You need some swivel sockets to get to some of the hard bolts on the VCs and a small piece of fuel tube I believe 3/8 or 1/4 ID to remove the GPs its pretty simple.

 

Basic hand tools pretty much, and a torque wrench of course! Actually 2 torque wrenched - a 1/2" drive ft-lbs one for the 'big' stuff (valve cover bolts, etc.) and a 1/4" drive in-lbs one for the GPs and stuff under the valve covers. If you've changed spark plugs before, this really is no more difficult. What might make it seem more difficult is:
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1. Turbo. no biggie there
2. Diesel. no problem there either
3. We love our trucks. That makes some of us SUPER detail oriented.
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Those things may make things seem a bit more involved, but trust me, this job is cake. Keep the $500 in your pocket and next time you go by the shop just smile at them.

 

k i think i am gonna get into this one i have a buddy who is big into gas engines and if you say it is similar to doing a spark plug job then this is good to know he should be able to figure his way around the turbo and stuff is there any other words of advice on how to take this on or things to make it easier like i read that taking the front tires off and lowering the truck down on jacks to make it easier to work on considering were both between 5'7 and 5'11

 

yes. things in there are delicate, and don't take well to beatings with heavy objects.


so don't use a hammer heavier than 4 ounces.

 

k makes sense any specific brand i should go with for glow plugs? i have advanced auto parts and autozone near me plus napa please read p[osts 2 above this one anything more to add please all info much welcomed

 

also i would want the truck to sit over night in the spot i will be doing the glow plug change right? making it so the engine is cold when we take the valve covers off and remove the plugs?

 

sorry mike, i couldn't resist that little joke.
the only recommended glow plug to use is the MOTORCRAFT/BERU ZD-11 plugs
the auto parts stores will try to sell you all kinds of garbage plugs like autolite, champion, and wellmans to name a few.

the horror stories you hear about pulling the heads to remove plugs with swollen tips are on trucks that had aftermarket glow plugs installed in them.

you can get the ZD-11's on ebay real cheap.
here are a few auctions going on now.

eBay Motors: 8-OEM Ford Motorcraft 95-03 7.3L GLOW PLUG ZD-11 (item 160311451023 end time Feb-20-09 20:46:47 PST)

eBay Motors: ford 7.3 powerstroke diesel glow plug ZD-11 NEW set 8 (item 120374580888 end time Feb-09-09 07:30:09 PST)

eBay Motors: NEW FORD DIESEL GLOW PLUG # ZD-11 F4TZ-12A342-BA QTY 8 (item 220356175427 end time Feb-11-09 07:02:39 PST)



eBay Motors: FORD POWERSTROKE DIESEL ZD 11 GLOW PLUG 1994-2004 7.3L (item 140299411190 end time Feb-11-09 16:31:05 PST)

 

i have found that a little heat will help in getting the plugs out easier. you don't want the engine hot, but rather just have the heads a little warm.
kind of like so you can hold your hand on the head, and not feel it cold any more.

i am not sure why it works, but glow plugs and spark plugs always seem to come out easier on a warm engine than on a cold engine.

 

k so like turning the key in the on position for a minute then off heating the glow plugs and the chambers will do it? thanks for the part and part numbers i have been reading so terrible things with after market glow plugs

 

nope.you dont want to heat the plug, you want to start and run the engine for a minute or 2 to get a little heat in the engine.

 

I notice you keep mentioning the turbo. You don't need to touch the turbo to remove the valve covers. Get yourself (and your buddy) something to stand on, then remove your IC pipes (big aluminum tubes), remove the air intake tube, remove the plastic oil fill tube (it unscrews off the valve cover), pull the plastic clips that support the heater hoses on the passenger side (the just pull straight off, but a screwdriver may help pop them off. Unscrew the loooong bolt in the middle of the 42 pin connector (square box on drivers valve cover), unplug the connector and set it aside.

Then remove the nuts on the studs. The dipstick tube has a flange and bracket that holds the middle part of the intake tube have nuts that hold them on the VC studs. Remove the nuts and take those off the studs. You'll want to remove the dog house or take the tube off the CCV mod. Then just remove the bolts. You'll need the swivel on the passenger side by the AC, and a short extension for the rear bolts. The hardest part will be holding your mouth just right to get the passenger valve cover out of there after the bolts are removed.

Now as long as the valve covers are off, grab a torque wrench and make sure the rocker arm pedestal bolts circled in red are torqued to 20 ft-lbs. Then make sure the lower injector hold down bolt circled in blue is torqued to 120 in-lbs. You'll most likely find a few bolts a little loose, and the engine will sound better driving down the road when these are properly torqued.




Now while you're in there, you MUST also inspect the connector for the UVCH (under valve cover harness) wiring. You'll see where the wires connect to the gasket near the center. Make sure that plug is plugged in all the way. If the plug ever ends up looking like this


your truck will not run very good because not all the cylinders will be firing, so make sure yours are snugged up. I put some shims under mine to make sure this wouldn't come loose on me. I'll tell you how I did it if your interested in the shims.

 

k definitely thank you for the pictures yes sorry i was mistaken for saying turbo i see the turbo is much closer to the fire wall and i was meaning the aluminum tubes on both sides of the engine and the air intake connected to the air filter any one who has pictures such as this is very helpful for me thank you very very much pictures put all the things together

 

and for tjc transport i see what you mean but the only way i can start the engine after sitting over night is by plugging it in will that matter? since it is a block heater?

 

Thats good advice from Chris. As for access, being under 6ft myself, I find using a moving blanket or thin mattress laying over the grill, HOOD LATCH, jack tools, batteries etc makes getting 'in there' waaaay more comfortable. I also like to build myself a long step in front of bumper. (This was too much trouble, so I bought a bumper I could stand on comfortably!! see avatar) Trust me, the more comfy you can be - the easier it will be. Many have teased me for looking so relaxed laid out on my mattress wrenching on my truck - but I could care less!! Personally, I find cold beer really seems to help as well - or good scotch if its really cold outside...

 

k i got a good grasp now so also is there a valve cover gasket i should be buying with my glow plugs? just in case there is something wrong with the original one that is there now i just looked them up at auto zone see there about 90 bucks maybe this was in the price of those estimates i got.