How To Remove Glow Plugs WITHOUT Snapping Them 

Buy WD40 HERE: ebay.us/WrmBQc

Once you've done the first 1/4 turn, wind it back in gently to move that WD40 down the thread a bit. Do that again for 1/2 a turn and wind back in gently. Better not to try and remove them just by anticlockwise movement alone.

3 things jump out at me (1) pre spray with a proper penetrant and leave for 24 hrs (2) Get the engine hot first, yes it will have cooled down a little by the time you start to remove them (3) Use a deep socket that will fit over the whole length of the glow plug (3) Standard WD40 is NOT a penetrant, it's a rust inhibiter / moisture dispersant.

Thanks for the tip. My E350 Mercedes had failure for glow plugs and had run for almost 95K Kms. Garage mechanic said its risky to remove them as they may snap and head lathe is the only solution to remove, if they do snap. I advised them to oil using deep penetrating spray. Did the oiling for 2-3 times in intervals of few hours for 48 hrs. Kept the engine running for 30 mins before starting the removal. All 6 plugs came out smooth with manual fixed wrench. Replaced and work done

Incredibly clear and useful video, thanks very much indeed!

Can't help but notice that on the glow plugs you removed, all 4 showed signs that your socket didn't go fully down onto the hex head. Whilst doing other jobs on recessed bolts I have managed to strip a bolts head by doing this. It's always best to spend a couple of quid and buy a "deep" socket that fully seats onto the head. A fiver spent now is better £500 for a second hand replacement cylinder head

Thanks for the video - it was very helpful for me. I did this job with my old 2004 Nissan X-trail 2.2 with 250 000 km on it. I had to exchange only one glow plug. I used torque wrench in order not to exaggerate with the force and the glow plug started to rotate at 25 Nm. According to the spec should be tightened with 20.5 Nm so it's something similar. Of course I used also WD-40. The shape of the thread is perfect. The rest of the glow plugs show resistance at 1.3 Ohm level so I don't touch them for now.

well done for removing them just one tip , when you get the plug movin spray the threads as they come up and do them back in this will make it easy to remove as the plug will not go tight and may snap of yes take your time in and out till they become free of the head alway do this never had any plug or bolt snap in 30 years of working on car and vans cheers good vid

Good advice... Another help is applying counterforce with your other hand on the ratchet head while you wrench it off. It helps keep the socket perpendicular. I've snapped things before by letting the socket lean over while applying the torque.

Mate this video has just enabled me to take out all 4 of our glow plugs without breaking them, clean them up and back in again and she starts like new! Thank you mate, bloody legend! Nice pace in the video and no distractions! 👍🏻

I had butterflies in my stomach when you started the first one, but good video right here, thanks

My cars at 142k lol cant believe i never thought about changing them. Your videos are brill. Overall no work will be started till may.

Thank you for explaining the right way to do this job

Excellent video thanks George

i have a e 90 320d and im no bmw fan at all its just a run around car but ur channel is just good genuine advice all in all for any diesel cars subbed

My advice is this. Spray WD40 and leavr it for at least 3 hrs. It takes time to penetrate. It will not work immediately. Then tighten the glow plug, minimum force but just enough to break the contact of the thread inside. You wont feel anything but it will help. While the socket is in the glow plug and the adapter bar is fitted tap it a few times with a hammer, DON'T whack it, just light taps. This will also help free it up. Then very SLOWLY unscrew the plugs... Seriously, take your time. This is the best way of doing it, trust me

Did mine on my Saab ! Spray every day with plus gas A on the plug threads, a week later they all came out like a dream 👍

Great work on this video. Love the outro ! Penetrating oil " KROIL " the oil that creeps " is great stuff too. We use on aircraft cables. It will supposedly climb vertically. Albeit slowly, but it works.

What you should do is this . Once it starts to move then stop and then start to tighten then the reverse That way you will loosen it Just going one way you are not getting the carbon off which is what tightens and will snap the plug . So backwards and forwards is the order of the day. PS Its normally the tip that snaps off !! be very aware as its the carbon build up that causes the seizure.

What I think is missing here from some otherwise very good instruction is the precaution of looking for and attending to any loose debris around the plugs before removal, lest it make its way into the combustion chamber when the plug's removed.

Thank you and Well done

Diesels are so finicky but I love them anyway. Thank you for this video, it was very informative 👍

what I learned from my mechanic father was to also re-tighten a bit now and then to prevent snapping

The most stressful job I know taking out glow plugs why can't the thread be the same size as a spark plug then the job would be an easy quick thing to do we all sleep walked into this one done on purpose to make it difficult to charge more money great video by the way keep up the good work 😜

Very informative

Thanks for posting, everyone has their methods, like you said preparation is key, soak them well in your favorite release fluid, although less convenient, I like the engine to be hot, then take your time and work away as described below, do not get in a hurry. If all else fails use your favorite extractor tool. :-(

This helpful! Garage replaced 3/4 of mine and 4 “we didn’t want to snap” - u can see when u attach socket the wd40 sloshing about - so really soak them

Thanks for posting this. How much torque is needed to *undo* the plugs? Is there a torque limit above which I should hand it over to a garage who, presumably, know how to handle it better than me? Thanks for your advice.

Changed mine on our N47 a while back. Soaked them beforehand and got the engine hot before trying to remove them. 3 came out no problem, the 4th came out probably 1/2 way before going tight. No amount of backwards / forwards with lube did anything and in the end it snapped. After a fair bit of thought i decided to buy one of the £30 kits off eBay which have stepped drills and are designed to drill glow plugs out in situ. It worked a treat and got the majority of the plug out before the drill snapped. Fortunately the part that was left was loose in the head and wound out with a screwdriver

Thanks man your video is very helpful. Does it has 1/3/5 or it doesn't matter I should not worry about coordination ?

Sprayed my on my transit will be removeing them tomorrow what a great video on how to easy shown will let you know how i get on 🙈

Excellent video!! I'll try this way.

Really nice video thanks!

All 4 glow plugs replaced, Module and air intake cleaned thanks to your help👍

Dropping like directly the George nice mechanic

Hola Jorge, just bought a 2003, Ford Transit, with 2.4 DI engine. So changing all the service parts and checking everything. Today removed and cleaned the egr and inlet manifold which were encased in s#^t !! So while they are off think i will change the glow plugs !!

The CORRECT way is to loosen them by using a TORQUE WRENCH. You should set the wrench at just over the maximum tightening torque. So if the maximum tightening torque is 14Nm set the loosening torque to 16 Nm and no more otherwise you have the terrible likelihood of snapping the glow-plug clean off! If the maximum torque is reached but the plug does not turn, further action is required before making further attempts. The biggest influence will be running the engine to full high temperature where the threaded hole will expand slightly. You could even spray the plug with Freezer spray to increase the temperature differential to help loosen them. Just be very careful al the same...

Soak for a week in thin oil. It might cause a capillary reaction as the engine goes through heat cycles. Then when it comes to removal, get the engine red hot first. The alloy has expanded. But alas in a world of so called engineering excellence some may need to strip out a lot of junk just to get to service items. What this guy is displaying is something called feel, unfortunately many folk are heavy handed like toddlers.

After seeing this video I thought of checking the heaters in my Peugeot XD3P engine. It's a simple connection where all glow plugs are connected to a single copper strip. I used a dc clamp meter to check the current draw. I could read 16Amp in the first plug, 31A at second, 48A at third and 60A at the cable. Roughly 15A per plug. My battery terminal voltage drops from 12.6 to 11.5v while the glow timer is on , indicating good battery health.

If they start moving spray em and run em back in then back out spray em run em back in back and forth as such and walla

As of yesterday I am brand new to diesel engines. So you are saying soak those plugs even with the car in use. Can't imagine WD-40 harming anything but wanna make sure. Being my first time I should certainly soak and probably use a torque wrench to get a feel for these guys. Thanks for such an informative video man!! 👏

George you learn some thing every day lol

Good job like always

Hey, thanks for the video! I have do to the same in a ford focua 1.6tdci diesel engine. Ok i will put a lot of wd40 like a week and a i will remove. Wish me look

Thanks for the video, I’ve bought new ones but now I’m worried about attempting it !!

Good shout on the WD. You can never use too much. Allowing it to soak for days or even weeks in advance can only serve to help, even with only mild penetration. Oh and if the threads on the old plugs look like that I would suspect that the threads in the cylinder head have succumb to some damage also. Probably best to run a tap down each one and then use a straw on a vacuum cleaner to get any swarf that might have fallen into the cylinders. Then inspect for swarf in each cylinder with a bore camera before reassembly.

Did mine recently! 230k on the originals, they were fooked🤦‍♂️ Another good tip is to work them up and down, change to Motor oil when they start to move, that way you can preserve the threads and they come out almost perfectly!

Just came here after the glow plug light came on my 330D. Great video, all I need to worry about now is not snapping any of the 6 plugs on my engine 🤢

Thank you so much, easy does it and WD 40!

great video thanks.

I've got a vw passat b6, the glow plugs are inside the head alongside the cams. In theory they should come out fairly smoothly, right? Also I'm assuming it's best done with the engine at operating temperature?

What torque do you use for the intake manifold bolts?

Well done mate good video thanks

I bought some BERU glowplugs and remember that they had written on the box the torque at which they should be tighten at and it was 15 Nm.

Hey mate if your glow plugs are stuff does that mean it won’t start because my Ute won’t start and glow plugs light comes up

Done mine today. Not a job I was looking forward to reading all the stories of snapped plugs. I didn't remove manifold and had enough room to get a long socket down. They were a bit tight but using a torque wrench I undid them gradually. Undo, do up, repeat. Used some WD40 penetrate and let sit for 10 min or so after each session. The ones I took out look tip top, bo blackening on the stems and threads looked like new. (81,000) Not a job I will have to do again so pleased it went without any mishap

Hi George removing glow plugs is a bit of a hair raiser , most important its most recommended that the engine is at running temperature before attempting to remove glow plugs , also its recommended that the treads should be re-cleaned with an M10X1 Tap before re-assembly , BMW also have a problem with the control unit for the plugs which I would recommend you to replace when you have got the induction manifold removed it makes life easier and you are sure that the plugs are working properly its not worth taking chances

Step 1, clean all the crap from around them. Also 1/2 turn out, 1/4 turn in until they are out. But before removing once loose, blow nozzle to clean out any loosened debris.

This helped me to replace glow plugs in my BMW by myself with success. Thank you for sharing

Agree with everything in this vid but a few measures not included. It's all about feel. Having been an hgv mechanic for 29 years who also had the good fortune to have worked for a company for 8 years that restored and reconditioned old aircraft ground support equipment I have had my fair share of battles with threaded items that looked me in the eye and said bring it on, you've got two hopes, Bob Hope & no hope of getting me out 🤣 So, plenty of lube to begin with and gentle work with the socket and ratchet while using all of your spidey senses to feel if there's any rotational movement, a feel of plasticity or rock solid. Plasticity is a huge warning telling you to stop 'cause you're about to wring its neck. Rock solid says get some heat in it and keep lubing and trying with feel and caution. If you're lucky enough and it moves, unscrew a flat at a time lube and wind back in. This serves two things. It breaks off crud but importantly it takes much needed lube back into the threaded hole. Keep doing that and before you know it the thing is freeing up and you're on the home straight. Sadly the "feel", takes a while to develop but once you have it is as valuable as hour most prized Snap on tool. The feel also works equally well as a torque wrench.

When I decided to remove my plugs, I made a 50-50 mix of diesel and AT oil and for 15 days, I soked them with that mix, right after the engine was turned off and I would leave them over night. I did that for 15 days straight. The came out very smooth. When I put in the new plugs I put around their threads some copper grease, to make it easy to remove next time...

those two glo plugs with damaged threads were a potential bad day . lucky day .great video .

Mercedes manual actually even specifies a max loosening torque to the glow plugs so you wouldn't snap them. Also ceramic anti seize is to be applied on the long shafts between threads and the tips.

Did you run a tap to clean the threads out in the hole?

Brilliant. Cheers mate.

There's a sudden jerk only when they break and not before. That's why if they are to break, there's no preventing this without a torque drive.

All of the knowledge boxes will comment . me Congrat,s excellent video and someone up there is on your side .

how you clean the hole before new glow plugs?? what material can protect aluminum ?

You should always blow the dirt around the plugs! You will end up soaking all the dirt in to your cylinders once the plug is out.

Excellent video.

Aluminium and steel expand at different rates, I oil mine for 5 days prior when engine is hot also take them out warm, always works a treat, good recap vid.

Are you turning the rachet right to loosen the plugs instead of lefty lucy?

George, just got my first bmw 328d with 129k miles, the second week it threw codes P2004 (intake manifold runner stuck open) and P2453 and P2454 ( diesel particulate filter differential pressure sensor ciurcut low. There is also a recall on the car for EGR cooler. What should I do? Do I need to clean intake manifold or replace it?

George mate cheers for the video 👍🏻 new glow plugs & relay module fitted today 😁 I’ll be honest with you tho a wee bit 💩 came out taking the third one out 😬 managed to get it tho was completely threaded 🙈 anyway all good car starting first time no more smoke blowing out it’s back side! 👍🏻

What is the part number for your bmw and torque setting?

Cheers mate !!

Don't use WD-40, use a proper penetrating oil like Plusgas or similar. There is a WD-40 special penetrating spray available which seems okay but just don't use the normal household WD-40 because it's a water dispersant NOT a penetrating oil. My method for removing glow plugs on my M57D30TÜ2TOP engine (535d E61) is to get the engine fully hot (90C) and then start stripping the inlet manifold etc. By the time you've got the glow plugs exposed give them a good soaking with Plusgas and go get a cup of tea. Come back in 10 mins and with a torque wrench set to 25NM, give them all a try. You'll probably get 1 or 2 out. Make sure you don't go beyond the torque wrench "click" and bear in mind they can tighten up again after initially coming loose. If that happens, spray some more plusgas and tighten them back up a bit before loosening again. Increase torque a bit to maybe 28NM and try again - you'll probably get another 2 or 3 out. Then wait another 10 mins longer with a bit more plusgas sprayed and then go to 30NM and if necessary 35NM. If they don't come out at that point then try alternating between tightening (same 35NM) and loosening and see if you can rock them loose. At this point the engine is cooling so you've got to make the call between increasing torque to 40NM or if those particular plugs are not showing faults, maybe just leave them be and replace the others. I nearly got to this stage just last week but got it out at 35NM after testing if one of the other Bosch plugs could handle 35NM in a vice. It's not just about snapping the plugs, it's also about damaging the cylinder head threads. Cylinder 6 was by far the hardest to shift in my case and was not showing a fault so I very nearly left it alone. When reinstalling, smear the threads with copper grease but only a small amount and observe torque specs when tightening. I think mine were only 13NM but check NEWTIS for your engine. I'd recommend changing every 4-5 years just to ensure they can be removed if they do fail. Think of them like spark plugs and replace every 60k miles or whatever. Oh, and don't let all the penetrating oil and swarf go down the glow plug hole when you remove it. Try to soak it up or blow it out once the plug is nearly out.

After watching this video I would / Will do the same as in soaking them for at least a week Then instead off using a racket I would use anti ~ clock working torque wrench so as to ensure not to much pressure Click Click Click There we go nice and smoothly

I sprayed CRC 5-56 the day before plug removal, I kept the intake manifold on and run the engine for 10 minutes, then I started to remove the glow plugs, they loosened relatively easy but I had to reverse the turning in steps when I felt some harder resistance. The old glow plug threads looked like new, no issues. The old plugs looked fine too, despite 180 000 miles on them.

Very good 👍

If the glow plugs are threaded that badly , does that mean the inside of the thread in the cylinder head needs to be cleaned somehow? Would these be threaded too or at least contain bits of metal from the previous glow plug? Also, should this be done when the engine is hot or cold?

Brilliant video thank you ❤️👀👀👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

CRC Knocker Loose works wonders like Double Diamond!

would the use of a heat gun applied to each plug be useful ?

Good mechanics that’s how you must do glow plugs ,but I’ve seen evan highly experienced mechanics do this method and you think all is good up you notice 1 or 2 Of the glow plug tips stuck in cyclinder head and can turn into £1k-£2k job, some say do when hot because expands but the glow plug is also expanding to cylinder head so it’s a hard disiscion but I think the way you are showing is the most likely to be successful and losening and tightening while spraying wd40 will help alot

Hey George, cheers for the video again. I’ve ordered new Bosch glow plugs and a Beru control unit for my n47. Would you know if this would be a problem? Read a few things online people having problems. Cheers

I prefer to use a T handle bar with the socket for more control over the angle. Then you can't bend the glowplug. Secondly, the glowplug is sealed to the cylinder head, therefore a penetrant (not WD40), will not be able to be taken into the threads by capillary action. If it will not break free, then try to tighten it very slightly and work it back and forth gradually. A penetrant will help once its broken free.

Great job so difficult

Would an induction heating element work before using wrench

what are the glow plugs indicated for this engine the 5v or the 7v bmw e87 120d 177hp from 2007

Providing it turns this works. But if doesn't even begin to turn, you have a problem. If I run my self into this situation, I put the socket and extension on the glow plug, bottom it out, and give it a couple solid walks with a hammer. This loosens off any rust, or soot build up on the end of the glow plug. And if that still doesn't do it. I have a 3/8 breaker bar that I can put on the socket, and then I can hit the back of the breaker bar while applying turning pressure. This acts as an impact wrench but you can adjust the torque and prevent it from just snapping the plug off.

good job, greetings to you

First off your method/ procedure is a proven and good practice. Also there are many misconceptions on the internet , especially that cylinder head removal is always the case, no this is not so!!!- However if someone is misguided enough to think an extractor has more purchase than the original M10 hex - then most probably, this would be the case after breaking the top. Also every BMW glow plug that is stuck - is not down to wrong torque but a phenomenon that I have proven time and time again, (galling) - this usually happens with metals that are similar in nature but not in this case - when you first crack a plug you may get a few loose turns and then it goes tight - This can be attributed to either carbon on the electrode and aperture or the parent threads have over time lost their running clearance.( which should be .05 to .1mm between the plug and parent thread) - So little bits of metal coming off the plug thread due to one or two frozen threads at the top, they start falling to the bottom and the threads start trying to weld themselves together. The penetrating oil helps maintain movement but eventually the plug either comes out or breaks under the torsion pressure generated. So I hope you use a (clearance tap) to restore the lost clearance or the next time the plugs are changed it will be a nightmare……. 👍

Glow plugs snapping on removal is not a myth, some engines are worse than others, do Glow plugs on a tdv6 rangerover and let us know how you get on. Good video tho, only addition from me is get the engine stinking hot, then try remove. It has the added benefit of making the work more pleasant In winter

I am thinking of buying a Volvo with a snapped glow plug Its a real cheap car as I scrapped my old Vectra over a year ago.. Not sure what the true cost could be any ideas please.. Thanks in advance

Mount the new glow plugs with 15Nm. Mind you: the plugs break at a torque of 35Nm! Use a torque wrench to loosen them so you don’t exceed the 35Nm while doing so.

Will you be able to help me find out what glow plugs my car has. BK59LLO not sure which ones i have.

Brave man George. I have to do mine and I’m absolutely dreading it. The luck I’ve had with my car. I have 6 to do aswell. 🙈🙈

Your videos are very useful. I really want to give this a go. So you are saying maybe 24hours before doing this spray them with WD40 or some kind of displacing fluid. Then before doing the deed give em another soak for about 30 minutes and slowly get them out. Also, should you soak the new ones at all? What would happen if I was to snap one? Can the car still run or would this do serious damage to it? I also have a E87 N47 engine 57 plate. 92k miles never changed plugs since becoming the owner 8 years ago @ 34k miles.

I'd be checking the head thread before fitting new glow plugs in case they need to be re-threaded 👍