oh no!! glow plug light is on!!

[SilverSaloon]

hi

unfortunatly the glow plug light is on on my E300D w124 just after starting and not illuminated at all when it should be

i know what this means -> glow plugs need changing.

now, i just need to decide whether i'm brave enough to try to remove them without them snapping

car starts just fine though, so is there any danger/damge to be done by just leaving it? will they seize up more if left not working?

 

[jaymanek]

if you do do them, only attempt when engine is red hot!

 

[SilverSaloon]

if i leave them not working will that cause them to get more stuck or make no difference?

 

[wemorgan]

No difference would be my bet. They simply get hot when starting the engine. During the normal combustion cycle they are off, so no change in the heat cycle would be seen in the thread.

With 5 cylinders left to start the engine it may well be fine to leave it for a while longer. Though it's one of those jobs that will need doing eventually and ideally before a cold winter.

 

[SilverSaloon]

No difference would be my bet. They simply get hot when starting the engine. During the normal combustion cycle they are off, so no change in the heat cycle would be seen in the thread.

With 5 cylinders left to start the engine it may well be fine to leave it for a while longer. Though it's one of those jobs that will need doing eventually and ideally before a cold winter.

thats what i was hoping for - something i could leave until nov time or something.....

i'm enjoying not spending any time in the garage at the moment after all the work on the SL!

 

[whitenemesis]

Is there a possibilty of damaging the electronics? I thought I read somewhere about running defective plugs eventually leading to coil or amp (can't think of the correct term..) failure

 

[Stratman]

You are referring to a petrol-powered car, where a faulty (spark) plug may damage a coil pack and/or the ECU.

As a Diesel-powered car has neither spark plugs nor coils, he's fairly safe. An ECU that might drive the glow plugs wouldn't be affected by their failure as they are separated from the ECU by a relay.

 

[Adam230K]

You really want to be doing that kind've job when the whether is OK (ie. now) rather than freezing your **** off in bad wet weather!

Be a man, do the right thing!

 

[SilverSaloon]

You really want to be doing that kind've job when the whether is OK (ie. now) rather than freezing your **** off in bad wet weather!

beuty of a garage

thanks for everyone's advice. i'll leave it for a bit and then do it in a couple of months.

 

[Adam230K]

beuty of a garage

thanks for everyone's advice. i'll leave it for a bit and then do it in a couple of months.

I remember being in Olly's garage and he had to have a huge heat blower (it was like a blow torch) just to keep the garage at a workable level, but your garage must be 'beutiful'

How much are the glow plugs for your car anyway? u have any idea?

 

[whitenemesis]

You are referring to a petrol-powered car, where a faulty (spark) plug may damage a coil pack and/or the ECU.

As a Diesel-powered car has neither spark plugs nor coils, he's fairly safe. An ECU that might drive the glow plugs wouldn't be affected by their failure as they are separated from the ECU by a relay.

That's the word I was after! And no I wasn't refering to a petrol car.

 

[SilverSaloon]

not priced up 6 glowplugs yet - not too much IIRC.

garage is far from beutiful, but usually the sheer nightmare of working on the cars gets me hot anyway, especially when i'm struggling. i usually end up stripping off

 

[wemorgan]

How much are the glow plugs for your car anyway? u have any idea?

£7.50 + VAT from GSF

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Not sure if they're the same as our ML270 or not, but glowplugs were £13-14 from the dealer, with some room to negotiate.

 

[alfsmate]

Change the plugs as and when needed, its not a problem this weather(summer). One of mine packed up, and Mercedes in England kindly offered to replace them all as they said it was necessary. Mercedes in France( where I live) replaced the one that needed replacing, and when I queried why they didn't replace them all, they said when the other ones go we will replace them then, two years later on we are still waiting. Good tip to Mercedes owners, go to France for your holidays and get your car serviced there, 55 Euros an hour labour charges, Yes, a Mercedes Garage and you get treated like a real customer not a cash machine. It's not just the food and wine that's good here.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Change the plugs as and when needed, its not a problem this weather(summer). One of mine packed up, and Mercedes in England kindly offered to replace them all as they said it was necessary. Mercedes in France( where I live) replaced the one that needed replacing, and when I queried why they didn't replace them all, they said when the other ones go we will replace them then, two years later on we are still waiting. Good tip to Mercedes owners, go to France for your holidays and get your car serviced there, 55 Euros an hour labour charges, Yes, a Mercedes Garage and you get treated like a real customer not a cash machine. It's not just the food and wine that's good here.

i may just do that - not sure yet. removing the manifold is a hassle on the 606 engine so it may be best to replace all at the same time, however on the flip side, why replace something that isnt broke....

 

[spock500]

I would start now giving them a squirt of penetrating fluid perhaps every other day, lets it seep in for the inevitable day of reckoning

Also be careful if you are running 100% veg with faulty plugs, the pistons and rings are at their most vulnerable to ring gumming when cold.

 

[Number_Cruncher]

Poor spray from the injectors, especially if coked up from poor fuel, can make glow plug life very short. When you remove the glow plug, check against the pictures on the Beru web site, and see if you also need to have the injectors checked.

The failure torque for the Beru glow plugs is listed at about 45Nm IIRC, but, they should be able to handle more than that - mine took about 60Nm before they began to undo.

I would beware going much beyond 60Nm, as you'r elikely to snap it in the head - then your troubles really begin. Some speciailists have a vibrating buzz gun to remove stubborn glow plugs wothout breaking them - if you have a difficult plug, it's better to call in a specialist before you snap the plug!

You need to have the engine red hot, and work quickly - you want the aluminium of the head to have expanded away from the steel glow plug body when you begin to unscrew it / them.

Be careful to make sure you get exactly the right plug. I think the electrical fitting is slightly different on the OM606s in W210s, and when I bought my glow plugs, I needed to take some back to be swapped for the right ones.

 

[tim.100]

Last year they failed on my 605 engine after 11 years (one-owner car) and all were changed in an hour or so, without seizing. I changed the battery for good measure, and it starts like it was 1997 again.

 

[goldestate]

have removed seized glow plugs with following methods;
Pre soak with penetrating oil or aluminium cleaner (phosphoric acid dilution) well before starting
Hot engine
Cool plug with plumbers freezer spray or chewing gum remover squirted down pipe insulation round plug
Tighten slightly first
With rocking motion ie tiny turns cockwise-then anti using t bar slowly remove