I have a 1991 300d, need to change out the glow plugs. Getting prices of $250 or so plus parts.

Not sure if I could do this myself, but the $250 sounds steep.

$250 sounds like a bargain to me considering the manifold and a few other ancillaries have to be removed to get to the GPs.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

You can R&R all gp without removing the manifold. It is difficult but doable. How you value your own time? I value my time at much less than $250.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

$250 is fair for that job.

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'80 300SD - '83 240D - '00 E55 AMG - '02 G500

You don't have to remove the manifold, but it makes life a lot easier. If you use common sense, and have some mechanical aptitude, I'm 100% confident you could spend the price on parts and do it yourself. It's going to cost you about $80.00 in parts.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

If you do it yourself, one option is to change only the glow plugs that need changing, another to do the glow plugs that require removing the manifold, a third to do all of them. If you have to pay someone to do it, it's better to do them all and pay labor only once.

Also, don't cheap out on glow plugs: Bosch or Beru only! Finally, list price for glow plugs can be as much as $30 each depending on part Number and source, and as little as $5-10 each if you shop around. A shop that will use your parts to do a job would be wonderful; my local Indy explained that the parts mark-up paid for the shop (labor pays for HIM).

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I dont see how you could change the plugs in a 602 turbo without pulling the manifold. You would need tiny hands and more flexibility than a yogi master. In any event, pulling the manifold to clean out the carbon should be done on the same schedule as changing the plugs. Its not hard, but it takes time. $250 sounds about right for a shop.

i have a 1995 E300 and the glow plugs seem to be welded in place at the factory!
They are impossible to get at and impossible to remove. I got a quote from "Page Auto" in Green Bay, Wis. $500 minimum and if any break off they would call me if it exceeds $2000.00!
How crazy is that?
I love my car but I am living with dead glow plugs and have to plug the engine heater in all winter long just to get it started. Very poor design by Mercedes.

Read up on how to get them out. If worse comes to worse and they break, drill them out.

When you put new ones in, use anti-sieze and change them at 60,000 mile intervals.

My mobile mechanic changed all 5 glow plugs on my 1991 300d without removing any parts. He has all kinds of swivel tools.

That shop is telling you they don't want the job. If you want someone to do the job for you then I'd look for someone else.

I feel your pain! This is the kind of situation that pushed me into figuring out how to do these jobs for myself. It may push your skills and patience, but it's far from impossible:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/376521-om606-glow-plug-removal-tips-tricks.html

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/382267-95-e300d-fully-unthreaded-but-stuck-glow-plug.html

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- Greg -
1973 220D, The Prodigal Benz
1974 240D

That shop is practicing good business by being upfront and letting the customer know the reality of the job of best or worse case scenario. The 606 glow plug job potentially has a whole different set of rules compared to the 617 or 603. You never know how that job will go until you're already into it. Customers usually prefer that than the dreaded unexpected phone call of how their $500 job escalated to big $$$$. They then have the option of backing out before the job is started. We always tell them the low and high end. when it's low, they're happy. When it's the higher, they're prepared, but not irate.

Paul, you've raised a good point, and you've caused me to examine more closely what I don't like about the situation as described by packerfan. Thanks for that!

Yes it is good and proper for a shop to manage expectations around a potentially complicated and expensive repair. I believe there's more than one way of doing that, given the job of replacing GPs in an OM606.

My thought about packerfan's experience is that I'd want to know my bill was going up from $500 to $2000 well before being called to pick up the vehicle. I'd want the chance to say "stop there" before taking on $1500 more in charges. It's as if the shop is giving itself license to bust off glow plugs and send the head out for repairs willy nilly.

From my own experience with OM606 glow plugs I'd venture that a experienced mechanic knows when a GP is so tight they risk breaking it off, and can stop before that happens. If I were the "shop" in this case I'd be willing to take a look at the GP situation, for a fee, and provide options and set expectations from there. If I were looking for a shop to do the job for me that's what I would want.

That's how I work when estimating repairs to the old watches I work on. I charge a fee to take them apart and have a look before providing a detailed estimate. Works pretty well. It allows me to provide a more precise idea of what the maximum charges will be or could be given different scenarios/options.

Sorry to have taken this thread a bit off the original topic.

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- Greg -
1973 220D, The Prodigal Benz
1974 240D

Yes, just a simple phone call works wonders with customers. We don't spend one dollar over an estimate without a phone call. In the case of the glowplug removal, if we find that we're going to run into a problem we make the call to discuss how they want to further approach the situation. Whether it be go for it, stop or just replace the ones that will easily come out. It's always their call. We can only throw numbers at them and advise....yes, sorry for straying off topic.