300 tdi broken glow plug

Sooooooo tried to change my glow plugs today, first one has come in bits and left the end section in the head.
I've had a search and from what i've read, it seems it'll be alright to just leave it as it can't fall in and cause any damage, is this the case?? I haven't tried to start it yet, but if it is alright to start I'll go over to my mates tomorrow and get him to have a look, as he knows far more than I do.

Arghhh... my shogun has couple of broken glow plugs and in my case it's a fricken 'head off job'! However the car runs absolutely fine as the plug threads are seized into the hole...

I'm not sure it's possible on a 300tdi but my my mate managed to weld a bolt into the exposed bit of plug and unscrew it.

I'll sort some pictures in the morning, but it's the end of the glowplug that has come off, so there is nothing to see

Invest in a set of Irwin stud extractors Amazon product
They are worth their weight in gold, and remove heater plugs no problem!

I know hindsight is great but someone once gave me a top tip which was to get 'em out every summer (my glowplugs that is!) and take a look to see if they'll be ok for the winter. That way, the threads will be nice and free, especially after some anti-seize copper grease (3in1 is the best!).

I used to wait until the car wouldn't start on a frosty morning (like today!) and then try and, well, the rest is history!

So that's what I'm dealing with, is it alright to start so that I can take it somewhere to try and get it sorted, or is that liable to do some damage??

That looks like it might just screw back in. If its the full length of the plug, you won't have compression in that cylinder and it will run rough.

For info, How did you try to remove that glow plug?

did you disconnect the wiring first?

Cheers

zeaphod said:

That looks like it might just screw back in. If its the full length of the plug, you won't have compression in that cylinder and it will run rough.

Click to expand...

It won't screw back in, the end of the plug is still in the head.

neilly said:

For info, How did you try to remove that glow plug?

did you disconnect the wiring first?

Cheers

Click to expand...

Ye, wiring all disconnected and with a deep socket, I just stuck the wire back on it while I sussed out a course of action.

It looks to me like you have the internal part of the glow plug, the outer sheaf is still inside. ( as it looks very clean )
If you compare it a new glow plug is the tip wider on the new one?

Have you tried probing the ctr of the glow plug with a thin wire to see if it comes to a stop at approx the length of the glow plug?

If it does , I would as @zeaphod says screw it back in as much as possible for security and try to start the engine.

Cheers

zeaphod said:

That looks like it might just screw back in. If its the full length of the plug, you won't have compression in that cylinder and it will run rough.

Click to expand...

It won't screw back in, the end of the plug is still in the head.

neilly said:

For info, How did you try to remove that glow plug?

did you disconnect the wiring first?

Cheers

Click to expand...

Ye, wiring all disconnected and with a deep socket, I just stuck the wire back on it while I sussed out a course of action.

zeaphod said:

That looks like it might just screw back in. If its the full length of the plug, you won't have compression in that cylinder and it will run rough.

Click to expand...

It won't screw back in, the end of the plug is still in the head.

neilly said:

For info, How did you try to remove that glow plug?

did you disconnect the wiring first?

Cheers

Click to expand...

Ye, wiring all disconnected and with a deep socket, I just stuck the wire back on it while I sussed out a course of action.

It looks to me that you've just unscrewed the plug core. You should be able to get a 10mm socket on the rest and unscrew that?

That's wot you get when you try to get it out with a 12 sided socket instead of a six sided

or stud extractor!

It actually looks better than I thought it was going to.

Normally the pictures show the glow plug snapped clean off at the base.

Cheers

you could try tapping a 3/8" (6 sided ) socket onto it and see if that works!

Im not getting this???

How the heck did it unscrew and how did the end of it break off - the long bit looks like the element?

Dartmoor Navigator said:

Im not getting this???

How the heck did it unscrew and how did the end of it break off - the long bit looks like the element?

Click to expand...

Agreed! it looks like there probably isn't anything, other than the housing left in!

If the end of the element is fractured / broken then I assume the broken bit is in the pot somewhere?


I don't think starting is a good idea