Replacing glow plugs on a 205 1.9

Hi all. A friend of the wife's had a very nice man from the AA out today
when her car wouldn't start. He reckoned it was the glow plugs and they
needed replacing. She said he sprayed something (WD40 on the relay maybe?)
As the car is out of warranty, is this an easy DIY job, or does it
require any special tools, 3 hands etc and a garage or dealer? Is it
possible it might just be the relay anyway?
Many thanks,
John

 

Dos the pigs tail on the dash work?(glow plug light) and yes they are
very easy to do,but spray wd40 on them 10 mins before you remove then
as that helps,and dont do them up to tight..
chris addlestone surrey

 

Hi Chris, not sure if the pigs tail works. If the light is on do they
still need replacing, or would that indicate another potential problem?
Regards,
John

 

When was the last time they where replaced?

 

Never since she's had the car (3 years). Don't know before that.

 

May be its time to replace them

 

The light should just indicate power going to the glow plugs or rather
power going to the relay that switches the power to the glow plugs.
Ideally you ought to at least measure and see if there is 12V on the
pigtail that connects the glowplugs. I suspect there will be and the AA
man is right that they need replacing. I replaced some on a BX with the
same engine and it was a doddle. The Xantia Turbo version however....

 

Hi guys, seems the car wouldn't start again today, so was taken to a
local garage.
Result - 4 new glow plugs and a bill for £162 :-(.
Well, i did offer to do it for her but....
Thanks for the help anyway, much appreciated,
John