Hi,

my wife's car won't start, the dashboard gives a warning "check glow plugs". I wanted to give it a try myself to replace them (how hard can it be?) but I'm already stuck from the very start. Well almost very start, I managed to open the bonnet

From what I found I need access to the engine. But a big plastic piece is blocking the access (I guess it's an air filter) any idea how to get it off? I think there's some kind of plastic plug in the big hole on the right bottom of the cover., but I'm not sure if I need to pull/push/turn and what tool I would need.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

pieteri said:

Hi,

my wife's car won't start, the dashboard gives a warning "check glow plugs". I wanted to give it a try myself to replace them (how hard can it be?) but I'm already stuck from the very start. Well almost very start, I managed to open the bonnet

From what I found I need access to the engine. But a big plastic piece is blocking the access (I guess it's an air filter) any idea how to get it off? I think there's some kind of plastic plug in the big hole on the right bottom of the cover., but I'm not sure if I need to pull/push/turn and what tool I would need.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

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Depending on how old the car is, or if they have ever been changed they may snap off in the head so be careful before attempting this job. It is as simple as spark plugs otherwise.

the car is from 2011. So hopefully they won't be too stuck.
But any idea how I can get the plastic air filter off from the top?

pieteri said:

the car is from 2011. So hopefully they won't be too stuck.
But any idea how I can get the plastic air filter off from the top?

Click to expand...

I don't have the slightest clue sorry, I have never even seen the multijet engine in person! Just going from previous experience with dirty diesels

Remove the air flow meter from one side and the inlet from the other.

Remove the air filter element and make sure there are no hidden fastenings and generally the filter housing just pulls off.

As already mentioned the plugs are made of chocolate, as thick as a match stick and are usually stuck fast in the head.
Even I would give this job to a garage because if you get it wrong it's a very VERY expensive problem to fix

Thanks for the advice. Any idea how much it should cost? Just to know when I'm being ripped of.

Not a lot, maybe £150 at most, well worth it for the hassle involved if it goes wrong

you're right, thanks a lot

My daughter's recently purchased 500 diesel needs new glow plugs and the old ones look a bit of mess. I gave the a squirt of WD40 yesterday with a mind to changing them out today. I thought the new ones looked a bit fragile and so I am glad I read this thread first. A few quid in the local garage sounds like the best option. Thanks.

pieteri said:

how hard can it be?

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Harder than you might think - tasks such as "remove the glow plugs using a suitable socket" are not always as simple as they seem. Glow plugs are fragile, break off easily and will leave you facing a huge bill to strip the engine down if they do.

I don't wish to sound rude, but if you have to ask how to do this job, you probably shouldn't be trying to do it yourself. Even experienced mechanics occasionally break a plug; sometimes the torque needed to remove one is very close to the torque needed to snap it off.

Personally I detest these kind of jobs; you're a hero if you get them out cleanly, and all things evil if you don't, and sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. I once had a customer almost snap one off, then give the job to a garage so that he could hold them responsible when it broke. Fortunately I noticed it what he'd done before starting to work on the car - it went straight back to the customer untouched. No doubt some other poor mechanic ended up falling for that one.

If you do attempt it, soak it well beforehand in a proper releasing fluid (NOT WD40; it's not man enough for this job). You can make your own using a mixture of acetone and ATF.

As stated before, I went to the official dealer. It turned out the glow plugs were fine. Instead the neutral cable had failed. So in case you ever get a "check glow plugs" warning, it might be some other electrical component failing.

I'm happy I asked here though, otherwise I might have ventured myself and done more damage than good.