Changing Glow Plugs On The Focus 1.6tdci

[Albacore]

I needed to change all the glow plugs on my Focus 1.6Tdci and looked round the net for some assistance. It turned out that there was an awful ot of talk around the subject but not much detail on the actual nitty gritty of doing the job - often the case!

I managed to do it with minimum dismantling round the back of the engine, so here is my account of what I did for the benefit of others that may follow.

At the back of your mind is the thought of the £1k ish bill you might end up with if you snap a glow plug or strip a thread, so proceed slowly and carefully!

I started with a warm engine; don't know if this was necessary, but it seemed to make sense as it might ease threads and loosen carbon deposits.

Get yourself a set of glow plugs. This is where I had my first problem, as I got NGKs whereas the originals were Berus. The 1.6Tdci connectors are push fit onto the Berus, but the NGKs have threads designed for a nut. (Standardisation!) The connector is a poor fit on the NGKs, especially when there's going to be a few amp whapping through it. I ended up wrapping a thin piece of tinned copper wire round the thread and soldering it on - time consuming and fiddly, so much better to get the Berus.

For tools you will need a 1/4" socket set and a deep 8mm socket. Mine was a Teng which was perfect. Don't get an articulated one - it will make the job worse. A small step to stand on is useful if you are not too tall to give you better access to the back of the engine.

Take off the wipers and 2 panels as detailed in many places, then you should be able to see no. 4, 3 and (just about) 2 glow plugs. No 1 is well hidden. Now get plenty of Plus gas or similar onto the glow plug threads. You will have to try and work out where no 1 is and get the tube down to it. Leave the Plus gas to work for as long as you can.

Now start with no4 plug. Take the cap off (easy with this one) and put the socket and short extension on. I used the T-bar to turn it, as you get a better feel for what's happening than with the ratchet. This plug was tight! It also creaked a lot which I didn't like. Take it very slowly, 1/2 turn then back a bit. More Plus gas every so often. Give it a rest every so often. I also found it helpful to pull up with the bar a bit as I was unscrewing - might help to avoid a stripped thread. Eventually I got the plug out, pop the new one in with a smidge of copper ease on the threads. Torque to 8nM.

No3 plug similar, also very tight. You may need to use pliers to get the lead off.

No2 plug access much worse, but you can get to it if you remove the bolt (not the nut) holding the plug lead bracket using your 8mm deep socket. The bracket then swivels on the remaining stud and you can move it just enough to get to the plug. Not sure if I used the long or short extension on this one. Luckily this one and no1 came out much easier than no3 & 4.

Now to the beast - no1. you have to feel around to find the connector and pull it off. I used long nosed pliers. Then after looking at the exact angle of dangle of the other plugs I was able to find a way into the plug with socket and long extension. The way in is between a couple of pipes with braided covers. Tape the socket onto the extension so you don't lose it - see pictures. Apologies for the incorrect orientation on these, which happened when I uploaded them; not got time to sort it now.

Then put everything back together, copper ease on the wiper splines, torque to 15nM. Job's a good 'un!

[Paul80]

Thanks for the post, very helpful!

do you know which length to go for?

mine is a 10 reg 1.6tdci 109hp and the Beru’s come in 118.5 mm and 124.5 mm.

[Darren8]

Thanks, Changed mine last week after reading this, but I went for the Beru which are also now threaded 😞 I tried # 4 connection and was tight enough 🙂 after fitting them found the remaining 3 connection were loose so ended up dismantling connection plugs giving little squeeze so ok,

Did think about removing plastic plug which does leave the metal circle which could be used with the nuts on the glow plugs, except as I got them from Euro Car Parts only one came with the nut still on,