It is broken immediately below the hex section. It snapped first so it hasn't backed out at all. There is approx. 1mm of plug outside of the head.

I guess the next step is to pull the hex section and the guts out of it so I can attack the balance of the plug. Will the guts pull out or will they have to be drilled.

NHdoc, believe it or not I subscribed to your advice about only pulling bad GP's. In this case both 4+5 had gone bad within a week of each other. #4 which came out easily was a Beru. Don't know what stuck #5 is yet. I wonder if there is a correlation between manufacturer of plugs and sticking frequency?

Argh! Ok, then it was just bad luck...can't really help that. Look at it this way - if you do land up having to pull the head you can do the other 4 now and be done with them.

If it happened to me I would stop by the dealer and talk to the SA and see if they have a tech with a lot of experience dealing with broken plugs. If my local dealer couldn't help then I'd call around to dealers near by.

It might be worthwhile paying them for an hour or two to extract it if they know they can do it without resorting to "off with the head". There is no substitute for experience...any job that you do all the time is much easier than it is the first time.

It would be interesting to know the brand of the stuck one. I know mine are all Beru and have heard of a couple of Bosch that have gotten stuck...anyone broken a plug know if it was a BERU or Bosch?

The offending plug. As you can see with it broken right behind the hex section there is very little sticking out of the head.

Whats next, pull the rest of it out?

Hi

My advice would be to leave it alone and do nothing else with it. The car will start on 5 plugs albiet a little lumpy. It could save you a lot of hassle. Parrot of Doom has one of his welded in place by a previous owner who obviosly decided it was too much hassle to go any further. You might not need to weld it in place me feels:)

McCool300TD

That broken plug is a Beru. You can tell by the connector.

It looks like you've had the wrong socket or a bad angle of attack??? The socket has slipped and scored the head of the plug.

BTDT!!

Here is my experience - http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/109101-e300td-glow-plug-stuck-broken.html?highlight=glow+plug+drill

and here is a webpage that Alan McReynolds did that might also help - http://alan.mcreynolds.googlepages.com/howtoremovebrokenglowplugs-mercedesom606

Terry, yep I had a bad angle and rounded the corners a bit. Finally got it on straight and broke it off:rolleyes: I may have been better off just rounding it:mad:

Sokolof, I have read your thread in the past with great interest and apprehension, hoping this would not happen to me, but...

I think I will leave it as is for the time being anyway. When I break off a second one I guess I'll have to do something.

Slightly OT: When removing the IM I found that the bolt (attacked from the bottom of the car) that attaches to the EGR is missing! This begs two questions: A) anyone know what size/thread/length this bolt is or is it a dealer only part? and B) just how important is this bolt anyway:eek:

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about this... I love the car but... GP's, belt tensioners, engine mounts, air leaks, ball joints... all since august. I guess I'll just have to chalk it up to poor PM by the PO. OTOH I guess it was about time for this stuff to go anyway. Hopefully I'll get caught up and not need to do anything for a while. I do drive it 500+miles/week, I shouldn't b!$@h.

Some can live with it as-is...if you're one then do that. I'm not - I have to have everything work as it should so it would drive me nuts. I'd have to either fix it or sell it, but I know I have a problem that way.

You live in a warm enough climate most of the year that the bad cylinder will start firing farily fast. Still...to me it is worth trying to call or stop by your dealer - if you are lucky they will not be a-holes about it and will take pity on you. We know they must break them all the time...there is probably one guy who has removed 50 of them working there who could do it for you. What have you got to lose?

All of the stuff you mentioned doing since august is typical of these cars. I mean asking a 10 year old car with 160K miles to not need anything is asking alot.

That bolt is a M6x16.
http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.asp?TP=1&F=210225&M=606%2E962&GA=722%2E608&CT=M&cat=19T&SID=14&SGR=045&SGN=03

*edit* Note two sizes are shown for part #170 on the diagram. The first is 6x16 and the second is 6x20.

The one that attaches to the bracket and the pipe into the EGR?

Just get any old bolt and nut and make your own. Thats what I did. The metal on the pipe is quite soft so use a big washer.

Also check the other one at the other end of the pipe. That was missing on mine too.


As for your glowplug, if you can afford it take it somewhere and have the head off and it drilled out. If you can't afford it now, just leave it alone. It won't harm anything, it'll just be lumpy for 10 seconds on a cold morning.

I just had a thought. I know, for me thats a dangerous thing, but here goes.

Since I already have one broken and the others are unknowns, should I take them all out and see if any others stick so I can rectify them all at once? If three stick (and break) and I have to pull the head I'd rather do it once than pull the head three times if I change them as they die. Am I making any sense? If all the others come out I could do some PM and slather them with anti-seize before putting them back or replacing them with new. Is the anti-seize route beneficial to prevent them from sticking? How about taking them out once a year and renewing the anti-seize?

I just read in lightmans glowplug thread that the valve cover cover bolts are the same as what I need.

that was cool.. Very informative on how the broken plug is removed


would some form of slide hammer help in removing the plugs. Ya know, to loosen any carbon on the tip that is holding it captive/

Another moment of silence for those that have gone before I.

Lucky for me dealer replaced them without incident 3 years ago.

But I will probably tempt fate at some point and pull them. Many here shudder at that thought.

Hope it all works out!

Wish me luck: Broken GP removal today.
 

I broke a GP in my W210 last week. I have found an indy in my neighborhood who has a tool to remove such plugs. I am not sure what kind of "tool" it is. We are going to attempt this today. I think at the same time I will remove all the others and replace with new and cover each with anti-seize. I also plan to begin a regular removal regamin to avoid this in the future.