Glowplug woes!!

320pilot

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Bought the cls about two weeks ago and have been pleased with the performance etc. Had a health check done which revealed a faulty glowplug. Starting was a bit slow at first but since this cold snap it became much more reticent untl a few days ago it refused to fire at all. I plugged in a diagnostic code reader and it came up with a Glow plug module fault. Having read that these are a common problem I have purchased a new one along with a set of glowplugs. I set about the task of replacing the plugs yesterday and began with the nearside bank which I assumed would be the most difficult and hard to get to. No problem at all as the engine was as hot as possible and they came out relatively easy. My attention then turned to accessing the offside bank and horror of horrors found that the connector plugs were not fastened and the plug tops had been removed leaving only the thread and centre electrode. Please see photograph. I know that there are removal tools available with special drills etc but would they help to remove the remaining plugs? If not, how is it possible to drill an accurate hole in the plug with the centre electrode still present?
Any help will be appreciated.
 

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John Laidlaw

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Cue Steve@Avantgarde or Ian@Star, broken glow plugs are not uncommon, usually when removing them!
I believe its a specialist tool job but having never done it myself I’ll leave it to the aforementioned to comment (or others)
 

EmilysDad

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My local indie used someone else to drill out the glow plug I sheared whilst trying to remove it. About £100 IIRC.
 

Wighty

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When you say you bourght it 2 weeks ago , either the dealer or the individual that sold it to you are responsible for this Cluster F@@k . Worth exploring anyway , I'm sure someone else can advise . Good luck either way .
 

John Laidlaw

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^ a good point there! The plugs have probably been like that for some time
 

JBell

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When you say you bought it 2 weeks ago , either the dealer or the individual that sold it to you are responsible for this Cluster F@@k . Worth exploring anyway

This, go straight back to them and get it sorted
 

CheltMerc

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If you buy a car from a garage/dealer and within 6 months a fault shows then it is the responsibility of the garage to fix it. It is in law that within 6 months the fault is considered to have been present at sale date. For the next 6 months you will need to show any fault is not of your making but pre-existed. This covers any part including wearing or not, including brake pads etc. I would advise that you do not attempt to do anything but return it to be corrected at their expense & maybe don't tell them you have purchased parts and have looked at doing the repair. You do have an independent witness on the state of the car. They will have to fix it.
Many dealers try to say there is only a 3 month warranty, even withing the 6 month period, never mind up to 12!
 
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320pilot

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Thanks to all for the replies so far. Unfortunately it was from a trade auction so I take full reponsibility. It wouldn't frighten me to remove the head if necessary but I would like to avoid that if possible.
 

LostKiwi

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There are a few on here have removed broken plugs. I'm sure someone will be along sooner or later.
 

John Laidlaw

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There are kits on Amazon from about £45 I see, probably cheaper on the bay of plenty but the real deal are £160 plus- I think looking at it that you need the correct tools. As i say never done it but in googling it it looks reasonable to do with the right kit
 

Steve@Avantgarde

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I always get a company in to remove these, but you do need to strip the injector rail down to get to them. If number 6 has snapped then you may have to take the inlet manifold off.
 

LostKiwi

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The REAL bay!
So named by Captain Cook when he was seeking to re-provision his ship on his voyage of discovery around 1771. He noted food and supplies in abundance in contrast to 'Poverty Bay' further back around the coast (yes really!)
 

Botus

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sorry to hear

get it done by a specialist (plenty about, but get a recco from an indie here)

for those doing this at home best advice on removal I've seen was always use a torque wrench on removal.... anything greater than X torque (where X, I guess is no more than 20% of tightening torque) stop and seek advice on what to do before you snap them
 

Wighty

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sorry to hear

get it done by a specialist (plenty about, but get a recco from an indie here)

for those doing this at home best advice on removal I've seen was always use a torque wrench on removal.... anything greater than X torque (where X, I guess is no more than 20% of tightening torque) stop and seek advice on what to do before you snap them
When I replaced a gp last year I read about the setting up a low torque for removal , can't remember what it was exactly (maybe 5nm ) , anyway the plug came out easily , now I know why that was suggested .
 
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320pilot

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When I replaced a gp last year I read about the setting up a low torque for removal , can't remember what it was exactly (maybe 5nm ) , anyway the plug came out easily , now I know why that was suggested .
Bought the cls about two weeks ago and have been pleased with the performance etc. Had a health check done which revealed a faulty glowplug. Starting was a bit slow at first but since this cold snap it became much more reticent untl a few days ago it refused to fire at all. I plugged in a diagnostic code reader and it came up with a Glow plug module fault. Having read that these are a common problem I have purchased a new one along with a set of glowplugs. I set about the task of replacing the plugs yesterday and began with the nearside bank which I assumed would be the most difficult and hard to get to. No problem at all as the engine was as hot as possible and they came out relatively easy. My attention then turned to accessing the offside bank and horror of horrors found that the connector plugs were not fastened and the plug tops had been removed leaving only the thread and centre electrode. Please see photograph. I know that there are removal tools available with special drills etc but would they help to remove the remaining plugs? If not, how is it possible to drill an accurate hole in the plug with the centre electrode still present?
Any help will be appreciated.
 

bembo449

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I know snap on make a tool for removing snapping GP's but no idea how much ? borrowed it once and it did they job nicely
 
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320pilot

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Update.
Having done quite a bit of research myself and watched Utube videos etc I have have realised that there are no Glowplug removal tools available for broken plugs such as the ones I am struggling with. ie centre electrode snapped level with top of thread!
Luckily I have access to machine tools so today I have been experimenting with various removal methods of my own. My best idea up to now is to machine some stainless steel sleeves that will fit over the electrode to allow me to drill it out. I have tested it on one of the old plugs that I removed the other day and it worked, leaving enough tube clear to tap in a thread for retrieval. I will then drill out the old threaded piece and use a puller to extract the plug......hopefully. It's one thing doing tricky jobs on the bench but a different story on the car!...Wish me luck
 

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