Glow plug removal without moving fuel rail

[jesteh]

Is it possible to replace cylinder 2 glow plug without removing fuel rail?

Longer version - got fault P0672 - cylinder 2 glow plugs faulty at 40k miles. Easy cheap option is to remove faulty glow plug and leave others as its occurred at low mileage. If that resolves the issue, its cost me very little. If the fault persists, I would take it to the garage who quoted me for replacing all 4 - I don't have the skills to remove the fuel rail.

I can't tell from the few online videos is whether just cylinder 2 glow plug can be remove while keeping fuel rail in place - it implies its possible for cylinders 1-3 but not entirely clear.

 

[Westy78]

I changed the standard 3 glow plugs without removing the fuel rail. Only one was throwing a fault but did the other two at the same time. Didn’t change the one with sensor purely due to the cost but it can be done without removing the fuel rail. My biggest concern was that they would be seized in but luckily none of them were.

 

[jesteh]

Many thanks, so I assume that means I don't need to re-pressurize or prime anything or use Carista or similar- just a socket/screwdrdiver set and I can do the job?

 

[Westy78]

Yep, I didn’t need to do anything fuel related. Just a lot of work stripping down to get access and reassembly but having read others struggles managed it without touching the fuel rail.

 

[jesteh]

So I managed to remove glow plugs 1, 2 and 4 without touching the fuel rail.. The connector came off quite easily and I had no issue removing the glow plug
Glow plug 3 - I can't seem to get the connector off. Unlike others, this has a hard plastic connector and it just won't come off. Is there some sort of switch on the connector I need to flip first?