190D glow plugs - easy to replace?

[Adrianh1]

A mate is replacing my ageing Beru glow plugs with Bosch Duratherms. He has not replaced glow plugs before on a 190D 2.5 as he has a C250 TD. How easy is replacing the glow plugs on a 190D to do? Does the manifold need to come out? Any tips/thoughts on how to approach this?

Thanks

Adrian

 

[simon_wall69]

Depends on when they were last done as to how easy it will be - they can snap off if you are not careful enough. Lots of penetrating fluid and patience; some say it's easier with a warm engine. I think when I did mine the manifold was off - it was a long time ago though so I could be wrong.

I seem to recall the plug in #5 cylinder was hard to get at so it might be wise to have a go at this first.

 

[Adrianh1]

Thanks Simon, that's helpful.

Adrian

 

[Number_Cruncher]

Look up your plugs on the Beru website, and find the failure torque. Set your torque wrench to this value (after checking that the torque wrench actually works in the undoing direction!), and if the plugs don't move at this torque, STOP!

If your plugs are stuck, it's better to seek the services of someone with the vibrating imapct tool to remove them. If you snap or damage a plug, extracting it in-situ will become a much more expensive and involved job.

When re-installing, it's vital to make sure the taper seal on both the head and the plug are in tip-top condition - it is combustion gas and carbon getting past this seal which causes plugs to stick, and then snap!

 

[Adrianh1]

More good advice. Thanks NC. Will be very, very careful.

 

[brianbrian]

Why are you changing glow plugs have you got one down ,if yes just change the one if its easy to get to as it can damage the relay but if its a awkward one would suggest you take the inlet manifold off and change all, hope this helps