Best way to clean old glowplugs
 

Whats the best way to clean old glowplugs? Brake Cleaner, some form of alcohol etc? I'm assuming just scrubbing them with a plastic hard bristle brush in such a liquid would be fine?

- Peter.

I can't speak for everyone but this is my position. They cost about ten bucks each. They last two years or more. They are a PITA to remove and a PITA to put in. I don't like being stranded. I depend on my car though I have access to other autos.

For 50 bucks I'm not going through the trouble removing and reinstalling them. I want them to do their jobs each and every time I hit the ignition.

That being said, if I were going to clean one I'd want a soda in a sandblaster.

People here have mentioned a Mercruiser product that is apparently magical on carbon deposits, ... but I agree with the above, a good set of Bosch glowplugs is at my local Advance Auto, ... around $15/ea. For $100/ea. I'd be cleaning them.

Do not for any reason buy Autolite gps ,I pulled some that were not working in nov and was back in their this week doing the same job with the same plugs not working ,theyve got a racket going on.Sandpaper cleans the old ones followed by a wet rag.

I have to agree with everything above. The best way to clean old plugs is to dump them in the trash and replace with new Bosch plugs.

Even Bosch quality is slipping today. Beru is the best of the best.

For 100 bucks each I'd be reaming the GP hole twice a year and checking on them regularly. I'd probably replace only the ones which didn't work instead of a set every two years.

Getting red hot cleans them pretty well.

The Pencil type glow plugs can be wire brushed with a fine brustled stainless or brass brush by hand. Harbor Freight sells some cheap onse in a three pack. They remind you a bit of toothbrushes. You get a one nylon, one brass and one stainless stell brush.

I have not read of any method of cleaning the loop/filiment type Glow Plugs.

I have a different opinion than most here. I replace glow plugs when they burn out. There's no telling when a glow plug will burn out, new or used. Like a incandescent bulb, they burn out most often when powered up, when it is stressed the most.

To make changing glow plugs easy, I changed the wire lugs to quick disconnects that I can pull off in less than 2 seconds. On my 300D I can change glow plugs 1 to 4 in less than 5 minutes ea. #5 about 15 min.

I forgot to say it is also important to clean carbon out of the Glow Plug Holes. You can use a Glow Plug reamer or there it threads that have alternative methods.

Pics of your setup?

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Thanks!

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Thanks to all who've replied. Just for clarity's sake. My current set are Monark's I put in almost a year ago. They had worked fine till I messed up at least one of them when cycling my ignition on and off multiple times in a row to get my antenna up and down to clean it and lubricate it. As I still have the old ones I had removed last year I figured I'd try testing them to see which one is actually bad, and use the others as needed. But they are covered in oil from when I was extracting them so I want to try and clean them before actually testing them.

I did ream out the chambers when I did the job last year but there wasn't much carbon build up in them anyway.

I have the harbor freight brushes which I'll clean them with. How do you glow them out of the vehicle? Would using jumper cables from the battery positive terminal to the body of the plug work?

- Peter.