3.0tdi ASB heater plugs

[BakPak]

Hi chaps
Does anyone have experience of replacing the heater plugs on the 3.0tdi ASB engine please? The car has done 142k so assuming the worst that they might have never been changed I guess they could be a nightmare to remove!
Also any advice on the best ones to get too please.
Thanks in advance Mark.

 

[Paul battams]

Ye done loads plenty of penetrating oil around them carful taking caps off plugs hot/cold all time they tend to break
You’ll need 1/4 ratchet and extensions it’s pretty tight if I remember might just be 1 fuel pipe to take off maybe not
I personally would only put Bosch or Beru plugs back in you pay for what you get
Good luck


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[piglet14]

I did mine without any trouble though at 60K.
I used long nosed pliers for the caps and a 10mm deep 3/8 socket on an extension, didn't remove any pipes.
I bought Bosch and some anti-seize compound.
Somewhere there is a max torque for removal, so you don't snap the buggers off!

 

[Stickystuff]

Before you go and replace them if you’re doing it because you feel like they need doing they’re not a service item like spark plugs.

Unless they’re faulty there is no need to change them and if for any reason one snaps you’ll soon be wishing that you hadn’t bothered.

Just make sure you actually need to change them. My cars on 220k and as far as I’m aware they’re the original ones. I have the 2.7tdi in my A6 but it’s the same or similar v6 and it starts well every morning without fail weather it’s hot or cold.


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[desertstorm]

As above check them with a multimeter to see if they are good, If they are not open circuit I would leave them. Make sure the engine is warm when you try and take them out 50-60 degrees. Most plugs have a max quoted break torque that you should be able to apply without breaking the plug. You don't really want to go over this. You will need a smaller torque wrench I have a 1/4 inch one that is great for smaller bolt torque levels. If you have 1 or 2 that are duff the engine will run fine like this , It's when 4-5 are duff you will have issues if it gets below freezing.

 

[BakPak]

Thanks everyone for the advice. When we had the recent cold snap it just took longer to start and on a mild morning starts very quickly.

 

[Ubor]

Can only concur wit desertstorm. I did my BKN, so basically the first generation ASB, at 125k miles. I had 2 broken plugs - decided to replace all 6. Most came out fine but one, which was totally fine, sheared. It was not a great experience TBH and I wouldn't do it again. I'd only do broke ones.

Biggest nightmare I found was all but one of the electrical caps were really brittle and all but one just shattered trying to take them off. General advice from Audi is replace the loom (yeah right as they are cheap) but you can get just the caps (from TPS) and splice them into the current loom. That's what I did in the end.

Proper don't fix what isn't broke stuff if you ask me. I lived to regret it big time, not a job I enjoyed. lol

 

[BakPak]

Yeah I'll leave it alone unless it gets worse with the colder mornings. It was -2 the other morning and it took say 3 seconds to start and was a tad lumpy for another 2-3 seconds, then idling fine.

 

[Ubor]

Yeah with my now forever broken plug as it gets colder it feels like it takes a bit longer to start. Often I think that is because I tend not to pay much attention to the glow plug light and just turn it straight over. I have to say there was really no difference between having 2 or 1 broken which made the whole experience even more disappointing.
We also have a 3.0TDI 4 letter generation in the family in an A6, I forget which model, and all the glow plugs are fine in that. I am honestly not convinced from turning that over that even with all 6 working it is much better. Seems pretty much the same.

Once going it is fine as you say.

 

[Bbflex]

Isn’t the ASB engine the one with ceramic plugs? I’m sure my A8 was an ASB with ceramic plugs.

I did change mine for conventional plugs and have the controller recoded.

they are like defusing a bomb getting them out, proper squeaky bum time.