I started to do a spark plug change on my 1.4 TFSI this afternoon. I'm no novice when it comes to cars and I've done plug changes on other cars with coil on plug arrangements with no problems. Anyway I watched the videos and the job all went fine until I started to lift the first ignition coil. The videos show that a bit of twisting and pulling extracts the coil complete with the 'rubber' sleeve which sits over the plug in the recess in the head. In my case it didn't. The coil came off and the sleeve stayed in the recess. It's stuck tight and there was no way it was going to come out with the coil. So far I've so far been unable to remove it. Rather than waste more time I thought I'd post on here as I'm sure someone here can advise on a technique for getting these out. I can't believe it's not a common event. Help!.
1.4 TFSI spark plug change
- Thread starter Mazman
- Start date
Going to need to maybe try using some superglue gel on the coil bit you've removed & push it back in, leave for a bit then try removing again or thin long nose pliers, but the gel glue won't drip so will glue just the contact parts.
Thanks for that. Appreciated. You're right that the coil unit isn't fixed or glued to the sleeve. It just has a 'lip' that simply locates it in the sleeve. No way is that going to pull the sleeve out unless it's loose in the head. I had a try with long nosed pliers but didn't spend long on it. The car is 8 years old and this is the first plug change, so those sleeves are well stuck.
Ok, can do next time I have a try. It's all reassembled so I'm able to use the car. I may try to buy a new sleeve or two before I try again. That way I can see what I'm dealing with and have a spare in case I ruin anything. I can't believe a plug change on that engine can be so damn difficult. Surely the dealers must have a simple quick technique to deal with this.
Are you on about the rubber or whatever part, silver outer part or an coil internal part that's come of as I've looked at the coil pics & should be possible to remove, but 8 years is a while for sure.
Thanks for your interest. Yes, the problem is the 'rubber' sleeves that go over the plugs themselves and are firmly stuck to the plugs, deep in the recesses in the head. I've got to be a bit careful pulling them as they have a central contact which connects to the plug at one end and the coil unit at the top. The top of this central contact is a fairly light spring which contacts the coil unit. The coil units themselves are easy to remove and sit on top of these sleeves. Single 10mm head bolt holding them in place. If the sleeves were tubular and didn't have the spring unit in the centre (like most) I'm sure a puff off air from my compressor blow gun would loosen them. I can't believe I'm 'stuck' on a plug change. I never had this sort of problem on classic cars! Has anyone else had this problem?
Yes, been there done that. They are a real pain in the *** to remove.
I ended up having to wrap a strong nylon cord a few times around the rubber sleeve whilst still attached to the coil pack moulding. Then with a strong steady pull they will eventually come out, don't be too aggressive.
You need a reasonable diameter cord so as not to tear into the rubber.
When I reassembled them after the plug change I smeared the inside plug end of the sleeve with silicon grease thinking it would help next time - it didn't! They were still difficult next time.
I've bought the proper coil pack removal tool now but not tried it yet. I don't know if it will make the job any easier.
I ended up having to wrap a strong nylon cord a few times around the rubber sleeve whilst still attached to the coil pack moulding. Then with a strong steady pull they will eventually come out, don't be too aggressive.
You need a reasonable diameter cord so as not to tear into the rubber.
When I reassembled them after the plug change I smeared the inside plug end of the sleeve with silicon grease thinking it would help next time - it didn't! They were still difficult next time.
I've bought the proper coil pack removal tool now but not tried it yet. I don't know if it will make the job any easier.
Thank you. I really appreciate this! I couldn't believe it was just me having this problem. I'd certainly agree with your comment on how difficult they are to remove and I've seen elsewhere that silicone grease should be used on reassembly. I'll give your idea a try. So far I've just tried pulling the sleeve with long nosed pliers but clearly that risks damaging it so I quickly gave up and I've put a spare sleeve on order just in case. I'll certainly give your method a try. I'll look into the removal tool too.
Update for anyone facing the same problem. Two coils came up with the plug sleeves attached, two didn't. I'd learned from the spare sleeve I bought that there's a hole right through the sleeves, so I powered up my air compressor and pushed the blow gun firmly into the top of the stuck sleeves. A quick blast loosened their grip on the plugs and they could then be pulled out easily using long nosed pliers. Success! Just for information the deep 16mm socket I had seems to have suitably thin wall to fit within the spark plug recesses in the head. I lifted the plugs out and put the new ones in place using a magnetic pick up tool.
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Does anyone have a feel for whether the proper tool helps to remove them without them coming apart, or just makes it easier to remove them or pull them apart, whichever of those was going to happen anyway.
I've changed mine once, and it was a real pain getting the coil packs off, so I was toying with the idea of buying the tool before having to do them again.
The silicon grease is a bit of a lose/lose I think. Without the grease they can get stuck and are a nightmare to remove. With the grease, it helps to form a nice airtight seal, and then the vacuum as you pull holds them in place and they are a nightmare to remove! Mine were nicely greased from the factory (I did the engine's first plug change) and were a pain.
