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How easy to fit glow plugs?
cold potato
Posts: 531 Forum Member
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It's an M reg Astra 1.7, how easy is it to change the glow plugs?
It starts fine in the warm weather but in the cold it's really struggling and I think it probably needs some new plugs anyway, if I can fit them myself I'd prefer that.
It starts fine in the warm weather but in the cold it's really struggling and I think it probably needs some new plugs anyway, if I can fit them myself I'd prefer that.
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I've never owned a diesel!
That said, be sure it's not the fuse or the relay which controls the glow plugs. Is there 12v at the plug connection on a cold morning? Have you checked the resistance across the plugs?
If you're sure it needs plugs then I can't see it being a difficult job depending on their positioning. Disconnect, unscrew, replace, reconnect and repeat.
It's getting on for 15 years old, they've probably never been changed, and they don't cost that much; changing them is as easy as changing spark plugs, you just need sockets or spanners of the correct size.
If you want to be really pedantic and check you did the right thing, take them out one by one and use a couple of bits of wire to connect them to a 12V battery; if the tips don't go red hot almost instantly, they're cream crackered and need chucking in the bin.
As a guide, hard to start diesels almost always end up being inefficient glow plugs (I've known diesel engines fire up on 1 working plug) but not changing them can result in knackered batteries and/or f88ked starter motors, so I would be inclined to go the cheapest route and get your spanners out.
Started like a charm when I picked it up.