand behind them. Only a dealership installed factory parts is what bosch accepts, and since these aren’t factory parts....

 

[wirenut450]

This one did the same thing with in the year the whole electrode fell into the cylinder. I purchased this truck and did a bunch of work to it one was put the Bosch glow plugs in which I have had in another truck for several years with no problems. I scoured the forums and haven't found any mention of others reporting similar issues, you have heard specifically of this same thing happening to others? The attached picture has 2 locations where the complete electrode was smashed or imbedded in the Piston crown.

 

[wirenut450]

The reason I am asking is I already had purchased a new set of Bosch glows from Rock Auto and now I am reluctant to install them if there is a concensus that they are having QC issues.