Cmax Glow Plug Broken Off

[dakes2]

I was changing my glo plugs on my 2007 Cmax 1.6 tdci due to them all being open circuit, and the heater part of one of the glo plugs broke off while i was removing it and is now stuck in the cylinder head, is this a cylinder head off job or can anyone advise if it can be removed without taking the head off, i really did take my time while removing them but it still broke off, the rest of the glo plug came out ok, looks like this could be a big job if the head needs to come off.

[isetta]

Did the broken one come part way out or snap at the start.

I don't know the answer, but I don't think one dud glowplug will make the car unusable. I think the worst you will suffer is a slightly uneven tickover when cold and a small amount of smoke when cold. Replace three and keep your fingers crossed. 

assuming the broken one did not come almost all the way out

[dakes2]

Hi, thanks for the reply,it snapped at the start, even though i was only using very light pressure to remove it, the problem is that the tip of the glo plug sheared off and is now stuck in the cylinder head (glow plug hole) im trying to figure out a way to remove it without having to take the head off. its top one in the picture and its really hard to get to.

[JW1982]

Let the tip of the broken glow plug inside the cilinder head soak in penetrating oil or carbon remover fluid for at least 12 hours. Remove the fuel injector of the particular cilinder. Turn the crankshaft until the piston is in the bottom dead centre position.Take a hammer and punch of the correct size  and gently tap the remaining tip of the glow plug into the cilinder. Now use a small telescopic or flexible magnet to remove the broken tip of the glow plug from the cilinder through the fuel injector hole. Finally use compressed air to remove any possible remaining residue from the cilinder.

This method works in about 90% of al cases. If not you have to remove the cilinder head to remove the broken tip of the fuel injector.

[isetta]

re my earlier reply. I assumed it broke above the threaded part and the threaded part was still there. I see your problem.

So if you put the three new glow plugs in and started the engine, the broken bit might shoot out of the hole like a bullet. However I don't think I would reccommend trying that. It could be quite dangerous.

Or you could screw the broken bit back in and leave that one like that. But would the broken bit ever loosen and work its way into the cylinder which would be a disaster and damage piston etc

I mention these two things in case you had thought of them but not thought of the potential downsides of them.

 

[dakes2]

Thank you guys for your advice this is how i got it out

 the full tip was stuck in the head, what i did was to soak it in penetrating oil for 3 days, then i drilled out the old broken glo plug all the way through with a long 3.3mm drill bit, sawn off the tip where the wire fits onto, and i now had a home made guide ready for drilling out the stuck glo plug tip, after drilling out the tip i then tapped it with a 4mm extra long tap, i bought a piece of 200mm long 4mm threaded rod from eBay and screwed it into the broken glo plug then just pulled it out, this is a similar way to the very expensive tip extractor kits that are available,i used a another old plug and did the same but drilled it through with a 4.5mm drill bit so i could use that one as a guide for tapping the thread, i hope this helps and works for others. I will say that changing the glo plugs is not an easy job on a cmax 1.6 tdci, everything is hard to get to,you will need an angle drill to drill it out as there is no space for a normal drill,use a peck drilling method with plenty of cutting lubricant, dont rush or you might break the drill bit ,good luck.

[isetta]

Thanks for letting us know. Good to have this info on here to help someone else in future. Good bit of improvisation with imaginative thinking.