Beru Glow Plugs = Unobtainium in the U.S.A. ???
 

I've looked and looked, but I can not find any Beru glow plugs for the '98 & '99 E300 Turbodiesel (606.962) anywhere in the U.S. The (supposed) U.S distributor has shown them as 'back ordered' since I first started looking in June.

The '98 & '99 E300 Turbodiesel's use a GN-948 glow plug, which has a different electrical connector than the GN-860's that are used in the '95 E300 (OM606.910)

The Botch (typo intended) glow plugs are readily available, but I really don't want to use them due to the narrower hex section. The consensus seems to be that the Beru's have better QC and last longer too.

It seems the only other choice would be to order Beru's from Germany via Fleabay - but that has it's own potential pitfalls. (No recourse against counterfeits / knock-off's.)

The other choice would be to modify the wires with the older style ends, but that seems rather extreme.

Does anybody have any suggestions? Has anyone been able to purchase any recently? Or am I just going to have to bite the bullet and go with Bosch?

Crossing my fingers...

If you get the old Glow Plugs out and use a Never-seize type compound on the threads of the new Glow Plugs you should not have any of the corrosion issues that cause the originals to stick.

Also I believe People have said the originals that came with the Engine were Beru Glow Plugs. If that is true they are the ones that are snapping off.

The other 2 issues that cause the Glow Plugs to get stuck are Carbon Buildup around the tip likely caused by worn Injector Nozzles or low Compression and Carbon getting past the sealing Shoulder on the Glow Plugs.

No one has said what causes the Carbon to get past the sealing shoulder area. Guessing Plugs not tightened properly or their was some warping in the Cylinder head that causes it. Not unlike the warping that causes precombustion chamber sealing area leaks.

None of the above problems are actually caued by the Glow Plugs themselves.

You might try UK eBay for the Berus.

Someone on the Forum must be using Bosch. Perhaps they can report on how they are getting a long with them.

That is an excellent point!

Yes, it's too bad that there was not a flat shoulder & crush washer utilized in that design. But then again, that would have been a royal PITA to get out of the bore.

That's a big "if"... and yes indeed - I sure hope that anti-seize will help. (Plus I'll swing a dead chicken around my head next time too - whatever it takes!)

The Beru catalog recommends putting "mounting grease" (theirs, of course) on both the threads and the shaft. I would only hope that their recommended torque spec (22 Nm) was updated to reflect the lube on the threads. If that was the original *dry* torque spec, and they subsequently recommended the "mounting grease" without updating the torque spec, well... I think you get the idea. (!)

Just as an FYI for anyone looking in the future, the Beru catalog also lists a "Failure Moment" of 45 Nm. So perhaps it may be a good idea to use a torque wrench set at 40-42 Nm as a 'limiter' while squeaking the old ones out.

Thanks for the input!

With the EGR tube on my '98 gone, I can have the plugs accessible and changed in about 30 minutes. Since it's that easy, I have never bothered replacing all of them at once.

When I bought the car, I pulled and checked all of the plugs and then applied silver anti-sieze and reinstalled them with the proper torque. Since then, I have never had a problem replacing them as they go out.

Call me crazy but I just use whatever brand of GP I can find. I have used Bosch, Beru, Autolite and NGK without problems.

Here's a cross reference I found on line of all of the OM606 GP model numbers from manufacturer's around the world:

ACDelco 118G
BERU 0100226210
BERU 0100226235
BERU 0100226457
BERU 948MJ
BERU GN948
BOSCH 0250201038
BOSCH 0250201048C
CHAMPION CH177
DELPHI HDS354
DENSO DG-106
GENERALMOTORS 88900727
HKT B-082
HKT B-099
MARELLI UX17A
MERCEDES 11592001
MERCEDES 11592101
MERCEDES 1592101
NGK DP16
NGK Y-925J
NGK Y-925R
OPEL 88900727
PSA 596035

I've always used Bosch in my 602's and had good success. Haven't had to replace any yet in my 606's but am interested if there's a compelling reason to choose one brand over another.

In doing some research I came to the conclusion that Autolite (at least in the fitment for our cars) are reboxed Beru.

NGK always had a stellar reputation, at least according to the folks on every previous Mercedes discussion group I was on. People do not seem to like them here (bit of a moot point, given they are hard to find anyway).

FWIW the MB dealer uses Bosch for our cars in the vast majority of cases (this according to the MB parts dept. in Midlothian, VA).

I'll have to do some digging through the archives to see how you did an EGR delete. (I remember reading a while ago about splicing a resistor somewhere in the MAF harness. Is that what you did?) And completely removing the EGR tube would be nice too! (Unfortunately Kaleeefornya requires a smog check on 1998+ diesels, although only a visual inspection.)

And that's a good confirmation that the anti-seize is doing it's job well. I would think it's probably a good idea to NOT apply it to the flared/conical sealing area. If that were to preclude a metal-to-metal seal with a small amount of goop between the surfaces, and then the goop later was melted out or displaced by combustion pressure, that tiny little gap could (theoretically) allow soot to get compacted into the bore space. Or am I overthinking it? :o

I seem to recall that the general consensus was that Beru's had better quality control and a longer lifespan. But that isn't confirmed, just people's opinions. And maybe that holds true for different engine families versus others.

Interesting about the re-boxing by Autolite. I'll check that out. And NGK definitely makes (made?) good spark plugs, but I know nothing about their glow plugs.

I believe that you are correct; the dealer supplied glow plugs are Bosch - at least based upon what I've read here. Of course ever since I read about URO becoming an official MBZ supplier, my skepticism about dealer parts has increased several orders of magnitude.:eek:

Maybe I should look at the smaller hex head on the Bosch plugs as a "feature". It will be a torque limiter to avoid snapping the plug by rounding off the hex instead.:rolleyes:

In my 99, the PO replaced the plugs at 70k and car is now at 161k. He says "I use Beru as the Bosch seem to fail sooner."

BTW I have found a parts supplier that has the Berus in stock. Since Pelican doesn't have them, is it kosher to say who it is?

NC has a visual inspection and OBDII code check but literally every inspector just does the code check and takes a 2 second gander under the hood to make sure nothing is obviously missing.

On my car, I have a resistor spliced into the MAF circuit to bypass that and a resistor/diode combination spliced into the wiring to bypass the EGR.

For the anti-seize, I apply it to the threads and a tiny bit to the seal taper. My theory is that this minimizes the torque differential between the threaded section and the taper and allows the plug to seat better.

Even though PeachParts doesn't stock the item, I don't know if I'd risk the wrath of the powers-that-be by listing the alternate source. Suffice it to say that there is another (cross reference?) number that is NOT listed anywhere on official Beru literature: W0133-1627356. A Google search will pull up some retailers that list that number, but I have serious concerns about counterfeit parts, and I'd like to use a known supplier of legitimate parts.

I'd like to find out more about how your car is doing with those mods - but I'll keep this thread on point for now.

Good point on the torque differential. Note that Beru suggests putting the compound on both the threads and the main body (but obviously not the heated tip.)

Thanks again - and I wish everyone a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Mine came from here

also

I have a thread about the Beru Glow Plug Grease back about 5-6 Years ago. Don't know where to buy any and have not read of anyone using it.

I have used the typical Never-sieze Compounmd on all kinds of thing during the 18 years I was a Diesel Mechanic. 6 of those years was at the Naval Shipyard were we delt with a lot of corroded stuff.

Unless an item is immersed in Water the Never-sieze keeps them from rusting/corroding more they they were when you got them and works great on high heat applications.
I have also never seen the stuff cause any issue that could be traced to it as the cause.

I have Never-sieze on my Glow Plug Threads as well as the Injector Threads.

When I installed a new Exhaust Pipe and Catalytic Converter the Clams all got Never-seize on the Threads.
It is also cheap and available at most Auto Part Stores