1.9 CDTI 150 glow plugs - DIY or garage?

[klesniks]

I have one knackered glow plug to change. I know I could spray it with penetrating oil (PB Blaster I use), leave it for ages, heat the engine up and try to remove it myself very carefully. Could be a really easy job, but could be a disaster if after taking these steps it shears and gets stuck or the tip falls off.

The question is, does anyone know any garages in the Teesside area that are really skilled in removing them, or are known to have specialist equipment to minimise the risk of them breaking? If there are then for the sake of a few quid it might be worth me leaving it to the experts just to avoid the risk.

[Rapala]

I changed all four on my Vec cdti 150 when I had it, all four came out easy enough with no problems. I really thought it was just the older 2.0/2.2DTi engines that gave problems with the glow plugs stripping threads or breaking. Maybe I was just lucky.

[Das]

Start spraying wd40 on them now, and do it every day for at least a week, even if you dont plan on swapping them yourself, they are notoriously tricky to remove in one piece.

[MadOnVaux!]

Use 'PlusGas' as it's a dedicated penetrating fluid rather than a multi-purpose spray....its ****** great stuff

[geordieric]

I'd do myself on a 150 engine but not a 120(like mine) due to ease of getting to them. Just get some proper penetrating spray as wd40 does a job but others better at this.

[bigdave1701]

I just give em a blast of WD40, go make a brew, come back and take em out. Done em twice on my 150 cdti and once on my old dti without issue. Trick is to give em a slight tweak in the opposite direction to break the crust (as though you're tightening em) before undoing em.

[Barlow]

I'd do myself on a 150 engine but not a 120(like mine) due to ease of getting to them. Just get some proper penetrating spray as wd40 does a job but others better at this.

This.
150 easy. 120 pig

[lofty]

Went to change mine the other day.. the couple I tried undid easy enough but they didn't want to come out so I tightened them back up. The engine wasn't really warm at the time so I might try again when it's at temp.

[klesniks]

Thanks very much for all the replies. I think I might give it a go myself

[dh.dti]

I've always done my own, Astra 1.7 dti (isuzu lump) Zaffy dti, Vectra B 2.2dti, Vecta C 2.0dti, Vectra C cdti 16v... a squirt of wd40 & a run round the block prior always does the trick.