Mick F said:

Can I say, in my naivety that they are obviously a stupidly and idiotic design.

Shouldn't the removal and re-insertion of these glowplugs be a monthly task?

If it is known that these things are a problem, why don't you Multijet owners not do this regularly?
Why is it not in the recommended maintenance regime?

Now I know this, and if I were (in the unlikely scenario) to buy a Multijet, it's the first thing I would insist is done each and every month, and certainly done before I agree to buy a secondhand Multijet.

Cheers!
Mick.

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I don't know what it's like to get at them on a multijet but on my car it takes around 1hr just to access them by removing the entire air intake system / manifold. Then maybe half an hour per glow plug to remove and refit, assuming they are not seized. I wouldn't pay someone to do that and wouldn't do it myself either

Unless there is an issue with carbon getting past the seat in the head there's no reason why they will be seized. If a dumb person uses too much brute force that's different

Back to my naivety, when we had our Peugeot 205, you could see them in front of you when you opened the bonnet.

I ain't got a clue where they are on other diesel cars, but I would have thought they were equally get-at-able. Looks like I'm wrong.

I ride a bike (lots) and know a thing about bicycle maintenance. There are a few items on a bike that if you leave them for years, they will completely seize up and be almost impossible to remove. The best thing to do is to remove and grease them every so often. The mere fact that you may possibly weaken them is besides the point.

To remove a stuck seatpost for instance it could be a frame-wrecker.

Back to the glow plugs .......... if they break off, it could be an engine wrecker knowing the expense of engineering work. Prevention is better than cure IMHO.

Glow pugs don't last the life of the car, so in its lifetime, you expect to change them a few times? I must have done them in our 205 four or five times in the ten years ............ that's once per cylinder and maybe one more too.

Regards,
Mick.

Mick F said:

......The best thing to do is to remove and grease them every so often. The mere fact that you may possibly weaken them is besides the point.
.......Back to the glow plugs .......... if they break off, it could be an engine wrecker knowing the expense of engineering work. Prevention is better than cure IMHO.

Glow pugs don't last the life of the car, so in its lifetime, you expect to change them a few times? I must have done them in our 205 four or five times in the ten years ............ that's once per cylinder and maybe one more too.

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Picking through your post Mick, I realise the first part doesn't relate to glow plugs but to your bike parts you were on about, but removing glow plugs periodically as part of preventative maintenance relating seizure, isn't something that is normally done or considered.

There are many factors that will determine the life of glow plugs. For instance, they will undoubtedly last much longer in warmer regions, especially here in the UK where generally the winter months aren't as harsh in the far South West as they would be a bit further North. Where I live, morning temperatures can regularly be at or below zero during the peak of the winter, the coldest we've had here in the East Midlands, has been -17 degrees Celcius, but that was during a particularly cold winter 3 years back.

I replaced the glow plugs in my own car at 40k. Some will recommend every 50k miles and others will leave them for years. For the sake of 50 quid and 30 minutes of my time, I just thought it was prudent to change them. As you mentioned, some engines, glow plugs are smack bang in your face as on the Fiat engine in my Saab, just remove the plastic engine cover and everything is accessible, injectors the lot. Plus, there's loads of space in the engine bay of a large car. Not so easy working on small city cars with engines jammed into tiny engine bays.

The price of progress Mick

Have you ever seen contests against the clock to swap VW Beetle engines?

1 min. 6 sec

Try that in a new car.

IMHO modern diesels have had their day. Hugely complex, fragile and stupidly expensive when they do fail.

RussH said:

IMHO modern diesels have had their day. Hugely complex, fragile and stupidly expensive when they do fail.

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Much like modern petrols with fancy valve timing turbos and a multitude of other technology

In any case on the 1.3 they are a bit of a bitch to access. So monthly insertion and removal is defiantly out for 99.99% of owners who just want to get in and drive.
Replacing them 4 times in 10 years is way more than you'd expect to replace them in a modern diesel. Once in 10 years is about average these days which is why they are more likely to seize.

It's basically a non-discussion anyway. The man asked what was wrong, advised what to do and against the pitfalls he can now go off and tackle the problem he has.

Anyone's opinions on how things should be done or designed or the longevity of modern Diesel engines shouldn't keep creeping in to every single post on the forum, otherwise every post just descends into arguments.

AndyRKett said:

Anyone's opinions on how things should be done or designed or the longevity of modern Diesel engines shouldn't keep creeping in to every single post on the forum, otherwise every post just descends into arguments.

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Utterly agree!

I made the point about shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted of course.

I also made the point - badly maybe - that prevention is better/cheaper than cure, but it doesn't help the OP. Sorry for drifting off.

Is this the five minute argument, or the full half hour?


TTFN
Mick.