I have a 1995 E-300..(w124).and had one glow plug replaced ...the shop said it broke off and took appx 10 hours and a big bill to replace

I now have #4 GP that needs replacing and my son & I want to replace it ourselves...but wanted to see if anyone ever had to cut out a broken GP...and have any suggestions.

Thanks
Dennis

Do a search on stuck or broken glow plugs. Lots of threads on the topic.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Exactly.

You'll find that many folks have not had the required patience and broke the plug. Then, you're looking at a risky procedure or some big money.


My best advice is to let an impact wrench do the work for you.........but, be absolutely sure the wrench is set below 45 ft-lb. It won't do much for awhile.........you may need to sit there and hammer on it for an hour........but, eventually, the vibrations must loosen the carbon and allow the plug to be removed.

Folks aren't successful in five minutes and then are likely to raise the torque and break the plug.

An ounce of prevention......

Here is a site with instructions and some pics on how to remove one:
http://alan.mcreynolds.googlepages.com/howtoremovebrokenglowplugs-mercedesom606

Ounce GPs removed ream/clean the Carbon out of the holes.
When you put in the new ones use a Never-Sieze type compound on the threads or if you are real picky and can find the stuff Beru makes grease for the Glow Plugs.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I just removed the glow plugs on my '95 - the rear one is a bit fun to get a socket on - you may need to get a "medium" depth 12mm socket to get the job done.

I would recommend using lots of patience and penetrating oil.

Work the plugs back and forth as you are removing them - CCW about a 1/2 turn, then work it cw / ccw / cw / ccw, then try to get another 1/2 turn ccw - especially if it feels hard to turn - STOP - soak with penetrant and move to the next one.

I've gotten all but one of mine out - the last one is totally unthreaded - but is still stuck in the carbon inside the head - I've been soaking it with penetrant for a while - and trying to come up with tools to allow me to pull / pry it out completely.

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95 E300 Diesel 265k and counting

Good grief this sounds ominous!! I am currently purchasing an OM606.910 with at least one inop glow plug. [no light until afterglow]
What type and size of socket removes the intake manifold? [need to go ahead and get stuff together]
What exactly breaks on these glowplugs? The tip breaks off inside the head, it snaps at the threads? What??? With all the back and forth stuff it sounds like maybe the tip is the issue?
Diesel911, do you have any of these glow plug reamers available? I've loaned out the OM616/617 reamer twice that I got from you, but have yet to use it. I now need one for an OM606......

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Will send PM shortly.

If it was me and the weather was not too bad I would pull all the plugs as soon as I could.
I know some people think it is asking for trouble to pull a still working plug but I think the longer the plugs are in the Engine with no Never-Seeze on them and Carbon building up around them the bigger the problem will be later.
And, it is better to deal with a problem when you can plan time for it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Serach threads by Kartek and Notfarnow for sucess stories removing broken GP's using McReynolds process.

I'd set the torque wrench no higher than 40-50NM rather than 50 ft lbs. The breaking point in a vise is ~90NM.

I'm a proponenet of replacing only the one that is bad. Why create a problem removing something that works?

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

So what exactly is the failure point, and the breaking point????

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

No biggie, I have the mechanical skills of a 14 year old girl and I changed mine with hardly any problems by following this advice X 10 - I also used a torque wrench set at 50 lbs;

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1995 E300 Diesel
2002 GMC Duramax CC LB 4X4

It's not the best photo to show the breaking point but here it is:



The shaft is broken about 1/2" into the socket. In this instance, the socket, threaded rod and washers were used as a pulling tool. My biggest problem was the fact that some had gone ahead of me and tried to drill it out, runining the threads and dang near making it impossible to get hold of the GP.

A lot of progress has been made in the last year or so with the DIY removal process and it seems less likely to break one when using the procedures outlined by the folks here.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250