You pay for quality.

Samstag gets $128.25 for the OM617 glow plug reamer.

Home made glowplug reamer.
Cost: Nearly free.
Time to make: About 30minutes.
Parts needed: Old glowplug, 1/4" drill bit, hacksaw (or die grinder), vice grips and welder.

Remove the innards of the old glowplug with the vice grips. It takes a bit of work to get the tip out but it will eventually come out.
Drill in the bit until approximately 1" is out the tip.
Cut off the butt of the bit about 1/8" before the body.
Haul out the welder and weld the bit to the body.
Clean off any weld overshoot from the wrench flanges.
Done!

Simple as that, it takes probably 1/2 hour to make one the first time.

The glowplug shaft is 0.24" so the 0.25" bit gives it a little room. I would have tried bigger but I wasn't sure at the time how big I could go. Now that I found this thread I see I could have gone up to a 3/8" bit.

Attached Thumbnails

   

I have both. Both get the job done, Diesel911's are very attractive because of the price, but I prefer my $125 Hazet OE MB one because one can use the ratchet and extention directly on the tool even at nearly 90 degree angles, but Ive done this work to 6 cars already, so thats fine, but I wanted to try Diesel911's and it got the job done for $25.00. Not bad.

__________________
Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

I used the largest drill bit that would fit without carving up anything it ain't supposed to (19/64s) by hand on the ones I could get it in. But as you work your way back there is less room and on #5 no room for a 4-5" long drill bit. I considered cutting a bit shorter but immediately realized that I would end up dropping it in, and was not going to run that risk! So I dug around in my junk metal pail found a rod that was over 1/4 " and under 5/16ths, cut it to about 5", cut some little flutes with the dremil, heated it, bent it in the middle so it was l shaped. It isn't pretty, but it worked perfectly, and because of the bent part I was able to rotate it and still not drop it in.
Someone else here on another thread took an old GPlug and just hammered the end flat so it was a bit wider/longer and threaded it in and out. If I had had a bad GPlug handy I would have done that.

__________________
Thanx,
Alberta Luthier
1983 300CD ('Stinky')155k miles, 2.47 diff, EGR removed, AAZ injectors with 265 nozzles from Sean,and vogtland lowering springs.
1984 300SD ('Old Blue')150k Klicks from Japan originally, came with rear head rests, no sunroof and never had an EGR

The outside diameter of the Bit of a Factory Glow Plug reamer is 7mm.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

...and with a ratcheting box wrench, even the cheaper of the reamers is QUICK to run in and out of each hole.

-Tad

__________________
1995 G320
2003 C230 Kompressor Coupe
2005 ML500
2007 ML350

If you put Grease in the grooves (Flutes) of the Reamer it traps the Carbon in the Grease.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

That is the point. If you use it before installing new glow plugs, the glow plugs will last "forever". If you don't, they can burn out in a relatively short amount of time depending on the amount of carbon in the hole. From my experience, new plugs burned out in 3 to 12 months before I got a reamer. After reaming out the holes, the next set has not burned out yet (2 years so far). So, for less then the cost of a set of glow plugs, and no labor to replace them (again), the reamer is a financially viable investment. IMO just get the correct reamer that was made for your engine and don't mess around with drill bits, screw drivers, smashed glow plugs, and what ever else you can think of to dig around in there.

__________________
Greg
2012 S350 BlueTEC 4Matic
2007 ML 320 CDI
2007 Leisure Travel Serenity
2006 Sprinter 432k
2005 E320 CDI
1998 SLK230 (teal)
1998 SLK230 (silver)
1996 E300D 99k, 30k on WVO
Previous:
1983 240D, on WVO
1982 300D, on WVO
1983 300CD, on WVO
1986 300SDL 237k, 25k on WVO (Deerslayer)
1991 350SDL 249k, 56k on WVO - Retired to a car spa in Phoenix
1983 380 SEC w/603 diesel, 8k on WVO
1996 E300D 351k, 177k on WVO

This weekend I plan on replacing the glow plugs and reaming the holes.
Rather than renting a reamer, and after finding out that Diesel911 was out of stock, I wound up buying a reamer through Baum Tools' eBay store (alkyracer101) for about $40 including shipping.
The tool is nice, however I was a little disappointed that the hex end, the end you put the wrench on to turn it, is made out of aluminum stock. I also think the hex is 1/2" and not 13mm, as all of of my 13mm wrenches are rather loose on it. I hope this does not lead to stripping the hex while turning it. I also wonder about the threads of the tool cross threading easily. If there are serious issues, I may just cut the hex part off the tool and weld the reamer portion to an old glow plug.
These are observations so that someone who is considering buying one in the future knows what they will receive.
I will give an update after I use the tool to let everyone know how it works.

Before I started making the Home Made Reamers I bought the real Factory ones and have tried using them to see how they work.
The Factory made Aluminum Hex one is entirely stong enough for the job.

If you have any sort of build up at all you will find that you will hit the build up before the thread on the Reamer even reach the Head. You simply turn the reamer clockwise until it cuts through the Carbon.
Eventually the Reamer goes in enough that you can thread it in. If you thread it in by hand there will be no cross threading issue.

You will only need a wrench once in awhile to go through a hard spot in the Carbon.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

thanks for the advice! i plan on taking my time and going slowly. i am expecting a major battle with these glow plugs and their respective holes. i am 100% certain that the previous owner never changed them in the 6 years she owned the car, and i see no mention of glow plugs in any of the hand written notes from the owner before that, so who knows how long they have been in there. ugh.

I use a gear wrench on the reamer every time I replace the plugs. The first time I replaced the plugs, the new ones wouldn't go in so I used a drill bit. I ordered the 911 reamer and reamed the holes when it arrived. It took out even more carbon. IMO, reaming is a must.

__________________
Brad
1981 300TD - daily driver
1963 Chevy II
2001 F-250 7.3 Power Stroke

i got the glow plugs changed. i have to say, this was one of the most time consuming jobs i have done on the car so far. also, my hands are now all scraped up and sliced up from all the weird angles and from brushing against who knows what while changing the plugs. i guess the job might have been easier had i removed all the injector lines, but i really did not want to open that potential can of worms.
regardless of the cramped spaces, the job itself was pretty straightforward. the old plugs came out easily, and the reamer worked quite well. there were a couple holes where i had to ream the hole before i could even get the reamer to start threading, but that was not a big deal. i reamed each hole two times, just to make sure a good portion of the build up was removed. the second time through, the reamer (with a thin layer of grease on it) came out clean.
the new (Bosch, France) plugs went in well.
i have been surprised at the incredible difference in plug warm up time. with the old plugs it would sometimes take up to 30 seconds for the plug light to go out. i have started the car about 5 times since i changed the plugs, and i think the longest time so far has been about 8 seconds. very happy with the results.
i will loan out the reamer to those interested, and i will get my information posted in the tool loan/rental thread soon.

On mine the Glow Plug Light stays on 5-10 seconds and goes out; but, if you leave the Key in the Preglow Position the Glow Plugs will stay on for anther 20 seconds or so (even though the light is off).

Also, when you are cranking the Starter the Glow Plugs are on.

If you had removed the Fuel Injection Lines from the IP and Injectors you would have needed to bleed the Air out of them.

To do that you install the Fuel Injection Lines with the Line Nuts on the Injectors finger tight and tighten the ones at Fuel Injection Pump
.
Back off the Nuts at the Injectors some and Crank with the Starter until you see Fuel coming out from under the Nuts and then tighten the Nuts at the Injectors; and, attempt to start.

Air trapped inside of the Fuel Injection Lines between the Fuel Injectors and the Fuel Injection Pump sort of gets trapped there because it compresses a lot and moves only a little. Lessening the Nuts at the Injectors allows the Air to escape quickly.
The above can happen if you completely run out of Fuel or if you are not careful during a Filter change.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Next time you might think about removing the injector lines. Especially if you're going to ream the plug holes again. It gives you a WHOLE lot more room, and reduces all the cuts and scratches on our hands. The lines take 5 minutes to take off with a 17mm end wrench or crows foot. You shouldn't have any starting issues after putting them back on. The idle might stumble a couple of times when you first start it, but it won't be hard to get started, unless you've drained fuel out of the pump.

__________________