Whilst fixing an ABS wheel speed sensor a week or so ago, I noticed that Carista reported an issue with the glow plugs on cylinders #2 and #4.

I hadn’t had any problems with starting, but then it is summer and I’d fitted a new battery last year, but I decided that for the small cost (£37.70 delivered) I’d fit new glow plugs. This was a fiddly rather than difficult job. First one needs to remove four T30 screws that hold down the fuel pipes that run over the glow plug wiring, then open the plastic conduit that carries that wiring with a flat blade screwdriver to get sufficient play in order to pull up the plug caps.

I used a pair of long nosed pliers to gently pull up the plug caps as the wires look quite delicate. With the wiring lifted up there is just enough room to remove the plug caps - #4 is particularly fiddly.

I vacuumed the cavities before undoing the glow plugs, then used a long 10mm socket to remove each in turn. Some of the threads were a bit squeaky, but a bit of WD40 spray helped. The new plugs were easy enough to re-fit and torque up to 18 Nm.

Of the old glow plugs, the impedances of #2 and #4 were clearly out of tolerance; #1 and #3 were fine, but I changed them anyway.

Carista reset the fault and everything is fine. Hopefully I won’t have to do that job again for another 95,000 miles.

Edited 6 August, 20251 yr by Othen

So with a bit of WD40 the glow plugs unscrewed easy enough?

Edited 30 August, 20251 yr by Nackuk

When I changed mine earlier this year I found that they were much easier to remove with the engine hot.