Prepping for a glow plug job (and shimming as necessary). I sourced my stuff thru RiffRaff. Including the dual purpose VC gaskets.

Even though the VC wiring seems to be working just fine, I was planning on changing out the gaskets anyway...because it's prob getting close, especially if it is original (135k on truck). Then I got to thinking: If the ones in there are OEM and check out OK, should I hold off and hang on to the new ones I have? Because .....

We know what is happening with the availability of OEM grade parts and all the counterfeits. What will be the availability of these proper parts 2,3, or 5 years from now? Is a known VC in hand now worth hanging onto until it is really needed?

 

Every plastic connector on your harness is very brittle after 20+ years. Would be nice to have the new wiring as a spare, as the connector could break next time you touch it. Doubtful you need to replace VC gasket unless you have a leak. BTW, use a 1/4 drive on rear VC bolt, that's the easiest way to get that one off.

Be sure to place something under/around injector, if you doing shims in truck. You don't want to drop a part and lose it there. If getting ready for hard starts, I'd look at batteries and starter... a Denso starter is amazing

I can't even remember when my truck had only 130k on the clock !

 

The 20+ year old original may actually be better quality/condition that those new Motorcraft sad to say. Even Motorcraft is sourcing their parts to China now sooo... If it ain't broke. Plus 135k isn't many miles at all. Plenty of trucks running around with 300k or 400k with all original parts, so I wouldn't sweat a number. If something looks questionable when you get in there then sure swap the part but hang on to the old one.

 

The shimming thing is more a proactive measure than anything else. Since I'll have that whole deal opened up, might as well take the time to check and retorque things. Hard starting isn't a thing until 0F or below, some of which is expected of course. But since 0F and below adds up to nearly 2 full months up here, it certainly won't hurt to shim as needed and then do the drill mod on that armature plate while at it. Currently batts, wiring, starter, and alt are about as upgraded as can be.

X2 on stuffing something in/around the inj's. There have been a couple of recent threads on here about dropping something in. Gives me nightmares, not to mention a sense of empathy reserved for close family members.

 

I'm inclined to hold off on replacing if it passes the eyeball test, as well as a couple of spot ohm readings, in favor of reserving the new part - which may be as good as it will be when considering the general downward trajectory of quality.

The same thinking goes for spare parts in general for these things. I figure I have another 15+ years with this rig*, so it prob isn't a bad idea to build up an inventory (which I am doing via saving removed items and getting rebuild kits as available).

*Look at @John in OkieLand. He has noted he is in his 80's and still fiddling with these rigs. Even though that is 20+ out for me, I am really starting to think about this whole spare parts deal. Buying a set of VCs to replace now and then another set for a future spare is a pretty steep cost.

 

Just did this along with some other things at the first of the year on both trucks. Both trucks...Excursion at 255k, and F350 at 205k...had right at a loose .002" clearances on the injector armatures. Only had one or two glow plugs working on both trucks. Did the spacer drill out drain hole which really helped cold starts. I found a problem with the gasket on the Excursion, but I had to look close...almost put it back in place...and luckily I have another set of oem units with 35k on them. I choose to keep the original gaskets and just replace the wiring harnesses. I did go back with Motorcraft CM-4884 harnesses which now have middle tabs on the plug in clips to help keep them secure in place and from coming loose. The other three original harnesses were saved as spares just in case they're needed down the road. I still did the fitty cent mod...the quarter just has to be cut down further to fit into place. Once back together, I found one of the new Motorcraft harnesses to be faulty...I know these are legit units, but they are still made in China though they have a better quality control than others. I would still rather have these than Dorman or others. The other three were fine, so I sent the bad one back for another which was good.


Glad I decided to pull them apart and check...and glad I had some spare low mileage oem gaskets...


New Motorcraft harness design...


Probably don't need the fitty mod, but it's a snug fit and hopefully stays that way for as long as the originals...

 

Fiddy