Broken glowplug...in the cylinder

[rdkern]

It's somewhat unusual to break a gp - similar to breaking a spark plug. Can happen, but be careful and don't use an extention longer than you really need. One tends to tilt the extension, and "bend" doesn't work with gps.

Vast majority of gp extractions are painless.

 

[golftdiaz]

To ELLY

I have a bad plug but after reading all this I dont want to break it on extraction so is there something I can spray on and let sit to make it come out easier? 11-14-06 09:49 PM

Well, mine broke because I cranked too hard on it, but the guys working on it are pretty convinced its stuck because it was put in wrong in the first place; it wouldn't really be possible to cross-thread it so intensely if it were threaded right, otherwise I would have broken the head's threads too and then it wouldn't be stuck. So the answer is, I think, get a swivel head so you can get the perfect angle, use a spinner (I don't know what the official name for this is) instead of a ratchet, and go slow. When installing the GP, make sure it's threaded right and coat it with anti-seize to prevent this from happening. It's a pretty long shot for it to be broken and stuck, and being broken alone isn't such a big deal, its the stuck thats costing me $$$. The stuck comes from it being installed at an angle, not head on, so it got cross-threaded. You may or may not want to take my advice, given my situation . Good luck!

 

[chrisjs]

I would just add to that, if the glow plug requires any significant force to back out, STOP! Don't give it too much force. Ideally you should be able to get it out using the amount of force you could exert on a screwdriver handle. Maybe a small rachet with a little force if it's stuck from the get-go. But as you are backing it out, if it gets too hard to turn, you risk snapping the plug.

This is probably an overly safe estimate, but considering I broke a plug using a rachet, I'm overly cautious in my recommendations.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

Any benefit to removing the GPs (and perhaps injectors) periodically, like say 60k/5yr, to keep things from getting too crudded up or corroded? I have had some bad times with spark plugs left in too long... this is bringing back bad memories.

Seems like a fine line between "if it ain't broke don't fix it", vs not letting things fossilize for years and then trying to get them apart.

Eddy

 

[oldpoopie]

I've got a cylinderhead at the machine shop getting a broken glowplug extracted right now.... I tried 2 different screw extractors, one spiral reverse thread, and one a straight type. All they did was cut up the remainder of the glowplug... Wah wah wah. Oh well.
I should add that the owner of the car drove the car on the broken glowplug for over a year and a half... And it was leaking a bit of compression the whole time. Still ran *ok*ish.

 

[cjharris02892]

Not to add to the misery, but I fixed mine with the help of a TDI member...

I have owned my 2001 TDI for about 2 years now. Bought it and my wife's 2000 as a "matched set", both with about 25,000 miles on them. While doing an oil change about 6 months in, I noticed a hissing sound from mine that my wife's didn't make. Tracked it down to the #1 glow plug leaking. Torqued it down and voila, "a spinning glow plug". Not sheared off, just spinning. I pulled the plug out and found that someone at sometime had taken a drill to the head. I assume to remove a previous glow plug. Whoever it was bastardized the head severely.

So...

1. I cleaned the hole, stuffed oiled cotton in the bottom of the hole and recleaned the hole.

2. Carefully "rerounded" the hole with JB Weld in preparation for the next step. Let dry overnite.

3. Got a heli-coil kit from a TDI club member. The kit included a 2 step tap. 10mm then 12mm. The 10mm follows the hole staight in then the 12mm follows. THE JB_WELD WAS TO ROUND THE HOLE FOR THE TAP TO FOLLOW.

4. Once the 10mm part "bottomed out", I removed it and followed it up with a straight 12mm tap to the proper depth.

5. Now the tricky part. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum the metal. Then compressed air, compressed air, compressed air. In other words clean it real good WITHOUT REMOVING COTTON!

6. Remove cotton with tweezers.

7. Install heli-coil and install glow plug.

8. 120,000 miles w/no problems.

 

[chrisjs]

My broken glow plug was removed by a machine shop and the threads were repaired with a helicoil. If you are in the NJ/NY area, TDIJetta99 helped with the repair (and other repairs) and I highly recommend his work.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

2. Carefully "rerounded" the hole with JB Weld in preparation for the next step. Let dry overnite.

Wow. That deserves to be on the JBWeld Testimonials page. Heat, mechanical shock, vibration, thermal cycles, hostile solvents... the cylinder head of a diesel engine is no place for the faint of heart!

Eddy

 

[oldpoopie]

Wow. That deserves to be on the JBWeld Testimonials page. Heat, mechanical shock, vibration, thermal cycles, hostile solvents... the cylinder head of a diesel engine is no place for the faint of heart!

Eddy

I believe that the jbweld was used only to true the hole before re-drilling and tapping for a helicoil.

3. Got a heli-coil kit from a TDI club member. The kit included a 2 step tap. 10mm then 12mm. The 10mm follows the hole staight in then the 12mm follows. THE JB_WELD WAS TO ROUND THE HOLE FOR THE TAP TO FOLLOW.

There wouldnt be any jbweld left after insertion of the helicoil... Sorry to ruin your new jbweld marketing

 

[EddyKilowatt]

Thanks for the clarification... I have always doubted that JBWeld would last very long on a steam pipe, either (as mentioned on the packaging)... but having been born at the close of the Age Of Steam, have somehow never had the opportunity to find out. A diesel combustion chamber has got to be worse than 99% of the steam pipes that ever were...

Eddy

 

[erykkuld]

You have two options: 1. leave the broken one in there and hope it doesnt leak compression and that the engine is strong enough to start on three glowplugs, and 2. pull the head and take it to a machine shop and hope they can get it out without boogering up the head too badly.

edited 8 years later to those still reading this: I now have the appropriate tooling to remove broken, spinning or stuck glow plugs while the 1z, ahu, or alh head is still on the engine. Email me for details.

Sir please help, i am in that very situation right now, i tried removing a fairly seized/stuck glow plug from my 2001 vw golf 4 1.9l. Nr.3 is the one i am trying to get out, i was about nearly one turn what it felt like through the job, and then it suddenly became loose, now it's simply spinning in place not moving inn or out, but i can wiggle it up down and to the sides, i haven't dared to turn on my car, and don't know what to do. I am guessing that the threaded metal shell is stuck in the actuall block, while the rest of the glow plug is a whole long stick that goes through this shell and inot the combustion chamber.